
How To Make Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce
This easy-to-make penne pasta dish is delightfully bursting with flavor with its tasty meat sauce made with chunky tomato sauce, ground beef, and spices.
Serves:
Ingredients
- ½lbpenne pasta
- 2tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- 2cupsonion,(from about 1 large onion) chopped
- 2clovesgarlic,chopped
- 1tspItalian seasoning,(blend of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and savory)
- dashred pepper flakes
- ½tspfresh thyme,or a pinch of dried thyme
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1lbground beef,(16% fat)
- 3fresh basil leaves,chopped (or a ½ tsp of dried basil leaves)
- 2½cupschunky tomato sauce,(almost 1 28 oz can), such as Muir glen brand if available, canned
- 1tspsugar
- 1tbspfresh parsley,chopped
Instructions
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Heat to boiling a large pot with 4-quarts of water in it.
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Once the water is boiling, add 2 tablespoons of salt. Once the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot.
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Leave uncovered, let cook on high heat with a vigorous boil.
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Put the timer on for 8 to 10 minutes, or whatever the pasta package says is appropriate for al dente (cooked but still a little firm).
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Drain.
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Once started to heat the water, start working on the sauce.
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Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
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Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are softened.
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Add the garlic, fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper.
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Cook for an additional 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
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Remove from heat and set aside.
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Heat a large cast-iron pan on high heat. Salt the bottom of the pan generously.
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Once the pan is hot, break up small chunks of ground beef and add them to the pan, without stirring. (Do not crowd the pan. Work in batches if needed).
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If the pan is too hot and the meat is burning, not browning, take the pan off the heat for a little, and reduce the heat to medium-high.
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Once the meat is browned on 1 side after a couple of minutes, use a metal spatula to flip the meat over to brown on the other side.
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At this point, assuming a cast-iron pan is used, remove the pan from the heat. The residual heat in the pan will finish cooking the meat.
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Use a slotted spoon to lift the meat from the cast iron pan and add it to the pan with the seasoned onions.
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Add the tomato sauce. Use the edge of your metal spatula to break up the bigger chunks of meat into smaller pieces.
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Add the basil. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
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Bring to a simmer on low heat, let cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
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Once the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, adjust the seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Add a little more sugar if the sauce is too acidic. Add more tomato sauce if the sauce is a little dry.
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Stir in the cooked penne pasta.
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Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
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Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Use rice pasta for a gluten-free version.
Nutrition
- Calories:Ā 637.44kcal
- Fat:Ā 30.90g
- Saturated Fat:Ā 9.81g
- Trans Fat:Ā 1.34g
- Monounsaturated Fat:Ā 15.15g
- Polyunsaturated Fat:Ā 1.84g
- Carbohydrates:Ā 60.53g
- Fiber:Ā 5.96g
- Sugar:Ā 11.44g
- Protein:Ā 29.87g
- Cholesterol:Ā 80.51mg
- Sodium:Ā 966.10mg
- Calcium:Ā 87.66mg
- Potassium:Ā 1035.86mg
- Iron:Ā 5.16mg
- Vitamin A: 44.26µg
- Vitamin C:Ā 18.72mg
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