Simple Meat Sauce with Mushrooms
If you’re looking for a rich, savory sauce for pasta night, a cozy homemade meal, or an easy way to elevate your favorite dishes, this meat sauce with mushrooms is exactly what you need. It’s hearty, flavorful, and loaded with tender ground meat, umami-packed mushrooms, and a perfectly balanced tomato base. If you love a good sauce, try our 3 ingredient mushroom alfredo sauce, our easy marinara recipe or basic meat sauce with pasta.
I think meat sauce with mushrooms is underrated. It’s a sauce I’ve been making for many years, and I’ve found more than a few creative ways to eat it.
As a pasta sauce? That’s a given. On a soft roll as a sloppy joe? Yum. How about taco stuffing? Yes, please. It is SO. GOOD. eaten this way.
Then there is vetkoek, a very traditional South African dish where dough is fried into small bread buns then stuffed with meat sauce. My mom claims she grew up eating it as a child, but we never ate it at home since my parents had become a little more health-conscious by then.
Another South African option would be to eat it on polenta, or pap if you’re in South Africa – which is cornmeal and water. Pap’s traditional topping is a tomato curry, but this meat sauce works deliciously, too.
For an easy weeknight dinner, I love just stuffing this sauce into some store-bought crunchy tacos (Siete brand all the way!).
Why You’ll Love This Sauce
- Bold flavor in only 30 minutes: The combination of meat, mushrooms, and tomatoes creates an incredibly rich taste in a short amount of time.
- Great for meal prep: This sauce only gets better as it sits, making it perfect for leftovers to use throughout the week to make dinner even quicker.
- Versatile: As mentioned above, meat sauce with mushrooms can be served many ways, from pasta and bread to polenta and tacos.
Ingredients for Meat Sauce with Mushrooms
- Beef: If you have Italian sausage on hand, feel free to mix it with the ground beef into an amount of about 1 pound. If you don’t, ground beef alone still works great.
- Mushrooms: Cremini or baby bella mushrooms add a deep, earthy taste that takes this sauce to the next level, but any type of standard grocery-store mushroom should be fine.
- Crushed Tomatoes: You can add a spoon of tomato paste in addition to crushed tomatoes if desired, but it’s not necessary.
- Herbs: Dry oregano or Italian seasoning works great. If you have fresh herbs, even better! Fresh basil, oregano, or thyme all work beautifully.
- Optional Red Wine: Add a splash (1/4 cup) for extra flavor and depth. The alcohol cooks off.
- Optional Crushed Red Pepper: Adds a slight heat, but you can skip it if you prefer a milder sauce.
Substitutes & Additions
- Meat Variations: Swap beef for ground turkey, pork or lamb.
- Extra Vegetables: Diced carrots, peas and/or spinach work as additions.
- Different Mushrooms: Porcini mushrooms add even more umami if you’re feeling fancy.
Serving Suggestions
- Pasta: Classic choice, especially with tagliatelle, pappardelle, or rigatoni.
- Garlic Bread: Perfect for scooping up every last bit of sauce.
- Parmesan or Pecorino – A generous sprinkle on top adds the perfect finishing touch.
No matter how you choose to serve your meat sauce with mushrooms, adding cheese is always a good idea! A generous sprinkle of parmesan or pecorino would be traditional.
I like freshly grated cheddar (slightly sharp) whether I’m eating this sauce on pasta or tacos or bread.
How To Make Meat Sauce With Mushrooms
Storing & Reheating
- In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Tastes better day 2!
- In the freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight before reheating.
- Reheating: Warm on the stove over medium heat, adding a splash of water or broth if it has thickened too much.
Love A Pasta Sauce With Mushrooms?
You won’t believe this delicious mushroom alfredo sauce is only 3 ingredients! It is so creamy and flavorful, and goes deliciously on a variety of main courses from pasta to steak to pork tenderloin. Bonus for the lactose intolerant – it’s completely nondairy.
Meat Sauce With Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbs oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 10 oz mushrooms a little more or less is fine
Instructions
- Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. While oil is heating, chop the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms and mince the garlic. Add the onion, pepper and mushrooms and cook for 3–5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and cook about 30 seconds, watching not to burn it.
- Add ground beef to the pan, breaking it into small pieces with a spoon or spatula. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Cook until browned and no pink remains.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This allows the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken.
- Adjust salt and pepper as needed.
