Spaghetti Meat Sauce is an easy and tasty recipe that‘s served over pasta in homes and restaurants all across Japan. Combining ground beef and pork for a Japanese twist, this homemade sauce on spaghetti was one of my favorite dishes growing up!
What was your favorite food growing up? You would think mine is Japanese but it’s actually not, but it sort of is.
Japanese-style Spaghetti Meat Sauce was my favorite food since childhood and I always “had to” order it whenever we went to a Western-style restaurant in Japan. I would even describe myself as a spaghetti meat sauce connoisseur since I’ve eaten it so many times!
Anyhow, I may not qualify as an official expert, but at least I know exactly what kind of meat sauce I like. In fact, I have many different Meat Sauce recipes because I am always finding ways to improve my recipe. So far, this recipe is my favorite “Japanese style” meat sauce that I came up.
One big difference with Japanese meat sauce vs. the American version is the Japanese often use both ground beef and pork and I really like using both types of ground meat. You can get a package of ground beef and pork combined (see a picture below) in Japanese supermarkets and it’s very convenient (a little pricey but the quality of meat is excellent).
My kids love this meat sauce with short pasta but I still love Spaghetti Meat Sauce and I don’t even mind boiling spaghetti separately just for myself! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
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Spaghetti Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef
- ¼ lb ground pork
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 1 bay leaf (cut in half)
- 1 onion (minced)
- 1 carrot (minced)
- 1 rib celery (minced)
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 can whole tomato (28 oz, 794 g, including juices)
- 2 cups vegetable stock/broth
- 8 button mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For Serving
- parsley (finely chopped, for garnish)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese (grated)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a large skillet, heat 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil on medium heat and cook 2 cloves garlic (sliced) and 1 bay leaf (cut in half) until fragrant.
- Add 1 onion (minced), 1 carrot (minced), and 1 rib celery (minced). Sauté until golden brown.
- Add ½ lb ground beef and ¼ lb ground pork. Break into pieces with wooden spoon.
- Add 1 cup red wine and let it simmer until the alcohol is evaporated (no longer a strong wine smell).
- Add 1 can whole tomato and break up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add 2 cups vegetable stock/broth and 8 button mushrooms (sliced).
- Using a fine-mesh strainer, skim off the scum and foam on the surface. This process is important to achieve a refined taste. Prepare a bowl or measuring cup filled with water to clean the sieve as you skim.
- Cook the sauce, uncovered, on medium-low heat until the liquid is almost evaporated, about for 1 hour. Stir once in a while to make sure the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the skillet. When you can draw a line on the bottom of the pan with a spatula, it‘s done. Toward the end of cooking, boil a pot of water and cook the spaghetti (or pasta of your choice).
- Add 2 Tbsp unsalted butter and stir to combine. Season the sauce with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (make sure you taste it. Don‘t be shy on salt as you will serve the sauce with pasta). Serve the meat sauce on spaghetti and garnish with chopped parsley. Top the dish with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese at the table. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
I made this last week and even my daughter (who doesn’t ever want to eat anything with tomato) ate it! 🙂 Thank you for this recipe, Nami!
I want to know if this can be frozen for a quick meal another day? At which stage and how long is it good for and how to reheat it? Thanks!!
Hi Juliana! I’m so happy to hear that your daughter could eat it! 🙂 1) Yes, you can freeze it. 2) Finish cooking, let cool completely, and store in the airtight container and freeze. 2) I usually defrost overnight in the fridge, then transfer and reheat in the pot.
Thanks Nami. Your recipes have become my go-to when I plan our family’s weekly meals.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for your kind words, Juliana! xoxo
Wonderful! Video please ^^
Hi Liji!
I have a video for pressure cooker recipe version: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-spaghetti-bolognese/
This is marvellous! My Japanese father used to cook this very often in my childhood. In his version, he added still a pinch of sugar and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. It was delightful! Thanks for posting this delicious recipes. Childhood memories returned ^.^ Best regards, Yuki
Hi Yuki! I’m so happy to hear your childhood food memories returned. 🙂 I love your dad’s Worcestershire sauce + sugar addition! Thank you for writing. xo
her ratio is also 1:1… you’re just using more.
