Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

Got tomatoes? Lucky you! May I have some?  Usually by this time of year I have basketsful of tomatoes. Unfortunately a cool Spring coupled with a heavy work load prevented me from getting my tomato plants in the ground until the middle of June. Sooo…here I sit wishing that the tomatoes in that beautiful sauce were from my own garden. Sigh.

No matter. I found some lovely cans of fire roasted tomatoes at the grocery store and I must say, they were pretty impressive.

We started roasting our garden tomatoes and making our own pasta sauce a couple of years ago and have become mildly, okay moderately…okay, wildly addicted to it. I had a mini panic attack when I was faced with the dilemma of not having my homemade sauce available this year (because, duh, I didn’t plant my margherita tomatoes–long story), but good news, the sauce I made with the store-bought canned tomatoes is very agreeable indeed. (“Very agreeable indeed” – sounds like it is from Pride and Prejudice. And I find that the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice with Collin Firth as Mr. Darcy is most agreeable.)

You will see that in addition to the fresh onion and garlic, I also use onion and garlic powders. I have found that the combination of the fresh ingredients and the two granulated/powder ingredients makes for a richer flavor in the sauce.

If you wish, you can also use fresh herbs INSTEAD of the dried herbs. You need approximately 3 times as much fresh herbs as you do dried herbs.  The measurements for the fresh herbs would be: 1 tablespoon basil, 1 tablespoon oregano, 3 tablespoons parsley.

This sauce is very easy to put together and it only cooks for about 30 minutes.

Print Recipe

Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

This is an all-time favorite spaghetti sauce, taken to the next level with Italian sausage and fire roasted tomatoes. Feed this one to the serious spaghetti eaters in your life.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 -6

Author: Terri @ that’s some good cookin’

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2-3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• red pepper flakes, optional
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 pound spaghetti noodles

Instructions

• Cook the sausage, onion, and garlic together in a deep frying pan or a saucepan. If you choose to use red pepper flakes, add them while cooking the sausage. (I add just a light sprinkle.) Drain fat.
• Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring as needed.
• While the sauce is simmering prepare the spaghetti noodles according to package directions.
• Top the pasta with the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

• If you wish, you can also use fresh herbs INSTEAD of the dried herbs. You need approximately 3 times as much fresh herbs as you do dried herbs.  The measurements for the fresh herbs would be: 1 tablespoon basil, 1 tablespoon oregano, 3 tablespoons parsley.
• This sauce is very easy to put together and it only cooks for about 30 minutes.