Trying to cut your family’s food budget? Try this Easy and Delicious Spaghetti Bolognese! Pasta dishes are a great low-cost dinner option. They are easy, cheap, and pretty kid-friendly too. But just because you are on a tight grocery budget doesn’t mean you have to eat bland, boring food. Before you break out that can of premade tomato sauce, let me show you how to make an easy and delicious spaghetti bolognese using ground beef as meat from scratch. It is so flavorful and delicious. It doesn’t seem like a budget meal at all!
If you are going to go the homemade route, I’d plan on making a big batch for jarring or freezing–it takes about an hour to make, but it’s so worth it. I promise!

Easy and Delicious Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef (minced beef)
6 cloves garlic
1 can tomato paste
2 cans passata or crushed tomatoes (tomato puree with seeds removed) - 28-ounce each can
1 cup red wine - red or white–I like red, but I’ll use whatever I have on hand
4 ounces Parmesan cheese
½ bunch parsley - or fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sometimes basil and parsley)
2 2 teaspoons salt - to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper - to taste
1 teaspoon sugar (white sugar) - to taste
Instructions
- Brown ground beef first in a large saucepan.
- Chop onion, garlic, and pepper while ground beef is cooking.
- When the beef is just about done, drain any excess grease, then toss in your chopped vegetables.
- Next, add in the wine, and reduce for a couple of minutes.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasoning.
- Simmer for 30 minutes, add your Parmesan and your herbs, then simmer for 30 more minutes.
- During the 2nd simmer, in a separate pot, boil the spaghetti for about 8 minutes with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil.
- Drain and remove from heat if you have a lot of time left on your sauce to prevent overcooking. Enjoy!