Spaghetti Sauce (With Wine)

This is a weeknight spaghetti sauce that comes together while the pasta water boils. Ground beef and onion brown together in one big skillet, then tomato sauce, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning go in to simmer while you wait for the noodles.

The white wine goes in 15 minutes before serving, not at the beginning. Adding it late preserves some of that bright, fruity acidity that cooks off in longer simmers. It lifts the sauce out of one-note tomato territory and gives it a rounder, more layered flavor.

The double tomato approach (sauce plus paste) gives you both body and depth. The sauce provides liquid and smooth texture while the paste concentrates the tomato flavor and thickens everything up. Together they produce a sauce that coats pasta instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.

Pro Tips

• Brown the beef in a single layer without stirring for the first few minutes. You want actual browning, not gray steamed meat. The fond (browned bits) on the pan adds flavor to the sauce.
• Add the garlic near the end of browning. It burns fast and turns bitter if it goes in with the raw meat.
• Use a dry white wine. Sweet wines make the sauce taste off.
• Simmer uncovered so the sauce reduces and thickens rather than staying watery.

Variations

• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes with the seasonings for a spicier arrabbiata-style sauce.
• Stir in a tablespoon of butter right before serving for a silkier, restaurant-style finish.
• Use Italian sausage (casings removed) instead of ground beef for a bolder, more herbal flavor.