If I had to pick my favorite day of the week… it’d be Sunday.
Sundays are for doing nothing all day. Unless it involves relaxing on the couch and/or netflixing for hours… it’s not on the agenda. Or at least, that’s the case at my house. Parties and plans are for Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays… we save for each other. Sundays are for family.
And with this being the holiday season… every day kind of feels like a Sunday. And I love it.
This is the perfect time to make yourself and your family a big batch of Sunday Sauce.
And if you’re like my family, maybe throw on some matching PJs while you eat bowl after bowl of gluten-free spaghetti topped with a flavorful and meaty tomato sauce. Oh, except for the one vegetarian in the family (cough, my brother, cough) 😉 He gets to eat a vegetarian carbonara instead.
(also: please notice that the dog, Sasha, is wearing a matching red hoodie. It’s very important that you notice this).
I love Sunday sauce because it’s so simple to make. You just throw some ingredients together in a pot and then let it simmer for a few hours on the stove top. You’ll forget it’s there until the sweet aroma of Sunday sauce drifts into the living room and lifts you out of your netflix daze.
It’ll smell so darn delicious that you won’t even mind getting out from under your warm and cozy blanket. Yes, I’m being for real.
So what is Sunday Sauce? I guess I should have told you sooner? It’s basically a rich, meaty tomato sauce that’s sweet and savory and perfect over a bowl of noodles (gluten-free/paleo pasta or zoodles!).
Traditionally, this Italian dish is made using whatever meat you have available – inexpensive cuts that taste delicious when simmered over a long period of time. My recipe is very simple and calls for plain ground sausage and ground beef.
I use a good amount of spices in this sauce – a blend that’s incredibly flavorful. It’s so flavorful that you’ll crave it meal after meal – which is great, because this recipe makes a good amount. You can enjoy it for several meals throughout the week and never get tired of it. Or you can freeze some and thaw it out on a night when you’re feeling particularly lazy. Try and freeze some if you can – it’s the best feeling knowing that you can eat a slow cooked meal on a day when you don’t feel like cooking.
If you eat cheese, then top this with freshly grated parmesan. If not, use fresh cilantro or parsley instead.
I hope you’re all enjoying family time this holiday season! 🙂
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or fat of choice
- 2 onions finely diced
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons fennel powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
- Parsley or Cilantro optional for garnish
Instructions
- Add the oil to a large dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat.
- Next, add the onions and saute for 10 minutes, or until softened.
- Then add the garlic cloves, give it a quick stir, then add the ground meat.
- Cook until the meat is mostly browned, then add the spices and mix well.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, stir, then reduce heat to low and cook for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Kishan says
Hi Ashley!
Please could you tell me how I could replace the tomato for onion masala (without spices – tomatoes and onion pucks only) to fit with this recipe? How many pucks would I need for the same recipe. I would obviously add garlic etc the same way as above….
Janet says
Easy to make and very delicious. Served it over spaghetti squash and freezed the rest. Makes around 8 cups.
My Heart Beets says
Ooh love that you ate it over spaghetti squash, yum!! Thanks for letting us know how much it makes!
Janet says
Plan to make this this morning since the day will be filled with cold and snow thanks to the storm Jonas. BTW, the red hoodie was noticed 🙂 Adorable family photo,
I’d love it if you would put out some recipes for “enhanced” naan. I’ll never forget a naan we had in London that was filled with nuts, fruit and spices but I have not idea what it was called. I wonder if you cooked one round then topped it with stuff then layered another on top, and cooked it, if it would work. The spice/nut/fruit mixture would be key.
My Heart Beets says
Hope you loved it, Janet!! And thank you 🙂 What you’re describing sounds like a sweet peshwari naan – I’ll put that on my list of recipes to share!
Linda says
Can you tell me what ground sausage is? I live in Australia, so not sure what this is. Is it just the inside of a sausage? Like would I get sausages and squeeze out the innards? What flavour am I aiming for in the sausage meat?? It looks like a very kid friendly sauce!!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Linda! sorry for the confusion, I actually just changed it to ground pork to be clear! I used an unseasoned ground pork for the recipe but if you can only get sausages, then yes you can remove the inside and use that. Please let me know how it turns out for you!
Linda says
Oh cool! I can get ground pork easily 🙂 I will make it and let you know. Two of my kids love Italian mince sauces ( we call it bolanaise ) but I just use beef mince ( ground beef ) so will try it with the mix meats!
Sheryl Tunnecliff says
What type of sausage do you normally use
My Heart Beets says
Hi Sheryl, I actually just use unseasoned ground pork – I updated the recipe to reflect that. Thanks for asking 🙂
Eileen says
If I use a small amount of tomato sauce what other liquid can I use as I cannot tolerate all that tomato. What about coconut milk ?
My Heart Beets says
Eileen, if you use coconut milk, add it at the very end. You can just add more broth to the sauce – that’s what I’d do. You may just need to thicken it at the end with arrowroot if it’s too thin – or add in some coconut cream.
Jennie says
Would I lose a lot of flavor if I subbed all ground beef and didn’t use the sausage? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Jennie, I like using ground pork because of the fat/flavor that it adds but I’m sure using all ground beef will be great too. Please let me know how it turns out for you!
Reena Dwire says
Made Sunday Sauce over the weekend and it was delicious. So incredibly flavorful! My husband and I loved it. Even though I had it for lunch yesterday, I came home and had another warm bowl of it just on its own for dinner as it was so yummy 🙂 Thanks again for sharing your recipes. Looking forward to trying your Beef and Prune Stew this weekend!
My Heart Beets says
Happy to hear that, Reena!! Hope you love the beef and prune stew too!