• Home
    • Recipes
      • Recipe Index
      • How-To & Cooking Tutorials
      • Popular Recipes
    • Meal Plans
      • Weekly Meal Plans
      • Freezer Meal Plans
      • The ORIGINAL 20 Meals for $150 Plans
    • Classes
      • Grocery Savings 101 Workshop
      • Freezer Cooking 101 Workshop
      • Meal Planning 101 Workshop
      • Whis-Kid Cooking Lessons
      • Instant Pot Cooking 101 Course
      • My Efficient Kitchen Course
    • Store
    • Blog
    • Contact
      • About
      • Press
    • Login

    $5 Dinners | Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals

    Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals and Cooking Tutorials for the Busy Home Chef

    Join Erin's 5-Ingredient Challenge in 2023

    Chunky Spaghetti Sauce

    August 22, 2011 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 26 Comments

    111 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Sign up to receive FREE weekly emails with recipes, coupons and other money saving tips right into your inbox. Become a friend on Facebook too AND/OR join the $5 Meal Plan Family and get meal plans delivered to you each week!

    chunky-spaghetti-sauce

    When I first learned that Ryan did indeed have an allergy to dairy (after having suspected it for many months), I really started scouring labels. I knew for the most part what did and didn’t have dairy or milk, but it can very sneaky and often finds it’s way into a wide variety of processed foods. One of the items I quickly discovered that contained milk or cheese was jarred spaghetti sauce. There were/are a few that don’t have milk or dairy, but none that I liked!

    So I had to start making my own. Not a big deal at all.

    I quickly figured out that crushed tomatoes make the best spaghetti sauce with the right mix of garlic, onion, spices and pinch of sugar.

    The boys have been so patient with me over these last few months trying new meal after new meal as I tested recipes for the One Dish Dinners cookbook. I ditched the meal plan last week and decided to make them one of their favorites…spaghetti.

    But as I went to get the crushed tomatoes, there were none. No tomato sauce left either. Not even tomato paste.

    *ruh roh*

    I did, however, have plenty of diced tomatoes.

    So I had to make do with what I had…and this was the result.

    (We thought it was excellent for being an improv sauce, made on the fly!)

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Recipe Saved!

    Erin’s Chunky Spaghetti Sauce

    Does it get any better than homemade sauce?! Nope!
    Prep Time5 minutes
    Cook Time20 minutes
    Servings - 4 servings

    Ingredients 

    • 1 lb. ground beef
    • 1 Tbsp minced onion
    • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
    • 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
    • 2 tsp Italian seasoning
    • 1 tsp sweetener (I used honey while on my no sugar challenge)
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Pinchful of fresh herbs (garden)
    • Shredded or grated parmesan, couple pinchfuls

    Instructions

    • In a large skillet or saute pan, brown the ground beef with the minced onion and garlic. Drain and return to skillet.
    • Ad the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, sweetener, salt and pepper. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes.
    • Garnish with fresh chopped herbs and Parmesan cheese.
    • Serve my Chunky Spaghetti Sauce over noodles with side salad or spinach. Or corn. Or whatever.

    See more $5 Dinners Popular Recipes here

    111 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Filed Under: Beef Recipes, Budget Friendly Recipes, Feature, Freezer Recipes and Freezer Meal Plans, Homemade Recipes, One Dish Dinners Recipes, Pasta Recipes Tagged With: popular recipes

    These meals are a LIFESAVER!

    Want a set of our best selling freezer meal bag holders?! You can now order them right here!

    Comments

    1. Amanda says

      August 22, 2011 at 6:52 pm

      i always use diced tomatoes. I like to store the smallest number of ingredients. Diced works best for curries, etc. Anyway, you could try blitzing diced toms in a food processor. It’s a really good idea for picky eaters who might not want to see tomatoes in their sauce. The Splendid Table recommends chopping your ingredients together to meld the flavors better, so I add onion and garlic to my tomatoes before I start the food processor.

      Reply
    2. Lisa Hodnett says

      August 22, 2011 at 7:16 pm

      We have milk, egg and fish allergies here so your posts are so appreciated!!

      Reply
    3. [email protected] says

      August 22, 2011 at 8:19 pm

      Thanks for hosting Erin! Linking up the new blog tonight 🙂
      [email protected]

      Reply
      • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

        August 25, 2011 at 8:33 pm

        Yeah for the new blog…Luigi (right?!) is adorable!!!

        Reply
    4. Allison says

      August 22, 2011 at 11:12 pm

      I saw in your post tonight that Ryan has a dairy allergy. I wanted to let you know about Daiya cheese. It is completely dairy free/soy free/gluten free. I have a dairy allergy and this has opened up so many recipe options for me. It comes in three flavors and melts nicely. The only downside is that it isn’t super cheap, but it is worth every penny. I can find it at Kroger (in the Nature section) and at Whole Foods. Hope this helps.

      Reply
      • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

        August 23, 2011 at 12:04 pm

        Thanks Allison. We do get the Daiya cheese on occasion! But for the most part, we avoid it!

        Erin

        Reply
    5. Sarah says

      August 23, 2011 at 11:07 am

      I always used diced tomatoes in my sauce. I like to use the petite diced the best and then add some dried basil, oregano, garlic, garlic powder and some parm cheese and pinch of sugar. I never measure out, just taste test as I go. Sometimes I will thicken it with some tomato paste if I have it on hand.

      Reply
    6. mary w says

      August 23, 2011 at 12:01 pm

      It’s funny. So many people add sugar to their sause while I never do. Next time try without any sweetner.

