Every Italian family has a “secret” recipe for Italian meat sauce. The ingredients vary depending on where in Italian the family is from, and what family members like and dislike. Our family isn’t Italian, but was lucky enough to obtain a great recipe from a friend of one of my sisters. The following Authentic Italian Meat Sauce is full of ground pork and sausage; it can be used in any recipe calling for meat sauce and since it makes a lot, can be frozen in recipe-size portions to use as needed. Although it does take some time to make, most of the time is not hands-on time. The base for this delicious sauce is the versatile Italian Marinara Sauce Module which should conveniently be in the freezer; if not, it can be made easily either on the stove or in several slow cookers unattended. No matter how little time there is to get dinner on the table, this sauce will insure that dozens of dishes can be done in less than 30 minutes.



The possibilities for using this sauce are endless! Once made, canned sauce will be a thing of the past since no commercial brand can stand up to this superior homemade sauce. If your family has a “secret” Italian sauce recipe, feel free to substitute your favorite ingredients to make it yours. You’ll love the convenience of having sauce in the freezer to make dozens of favorite dishes.


About 24 Servings

2 pounds pork bones, (I use un-smoked pork neck bones)

12 cups Italian Marinara Sauce from the Italian Marinara Module
2 cups water

1 pound ground pork
1 pound Italian sausage

1. Place the pork bones on a broiler pan and broil on all sides until brown.


2. Transfer the bones to a large Dutch oven or soup pot.


3. Add the marinara sauce and water; stir.


4. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover, and let simmer 2 hours.


5. Remove from the heat and let cool; chill overnight or up to 3 days.


6. Remove the bones from the sauce.


7. Pick any meat from the bones and add it to the sauce; this is much easier if the bones are microwaved 3 or 4 minutes to heat them slightly.


8. Brown the ground pork and sausage, breaking up the meat until fine.


9. When the meat is cooked through, drain thoroughly and add it to the marinara mixture.


10. Bring the sauce to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and let cook about 30 minutes.


11. Package in freezers bags in recipe-size packages and freeze if not using immediately.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 276 Calories from Fat 166
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 60% Protein 21% Carb. 19%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 18 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Cholesterol 56 mg
Sodium 932 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 15 g

Vitamin A 24% Vitamin C 27% Calcium 0% Iron 10%