6/4/18

4 Frieda's Thick & Easy Spaghetti Sauce - Pressure Cook & Stove Top

Image courtesy of Regina Coker, using Frieda's Spaghetti Sauce recipe

Make your kitchen smell like an Italian restaurant with this thick, rich, & meaty spaghetti sauce!  Typically, spaghetti sauce is simmered for at least 90 minutes to blend and concentrate all the flavors for a thick sauce. Use your pressure cooker to get this same flavor in 30 minutes, start to finish! This spaghetti sauce is filled with robust flavors and could not be any easier to make! This sauce is perfect for lasagne, manicotti, or simply over your favorite pasta.

One of the most important things to remember when pressure cooking, is that your food needs enough water or thin liquid to create enough steam to bring it up to pressure. Tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, etc. will cook and burn on the bottom of your pot. Some examples of thin liquids are:

  • water
  • broth
  • juice
  • beer
  • wine 
Using thickeners such as cream, flour, or cornstarch is not recommended during pressure cooking and should be added after cooking.

Here's my secret for getting a thin liquid for your spaghetti sauce. Use whole or diced tomatoes and pour them into a strainer, set over another bowl. After a few minutes, this will give you a the thin liquid needed to build pressure in your cooker!

I used Cento Chef's Cut tomatoes that are cut into thin strips. San Marzano tomatoes are supposedly the standard for taste, but you may be surprised to find these 5 canned tomatoes to be top picks. You should have about 1 cup reserved juice. If there's too much, reduce the amount of juice to 1 cup.



The next step is to build flavor. This is done by cooking lean ground beef and Italian sausage on the saute/browning setting. Choose extra lean ground beef, so you won't have to mop up any leftover grease. You can omit the sausage, but it adds a wonderful flavor to the sauce. I used mild, but you most certainly can use a hot Italian sausage. 

I love using this chop/stirrer! It chops the meat quickly and doesn't leave any big chunks behind.



Sweet Vidalia onions add flavor and balance out some of the acidity of the tomatoes. Stir and saute for a couple of minutes to soften. 


This is the best time to add your spices: basil, oregano and Italian seasoning. The heat "blooms" the spices, making them more fragrant and adding flavor to your sauce. 


After blooming your spices, add the garlic next. I freeze my garlic and use this wonderful garlic press for easy clean up. Stir the garlic in and turn the pressure cooker off. 


Here's another great tip. Use Worcestershire sauce. This is a sauce that is fermented vinegar based condiment that will add the umami taste to any beef dish. Umami is Japanese for "pleasant savory taste" and boosts the earthy meaty taste of any beef dish. 


Pour this tomato juice mixture and stir it into your cooked and seasoned meat, making sure there are no cooked on bits (also called "fond") stuck on the bottom of your pot. This is known as "deglazing" and helps your pot come to pressure properly.



Next are the layering steps, where you pour in your sauce, strained tomatoes, and tomato paste onto the center of your meat. 

It is critically important that you do not stir at this point. We want the thin liquid to come up around the sides of the pot, create steam, and help your cooker come to pressure. 


Bay leaves. Give it a try - It will give a complex, tea-like aroma/flavor and acts like a subtle background to your sauce. Since they need to be removed from the sauce before eating, I put them right on top. I use bay leaves in my Split Pea Soup, Irish Stew, Chicken Stock, and our family favorite Sunday Pot Roast recipe.


Pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. At the end of 5 minutes, use a Quick Release and open the pressure valve.

Let's take a look and see in this video...


First, the smell is AMAZING!  One taste, and I got rave reviews from every member of the family. Hubby likes extra spice, so he sprinkled some red pepper flakes on his serving.

I used some of this awesome sauce to make this super easy, one pot Lazy Lasagne in my pressure cooker - it only took 5 minute of prep and was ready for the table 15 minutes later. 

I hope you will give this recipe a try, tweak it to your liking and enjoy it with your family! 



print recipe

Thick & Easy Spaghetti Sauce - Pressure Cook
Typically, spaghetti sauce is simmered for at least 90 minutes to blend and concentrate all the flavors for a thick sauce. Use your pressure cooker to get this same flavor in 30 minutes, start to finish! This spaghetti sauce is filled with robust flavors and could not be any easier to make. This sauce is perfect for lasagne, manicotti, or simply over your favorite pasta.
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground beef, 90% extra lean
  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage (choose either mild or hot)
  • 1 cup diced onion (I used a medium Vidalia onion)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning 
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if using sausage)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, strained and juice set aside
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 cups of tomato sauce (two 16 oz cans)
  • 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves - remove at end of cooking
  • Parmesan cheese, grated
  • Optional: red pepper flakes, 8 oz sautéed mushrooms
Instructions
1. Select Saute or browning setting. Brown ground beef and sausage, breaking it into smaller pieces with a spatula while cooking.2. Add chopped onion, stir and cook till softened, about 3-4 minutes.3. Add oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and stir till fragrant, about 2 minutes.4. Stir in minced garlic, sugar and cook for about 1 minute. 5. Add the Worcestershire sauce to the reserved liquid tomato juice (from straining the diced tomatoes) and stir into your seasoned meat.6. Turn the pressure cooker OFF. 7. Pour your tomato sauce & drained tomatoes in the center and on top of the meat. Do not stir! Put the tomato paste and bay leaves on top of the sauce. 8. Cover the pressure cooker, lock the lid, and select HIGH pressure for 5 minutes. 9. At the end of cook time, open the pressure valve for a quick release. 10. Open the cooker, remove the bay leaves, stir and serve hot with your favorite pasta. Generously put shredded Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!
Details
Prep time: 15Cook time: 5Total time: Yield: 8 cups or 6-8 servings








print recipe

Thick & Easy Spaghetti Sauce - Stove Top
Spaghetti sauce is simmered for at least 90 minutes to blend and concentrate all the flavors for a thick sauce. Filled with robust flavors, this sauce is perfect for lasagne, manicotti, or simply over your favorite pasta, and could not be any easier to make. 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground beef, 90% extra lean
  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage (choose either mild or hot)
  • 1 cup diced onion (I used a medium Vidalia onion)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning 
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if using sausage)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 cups of tomato sauce (two 16 oz cans)
  • 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves - remove at end of cooking
  • Parmesan cheese, grated
  • Optional: red pepper flakes, 8 oz sautéed mushrooms
Instructions
1. In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat,brown ground beef and sausage, breaking it into smaller pieces with a spatula while cooking.2. Add chopped onion, stir and cook till softened, about 3-4 minutes.3. Add oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and stir till fragrant, about 2 minutes.4. Stir in minced garlic, sugar and cook for about 1 minute. 5. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir into your seasoned meat.6. Pour in diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.7. Reduce heat to simmer and add bay leaves. 8. Cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. 9. Serve hot, generously sprinkled with shredded Parmesan cheese over your favorite pasta. Enjoy! 
Details
Prep time: 15Cook time: 90Total time: Yield: 8 cups or 6-8 servings

4 comments:

  1. The best spaghetti sauce ever. Once I tried this recipe I never did any other. Have been using it for a year now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind review. I'm glad you are enjoying my spaghetti sauce recipe! I like to freeze it and have it on hand for my Lazy Lasagne recipe. :-)

      Delete
  2. This is the only sauce recipe I use. And I always have enough to send some home with my granddaughter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am thrilled that you are enjoying my spaghetti sauce recipe! I am sure your granddaughter, is, too. :-)

      Delete

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