      Reply
    7. Carin says

      August 23, 2011 at 1:46 pm

      I make sauce similar this, I love it and my husband does too! When you start making your own sauce, it’s really hard to go back! It’s also fun to experiment with flavors. I love to put in diced carrots, a little bit of red pepper flakes (not much). I also add some sugar to calm down the acidity of the tomatoes.

      In the winter I used the canned, diced tomatoes. In the summer, I used garden fresh tomatoes! YUM!! I diced up one roughly and then put another one in the little food chopper to get a bit of a puree thing going on. It’s awesome!

      Reply
    8. Laurie @Passionate Penny Pincher says

      August 23, 2011 at 1:55 pm

      I thought I was the only one who added sugar to my sauce – I just made some this weekend with tomatoes from our garden and it was delicious!

      Reply
    9. Karen Smith says

      August 24, 2011 at 10:43 am

      The reason why sugar is added to the tomato based recipes is to cut the acidity. The small amount of sugar does not really add to the flavor. It more or less just balances the acids. You could make it without the sugar but people who have sensitive stomachs may not appreciate the effects later on.

      Reply
    10. Wanda says

      September 16, 2011 at 9:57 am

      Made this last night and it was “SO GOOD”. The hub and daughter were commenting on how good is smelled, I did however add a little ketchup and wocestershire sauce. I will never by spaghetti sauce again.

      Reply
    11. Chris says

      January 7, 2013 at 7:13 pm

      I don’t know where you live, but a pound of ground beef (even if I buy bulk) is closer to $2.50 a lb.

      Reply
    12. Barbara says

      July 20, 2013 at 12:52 pm

      Uh… The recipe sounds tasty, but tell me where in America you can buy quality ground beef that actually has some BEEF in it for $1.49 a pound and I’ll stand on my head for you. Even ground round is double that.

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 3, 2014 at 8:44 am

        The recipes are from 2010 and prices have gone up considerably since then, especially on beef.

        Reply
    13. Alisha says

      August 17, 2014 at 4:57 am

      Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favourite reason appeared to be on the internet
      the easiest thing to be mindful of. I say to you, I definitely get irked at
      the same time as other folks consider issues that they just do not know about.

      You managed to hit the nail upon the highest as neatly as defined
      out the entire thing with no need side-effects , folks can take a signal.

      Will probably be again to get more. Thanks

      Reply
    14. D3DCompiler_43.dll says

      August 18, 2014 at 12:57 am

      Definitely consider that which you stated. Your favorite
      reason seemed to be on the web the easiest factor to consider
      of. I say to you, I certainly get irked even as
      other folks think about issues that they just do not understand about.
      You managed to hit the nail upon the highest and defined out the entire thing
      with no need side-effects , other folks can take a signal.
      Will likely be again to get more. Thank you

      Reply
    15. energia solarna says

      August 29, 2014 at 9:24 am

      Thanks a lot for sharing this with all folks you actually understand
      what you’re talking approximately! Bookmarked.
      Please also talk over with my site =). We
      will have a hyperlink trade contract between us

      Reply
    16. Chunky Spaghetti Sauce Recipe says

      August 29, 2014 at 11:17 pm

      Hi this is kinnda off off topic but I was wantijg to know if
      blpogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually
      code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have
      no coding knowledge so I wanted to get advice from someone wityh experience.
      Any help would be greatly appreciated!

      Reply
    17. keepandshare.com says

      August 30, 2014 at 5:40 am

      Awesome website, really been scouting forever and a day for ideas on the
      best rattan furniture pieces for our home and in our back garden. This website seriously
      helpedgreat blog some great info here

      Reply
    18. Chunky Spaghetti Sauce Recipe says

      August 30, 2014 at 1:10 pm

      Hi there, I enjy reading all of your article post. I wanted to
      write a little comment to support you.

      Reply
    19. http://dev.mir4you.ru/content/finding-home-loan-loans-poor-credit says

      September 3, 2014 at 8:11 am

      Howdy would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using?

      I’m looling to start my own blog soon but I’m haaving
      a hard time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
      The reason I ask is because your layout ssems different then most blogs
      and I’m loking for something unique. P.S Apologies
      for being off-topic but I had to ask!

      Reply
    20. SandraAnn Clark says

      October 2, 2014 at 8:09 pm

      Erin, here in TX a pound of ground beef runs about 3.88 and that’s the cheap stuff. Any suggestions?

      Reply
    21. todd bentley new bern says

      March 17, 2015 at 10:15 am

      Hey there, You’ve done an incredible job. I’ll certainly digg it and
      personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from
      this web site.

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Easy BLT Pie says:
      August 22, 2011 at 8:18 pm

      […] Linking to…Weekend Wrapup Party, Delicious Dishes, $5 Dinner Challenge […]

      Reply
    2. Zucchini and Feta | Modern Gal says:
      August 22, 2011 at 8:41 pm

      […] at $5 Dinners and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday // August 22nd, 2011 in Food, […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    I’m Erin Chase…

    Also known as the
    $5 Dinner Mom.

    I have a little problem. I cannot make a meal that costs more than $5.
    It’s a fun challenge,
    and my pocketbook
    thanks me.
    Want to join me?

    Learn more here!

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Search $5 Dinners

    Favorite Meal Planning & Cooking Resources

    Whis-Kid Cooking Lessons Grocery Budget Makeover My Freezeasy Erin Chase Store 5DD Freebie Library 20 Meals for $150 Plans

    © 2023 5 Dollar Dinners | Disclosure Policy | Copyright Information | Terms of Service/Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Design & Tech Support by Klong Designs



    Copyright © 2023 · 5 Dollar Dinners Genesis Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in