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Home » All Sauce Recipes » Pasta Sauces

Meatball Sauce

March 16, 2023 by jessica 5 Comments

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This meatball sauce recipe is a combination of traditional Italian seasonings with a simple tomato sauce that goes well with anything you’d use marinara on.

meatball sauce in pan with text overlay for facebook

While I like to serve it with beefy Italian meatballs, it will pair well with your own homemade meatball recipe whether they’re turkey meatballs, pork meatballs, or a blend. It’s also perfect to keep around for particularly busy weeknights when you can spoon it over reheated frozen meatballs and a plate of pasta.

The best part of this recipe is that you only need a few key ingredients to whip it up in nearly no time. Plus, it stores well in the fridge or freezer, too.

Also, if you’re looking for alternative ways to prepare it, you can certainly adapt it so that you can make it in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.

The time you’re looking for a easy recipe for a tomato-based sauce, try this basic recipe for an incredibly easy sauce.

close up of meatball sauce
close up of meatball in sauce

Table of Contents

  • What is Meatball Sauce
  • Why You’ll Love This Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • What To Serve this Red Sauce With
  • Variations on Sauce for Meatballs
  • Common Questions About Meatball Sauce
  • Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing
  • Other Savory Sauces
  • Meatball Sauce
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Notes
    • Nutrition

What is Meatball Sauce

Meatball sauce is a super simple recipe for a seasoned tomato sauce that pairs perfectly with meatballs. It pairs classic ingredients like garlic, onion, basil, and olive oil with tomato sauce for a balanced, savory sauce. 

While it’s the best sauce to use with meatballs, it also pairs well with lots of other dishes. It can also stand alone as a dipping sauce.

meatball sauce with meatballs in a pan

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe

There are lots of reasons to love this delicious recipe.

  • Easy – There’s very little prep time and the cleanup is a cinch, too!
  • Versatile – There are so many dishes that you can use this sauce with from casual weeknight dinners to meals for special occasions.
  • Customizable – It’s easy to get creative and dress up this simple sauce.
  • Crowd-pleaser – This is the kind of sauce your whole family (or any guest) will love.
close up of meatball sauce

Ingredients

This sauce uses primarily pantry staples making it a quick and easy sauce to make any time.

  • Extra virgin olive oil – Since there are so few ingredients, try to use a high quality olive oil for the best results.
  • Yellow onion – Chop the onion finely and uniformly.
  • Garlic cloves – Mince each garlic clove or use a microplane to grate them.
  • Plain tomato sauce – Be sure to get just the sauce and not an already prepared marinara. 
  • Dried basil – If you don’t have this on hand you can easily find it in the spice section of your local grocery store.
  • Sugar – Just a little bit of sugar will help balance the flavors of the sauce.
  • Coarse salt – Salt helps to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients.
  • Bay leaf – Be sure to remove the bay leaf after cooking.
meatballs simmering in sauce

What To Serve this Red Sauce With

There are all sorts of options for serving this sauce. 

  • Meatballs – The obvious pairing is homemade meatballs! Make spaghetti and meatballs, a meatball sub, or just a large bowl of meatballs topped with parmesan cheese. 
  • Dipping sauce – Serve this with cheesy breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, or garlic bread.
  • Burgers and chicken – Top grilled hamburgers or chicken with this sauce and some provolone for a pizza-style sandwich. 
  • Pizza – Use this sauce in place of your typical pizza sauce. 
  • Pasta – Top your favorite type of pasta — from linguine to penne or even egg noodles — with this tasty sauce.
overhead shot of bowl of meatball sauce

Variations on Sauce for Meatballs

This is a simple sauce recipe that you can easily add your own twists to. 