Hi Nami! Am I able to double this recipe if I want to cook more than 3-4 servings? Should I cook the meat in batches?
Hi Kim! If your pot is big enough, you don’t have to make in batches. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Is that not what is usually called spaghetti bolognese?
Hi Steven! In Japan, we say both Spaghetti Meat Sauce (ミートソース) and Bolognese (ボロネーゼ).
Thanks for posting this, I’ve tried this recipe and several others on this site and I didn’t know I was capable of making such delicious dishes, lol! Is there any specific type of red wine you would recommend for this dish?
Hi Jesse! Ahahahaha! Your words are too kind, thank you so much! Honestly I don’t have any specific wine – I usually use the leftover wine that we have in the house (so it’s decent one). If you don’t drink wine too much, I suggest to get your favorite (cheap) wine for cooking. 🙂
Hi Nami,
If I want to cook this meat sauce by pressure cooker, what ingredients should be adjusted?
Hi Winnie! I haven’t tried it with pressure cooker yet, but keep in mind that there is no evaporation during pressure cooking. Therefore, you won’t require much stock compared to when you cook in a pot. In another word, if you try cooking this recipe with a pressure cooker, the sauce will taste weak, because the water didn’t evaporate enough. I’m guessing… but at least you should cut down 1/2 of liquid that goes in there… but I haven’t tested, so not sure how the overall taste will be like… Let us know if you try!
Thank you for this recipe! I used to use the powder mix from the store but this is so much healthier and tastier! <3 I make this at least once a month now! My family loves it. 😉
Hi Jackie! Aww I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you! This is my favorite too. I’m glad you and your family liked it. 🙂
Hi..can I use a beef or pork broth instead of vegetable broth? Thank you!
Hi Louisa! Sure! I’d like beef broth better for this recipe. 🙂
The best way is adding a teaspoonful of Bovril and a section of recycled mountain ham bone.
I was looking for a recipe similar to Goemon Pasta Restaurant in Japan that I had the Bolognese meat sauce, and yours tastes very close to it. Followed your recipe exactly, it’s flavorful and I love that’s it such an easy recipe. Thank you for the deliciousness!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! I love Goemon too and wish that we have Wafu pasta restaurants here haha. 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment!
I dont used the BUTTERS because its not healthy. I prefer HEALTHFUL so I minus it and and I used dry basil instead of bay leaf and it works. Delicious and I cook it again — twice. 🙂 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Hi nami, which Le cruset pot are you using in this recipe (name/measurements)?
Hi Annie!
Here’s the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076NOSOS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0076NOSOS&linkCode=as2&tag=jusonecoo-20
Hope this helps. 🙂
I’m cooking this right now. I lived in Japan for a few years while I was in the U.S. Navy, and I’ve been trying to mimic the awesome Japanese style spaghetti sauce since I’ve been back in the U.S.! I will have to let you know how it turns out later, but I must say this site is great! Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes! Japanese culture and cuisine is SO much more than American sushi bars want us to think haha! 🙂
Hi Kate! I hope you enjoyed this dish. It’s one of my favorite dishes and I always get cravings when I hear or see someone making it (like right now!). 🙂 I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay in Japan and that you continue to enjoy the Japanese food/culture. 🙂
hey Nami,
I am a silent reader of your blog and have tried many recipes! and I haven’t been disappointed yet! 😀 I am dying to try this recipe and was wondering if you can tell me what I can substitute red wine with as I don’t have wine or alcohol in my diet. thank you 🙂 eagerly waiting for your reply!
Hi Sid! If you don’t take alcohol, don’t worry about the wine. The flavor will lack bold flavor a little bit but with all the vegetables and the ground meat, it’s still flavorful. 🙂 I’m very happy to hear you have cooked many dishes from my blog and you enjoyed them. Thank you so much for your feedback. You made my day! 🙂