I have to admit, I used to buy every sauce packet ever made. Taco packets, gravy packets, spaghetti packets, fajita packets….. Seriously easy cooking. But, I realized that although it was convenient, it wasn’t the healthiest way to go. These packets have so much sodium and sugar! And it ‘s actually really easy to mix these spices up yourself and way cheaper! I’ve been slowly working on a mixture at a time and here’s the next one in my line up. Spaghetti! Yum! Here are some of my others if you want to try: Taco Seasoning, Enchilada Sauce, and Skinny White Gravy. I also use this mixture in my Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.
Most people have all these spices on hand so it’s easy to throw together, but if you have any of the spices fresh, use them for sure! Especially if you have fresh Basil, Garlic, or Oregano for this one. I love to use fresh basil with this in the summer when I have it in my garden.
Mix all the dry spices in a bowl and set aside while you are browning your meat.
Open the can of tomato sauce and spoon a couple of big spoon fulls into the spice mixture and mix until it’s like a paste. If you just dump the dry spices into your pan with the tomatoes, it might end up clumping, so I like to mix it all together just to make sure.
When your meat is cooked through, add in the can of diced tomatoes, the rest of the can of tomato sauce, and the spice paste and stir all together.
Bring to a simmer and let simmer a few minutes. When the sauce has thickened up a little, pour in the olive oil and turn off the heat. Now it’s ready to serve over noodles, or even zoodles!
- 1 t corn starch
- 2 t dried oregano
- 1 t sugar
- 1 t onion powder
- 1 1/2 t kosher salt
- 1 t garlic powder or 3 t minced garlic
- 1/2 t fresh ground pepper
- 2 t dried basil or 1/4 c chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 t thyme
- 1/2 t parsley
- 1.5 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 T olive oil
- Mix everything for the seasoning mix (dry spices) in a small bowl and set aside.
- Brown your ground meat in a medium sauce pan.
- Mix 1 to 2 spoonfuls of tomato sauce with dry spice mixture.
- Add can of diced tomatoes and rest of tomato sauce to the browned meat. Also add in spice mixture. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes. If sauce is too thick you can add 1/4 cup water. Add in olive oil, and turn off heat. Enjoy!
- Can be served over pasta, or zoodles, or spaghetti squash!
Great recipe! Thank you.