National Spaghetti Day is January 4th; who knew?
Luckily I have the most delicious recipe to share; One Pot Triple Meat Pasta Sauce served with Rigatoni!
This robust, rich sauce has a longer list of ingredients than your basic Spaghetti Sauce, but it is so worth the extra effort. If you have an Instant Pot this is an excellent example of a recipe that normally needs to simmer low and slow for hours, but is now ready in 30 minutes. This recipe makes a large amount of sauce, so be sure to use a 6-quart or larger Dutch oven or Instant Pot when making it.
Stove Top or Instant Pot; you choose
Choose your cooking method, low and slow on the stove top, or make it in a hurry in the Instant Pot. For me, dishes that use a low and slow cooking method are perfect for converting to the Instant Pot. There are some small changes you’ll need to make to the cooking process to achieve the results you want. I’ve included full instructions in the notes on how to modify this to the Instant Pot.
This One Pot Triple Meat Sauce can be enjoyed immediately after cooking, but it tastes even better a day or two later if you’ve used the Stove Top method. Perfect for those who Meal Prep, make it on Prep day and plan to use it in a day or two. This Meat Sauce also freezes nicely for later use, so even if you are cooking for a smaller family, make the full batch and have some as a back-up in the freezer.
Tips and Tools:
Save yourself some time by crumbling up the beef and sausage with your fingers prior to browning. This will give you more consistently sized chunks of meat and is much easier than trying to break up the meat while it is browning. There are a few new tools out on the market that help with breaking up ground meats, Pampered Chef has a tool called the Mix and Chop that people swear by. If you don’t have a Pampered Chef Consultant, here are two links: Love on a Plate Pampered Chef CANADA or in the US my good friend Susan Smith can help you!
Serve this delicious Three Meat Pasta with Ciabatta Gruyere Garlic Bread and Best Ever Caesar Salad Dressing. It’s a great weeknight family meal that everyone is guaranteed to enjoy.
One Pot Triple Meat Sauce; for your Instant Pot or Stove Top
Ingredients
- 3 T. olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced
- 2 c. white mushrooms cleaned and roughly chopped
- 2 stalks celery cleaned and finely chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped
- 2 c. dry red wine divided
- 1 ¼ pound ground beef 85% lean
- 1 pound bulk sweet pork sausage
- 1 pound bulk spicy pork sausage
- 2 28 oz cans tomato puree
- 1 28 oz can petite-cut tomatoes, undrained
- 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
- 1 T. oregano dried
- 2 t. thyme dried
- 2 t. rosemary dried
- 2 T. sugar
- 3-4 ” Parmesan cheese rind
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large (6 Qt) Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to pan and cook until onions become soft and mushrooms begin to release liquids, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add celery, carrots and ½ cup wine and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
- Add crumbled beef and pork to pot and cook over medium heat until no longer pink inside. Remove from heat and carefully drain excess fat from pan.
- Return to burner and add tomato puree, petite-cut tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining red wine to Dutch oven, along with oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sugar. Stir to combine. Drop in bay leaves and Parmesan rind and give a quick stir. Cover and simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. If sauce is too thick, add a little water to achieve the desired consistency. If it is too thin, continue cooking until it reaches the thickness you prefer.
- Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately with your favorite cooked pasta and some cheesy garlic bread. Refrigerate or freeze unused portion within 2 hours.
Notes
- Set your instant pot to Saute over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to the instert and cook until onions become soft and mushrooms begin to release liquids, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add celery, carrots and ½ cup wine and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
- Add crumbled beef and pork to pot and cook over medium heat until no longer pink inside. Remove from heat and carefully drain excess fat.
- Add 1/4 cup water, remaining red wine, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sugar. Stir. Now add petite-cut tomatoes, tomato puree and tomato paste. DO NOT STIR. Drop in bay leaves and Parmesan rind
- Cancel Saute setting, click on the Pressure Cook setting, or Manual setting (depends on your specific pot), and set to high pressure for 10 minutes. Place lid on the Instant Pot and turn the steam valve to closed.
- Once the cooking time is complete, let natural release for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to quick release. Watch your hands, it's hot!
- Cancel the Pressure cooking setting, and return to Saute. If sauce is too thick, add a little water to achieve the desired consistency. If it is too thin, continue cooking until it reaches the thickness you prefer.