There’s something about a pot of red sauce bubbling away on the stove that just feels like home. The windows are fogged up, the kitchen smells like garlic and tomatoes, and everyone keeps wandering in asking, “Is it ready yet?” Sunday Sauce isn’t just dinner—it’s a whole day. It’s sneaking a meatball when nobody’s looking, tasting the sauce “just one more time,” and slicing into a loaf of bread before the pasta even hits the pot. This is the kind of old-school, family-style meal that brings everyone to the table and keeps them there long after the plates are empty. (Checkout our recipe for Easy Italian Meatballs).
The beauty of Sunday Sauce is that there are no strict rules. Use sausage, meatballs, short ribs, chicken, or whatever you have on hand. The magic happens when the meats slowly simmer in the sauce all afternoon, making everything rich, hearty, and deeply flavorful. By the time it’s done, the sauce is thick, the meat is tender, and your kitchen smells like an Italian grandmother moved in for the day.
The magic happens when the meats slowly simmer in the sauce all afternoon, making everything rich, hearty, and deeply flavorful.
How It Comes Together
- Start with a big, heavy pot—the kind that feels like it could tell a few stories. Heat some olive oil and brown your meats first. This step builds flavor, so don’t rush it. Let everything get a nice golden color, then set the meat aside while you build the sauce.
- Next comes the good stuff. Add more olive oil, toss in the onions, garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes, and let them soften and become fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute—it deepens the flavor and gives the sauce that rich, slow-cooked taste.
- Pour in the Marsala wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up all those browned bits. That’s where the flavor lives. Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, salt, and pepper, then return the browned meats to the pot. Finally, nestle the meatballs right into the sauce.
- Now comes the hardest part: waiting. Let the sauce simmer gently for a couple of hours. Stir it occasionally, sneak a taste (you have to—it’s quality control), and let time do its thing. The sauce will thicken, the meat will become fall-apart tender, and everything will come together into something truly special.
- Serve it over pasta, polenta, rice, or just in a bowl with crusty bread. There’s no wrong way.
Family-Style Serving & Entertaining Ideas
Sunday Sauce was made for gathering. Set out a big bowl of pasta, a platter of the meats, and a loaf of warm Italian bread, and let everyone serve themselves. Add a simple salad and maybe a little grated cheese on the side, and you’ve got the kind of meal people remember for years. This is perfect for slow weekends, family dinners, or when you just want the house to feel full and cozy.
The leftovers might be the best part. The sauce gets even richer overnight, making it perfect for another pasta dinner, meatball subs, or even spooned over eggs the next morning. Make extra if you can—it freezes beautifully and turns an ordinary weeknight into something special with almost no effort.
This is more than a recipe. It’s a tradition. And once you start making it, your family will ask for it again and again.
Sunday Sauce: The OG Classic
Prepare and simmer this on Saturday, for your Sunday meal or anytime! (Preparation time listed does not include time to prep meatballs.)
Ingredients
- 12 uncooked Italian-Style Meatballs
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 pound Sweet Italian sausage
- 2 cups Chopped Onions
- 2 tbsp Chopped Garlic
- 2 tsp Chopped Fresh Basil divided
- ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes divided
- 2 6 ounce Cans Tomato Paste
- 1/2 cup Marsala Cooking Wine
- 2 28 ounce Cans Crushed Tomatoes
- 5 cups Chicken or Beef Stock
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
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In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat ¼ cup of the olive oil over medium to medium high heat and brown all meat (except meatballs) about 3-4 minutes on each side . Set meat aside when done.
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Add the remaining olive oil to the pan drippings and add onions, garlic, half of basil and mint, and half of the red pepper flakes. Cook about 3 minutes or until onions are transparent scraping up all brown bits from the bottom. Add tomato paste and stir to combine.
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Lower heat and carefully deglaze pan with Marsala wine. Add canned tomatoes with their juice. Add salt and pepper and stir. Stir in the other half of the basil and mint, and pepper flakes.
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Add the cooked meat back in along with any juices collected from the platter and stir into the sauce. Carefully place the meatballs over the top and gently push them into the sauce.
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Get the heat to a medium simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour, occasionally making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
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Spoon out the meatballs and cook the sauce for an additional hour uncovered.
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Collect the fat that pools at the top and discard. Before the meat is fully cooked, add the meatballs back in.
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Serve over Gluten-Free pasta of choice with grated cheese.
Recipe Notes
Try my recipe for Easy Italian Meatballs. For Gluten-Free version serve over gluten-free pasta, zoodles, mash or rice.