  • Oil – Though we definitely prefer the flavor of olive oil you can use any neutral oil like avocado oil or vegetable oil in its place. 
  • Jarred garlic – Fresh garlic has the best flavor but minced garlic can be used in a pinch. 
  • Fresh basil – If you have fresh basil on hand you can substitute it for the dried variety. 
  • Salt – Use any variety of salt instead. 
  • Spices – Spice this sauce up by adding black pepper, cayenne pepper powder, or crushed red pepper flakes.
  • Sugar – If you want a slightly richer sugary flavor, try using brown sugar instead of white sugar. You can also add a little honey and garlic to taste to make a honey garlic meatball sauce.
  • Other sauces – Depending on what you’re serving this sauce with, experiment with adding worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
  • Dairy – Try adding heavy cream or cheese to make a creamy tomato sauce.
  • Tomatoes – Replace some of the tomato sauce with crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, or tomato paste for a thick tomato sauce. If you do, you can also add chicken broth or beef broth if it needs to be thinned.
  • Herbs – Add in your favorite herbs like fresh parsley or oregano.
meatball on a spoon

Common Questions About Meatball Sauce

What is meatball sauce made of? 

Some sauces with this name incorporate the meat as well but ours is the simple combination of tomato, spices, and aromatics.

Is it better to brown meatballs before putting them into sauce? 

It is better to brown the meatballs before adding them to this sauce. That’s why it’s great to make this sauce ahead of time and then use it with any other dish that you’re making.

meatball on a fork

Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing

You can easily store this sauce and reheat it when you’re ready to serve.

Make Ahead: You can chop the onions and mince the garlic ahead of time. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Refrigerator: Once it has cooled to room temperature, store this sauce in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to 1 week.

Freezer: Freeze the sauce in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 6 months.

collage of meatball sauce for pinterest

Other Savory Sauces

  • Pink Sauce for Pasta
  • Creamy Pesto Sauce
  • Easy Garlic Alfredo
  • Easy Pomodoro Sauce
  • Vodka Cream Sauce
Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
This Creamy Peppercorn Sauce without brandy is easy and affordable and will elevate any meal whether it's a weeknight or date night!
Check out this recipe
angled shot of jar of creamy peppercorn sauce
Romesco Sauce
This homemade Romesco Sauce is a versatile sauce that's tomato-based with tons of bold flavor. Use this to liven up any meats or vegetables!
Check out this recipe
angled shot of romesco sauce in jar
meatball sauce with text overlay for pinterest
overhead shot of bowl of meatball sauce

Meatball Sauce

This meatball sauce recipe is a combination of traditional Italian seasonings and olive oil with a simple tomato sauce and aromatics.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: meatball sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 94kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 5-6 cloves garlic minced
  • 28 ounces plain tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 dried bay leaf

Instructions

  • In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic, sauteing for 1 additional minute.
  • Stir in the tomato sauce, sugar, basil, salt and bay leaf. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until flavors marry. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
  • Add your meatballs to the sauce and simmer for an additional hour.
  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.

Notes

Use premade meatballs or make homemade Italian meatballs.

Nutrition

Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 617mg | Potassium: 326mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 432IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nathan

    March 20, 2023 at 6:46 pm

    5 stars
    This meatball sauce is absolutely fantastic, I love being able to make a big batch to use for lots of recipes throughout the week!

    Reply
  2. Colleen

    March 20, 2023 at 7:41 pm

    5 stars
    I love this meatball sauce, it’s also great for lasagna and I am going to try it with chicken parm, too.

    Reply
  3. Mahy

    March 20, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    5 stars
    One of the best meatball sauces that I’ve seen! Fantastic recipe and great instructions 😉

    Reply
  4. Janessa

    March 20, 2023 at 8:49 pm

    5 stars
    This sauce is so easy and tasty. We used it as a dip for meatball subs and yum!

    Reply
  5. Art

    March 20, 2023 at 9:01 pm

    5 stars
    This will without a doubt, be a go-to sauce for any type of meatballs: chicken, plant-based, etc. It’s so good and I can’t wait to try it with my pasta.

    Reply

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My Sauce Recipes provides a wide array of savory and dessert sauces perfect for any level of home cook. Jessica is a cookbook author and Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School certified recipe developer. See her work in Parade Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Mashed, AllRecipes AllStars and The Daily Meal Food + Travel and more!

For all things savory, make sure to visit our sister site, SavoryExperiments.com.

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