Chef John's Sunday Pasta Sauce Recipe

I have it simmering on my stove now, and it is the best sauce I've ever made and I'm an old Italian fuss. I added the ingredients Chef John puts in his Tomato Sauce recipe also on this site, i.e., 1 rib celery, 2 tea sugar, 1 tea anchovy paste, 1 tea white wine vinegar and 1/2 tea dried Italian herbs. It is so heavenly and old fashion tasting it almost brings tears to my eyes.

This was wonderful! I had a bunch of ripe Roma tomatoes from the garden, but not enough to can. So I used them in place of the canned tomatoes. Only thing I did differently is not add the water or red pepper flakes and I added a minced stock of celery with leaves. After it cooked a while, I used my hand immersion mixer for just a second, leaving a lot of tomato lumps. This was so good, I can't wait to make it again. Thanks, Chef John!

This is exactly how my husband's grandfather (from Italy) made his sauce (which they called "gravy"!)....he used a beef roast browned in the oven and added to the tomatoes, then simmered. The meat was always removed and sliced, served separately on a platter. Buon Appetito!

Very good sauce! Reminded me of the sauce my Northern Italian grandmother and my mother made with deep, rich flavors. I used whatever meat I had on hand, which included pork chops and a small sirloin. I threw in a couple browned Italian sausages toward the end. I browned the meat in the stockpot instead of the oven, though. Removed the browned meat, sweated the onions and garlic in the pot, then deglazed the pot with a little red wine before adding the tomatoes, seasonings, and water and returning the browned meat to the pot. Thank you, Chef John, for reminding me that not all sauces need to have oregano and basil.

I made this pretty my as written; with a few exceptions... I wanted to take a page out of Chef John’s tomato sauce recipe, so I caramelized some tomato paste along with the onions, and I didn’t have anchovies, so I substituted some Asian fish sauce and the ever so tiniest drop of oyster sauce to make up for the anchovies. Also, I added some chopped sweet peppers into the mix when I was sautéing the onions and they added a nice flavor and a bit more texture to the sauce. Now for the meat, the only beef I had was ground, and I didn’t want to use that, so I used four chicken thighs and some hot Italian sausage links and it was absolutely delicious. Served it up on some spaghetti noodles along side some garlic bread. Best part is that there is leftover sauce, and we all know that these kind of sauces are ALWAYS better the second day.

Love this recipe! I will use it again and again. I could not find beef shank anywhere so I used 2 lbs of beef ribs. I deglazed the pan with red wine instead of water as chef John suggested in his video. Then put everything in a slow cooker to continue cooking. It was a warm day and I did not want to heat the house. And before serving I removed the meats, took out all the bones and put the meat back in the sauce. It was pretty easy as the meats where falling off the bones.

Have been making this for years and I use a pot roast which I slice in thirds if it is a round type but if I can find it, I use a chuck blade roast as it is already flat. I also use pork chops or country style pork ribs and sometimes I add sweet Italian sausage if I have it. I brown in a dutch oven and then brown my tomato paste a bit and add my San Marzano after deglazing the pan with wine. Plenty of garlic is the key! It cooks for between 4 and 5 hours and it is sheer heaven. Nothing more soul satisfying than Sunday sauce!

JUST like my grandmother used to make -- (except she fried her paste with the onions until it turned a rich brown - AND she added a few leaves of basil - you've GOT to add the basil) :-) Thanks for the recipe!

My mother used to do something similar but with chicken only. I skipped the roasting of meats because I used some leftover shredded chuck roast instead of beef shank and used pull pork. I added no water, added a little beef broth, and used only 2 cans of crushed tomatoes. I did cooked recipe in a slow cooker and it was different compared to a spaghetti tomato sauce.

I am a pretty good cook. I had NO idea that by braising meat; I use whatever dark meat on hand; thighs with skin, ribs (pork and/or beef) that this changes the world of gravy for any pasta; lasagna, linguine, fettuccine, ziti, etc. This gravy is a life-changer for me. Now I feel like a gravy snob as I can tell when no meats/marrow have been stewed in the gravy! Make a double batch and freeze it. SO worth it.

Once again, another hit from Chef John. I couldn't find beef shank. A friend who is a local chef suggested ox tails. Couldn't find those either. Nor did I want to buy a whole package of chicken thighs, because my grocery store didn't have any loose ones at the counter. So I took Chef John's advice and improvised. I used two smoked turkey wings, about two pounds of pork riblets, and some beef short ribs. It turned out fantastic. The slow simmer and reduction really concentrates the flavors and produces a very rich dish. I added about a TBS of basil because I really like it in my tomato sauces. I love cooking things like this on a lazy Sunday. It reduced quite a bit but there was still enough for a couple of meals with my son with a lot left over. I will probably freeze the rest after we have it again tomorrow night.

Finally took the time to make Sunday Sauce. This recipe was spot on and it turned out great! I used store brand tomatoes, but will try the San Marazano's next time. Did add the sausage, as he did in the video. Glad i did, since all the rest of the meat melted in the pot.

Excellent as usual Chef John! So rich & tasty and meaty good! (I thought it better than the old spaghetti factory meat sauce and as good as our family recipe) We’re also,Italian American and my Nona or my great grandma had a similar recipe that my mom and dad would make for us kids growing up. It was an event , all day Sunday- the smells filled the house and made us crazy. ,my pop would creat meatballs as well using multiple meats , and it was as delicious as yours chef John

Bro, my kitchen skills just leveled up.

I followed everything but I didn’t add chicken , as this was just to strange for me . Excellent sauce will definitely make again

Love this spaghetti sauce.. no more jar bought sauces in this house

I didn't grow up with a Sunday Sauce cooking all day so I was interested to try it, especially with the different types of meat. I wasn't sure what to do with the meat once I took it out of the sauce, it wasn't appealing to me to add to the sauce or eat on the side but the flavor of the sauce was fantastic. It has a lot of depth of flavor and a lightness to it as well, not heavy or weighted down. Followed the exact recipe and will make again.

I made this last night and it is delicious! Tastes just like the "Sunday Gravy" my family back East used to make. I also made Chef John's meatball recipe and added it to the simmering sauce. Will definitely be making this again!

This sauce is absolutely yummy! Thank you Chef John!

DELICIOUS!! I’ve never made “Sunday Sauce” before but have always wanted to! I feel I would have made my Italian Ancestors very proud today. This recipe is easy yet complex and you reap the benefits flavor wise! My wife (somewhat picky) said it was better than anything she’s eaten at an Italian restaurant in a long time. Looking forward to playing with this recipe in the future and use different cuts of meat.