How to Make Pasta Sauce

Making your own pasta sauce can give your pasta an even more delicious taste and can make you proud of creating part of a delicious meal. There are a variety of pasta sauces that you can make quickly and easily, whether you want to make a hearty meat-based sauce or a sauce that is more heavy on the cheese or veggies. Whatever you make, your own home-made pasta sauce will taste far more delicious than anything you can find in a can. If you want to know how to make pasta sauce, just follow these steps.

[Edit]Ingredients

[Edit]Pasta Sauce with Beef

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 can whole tomatoes
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 chopped green pepper
• 1 chopped small onion
• 5-8 chopped white mushrooms
• 1 rib chopped celery
• Vegetable oil
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne pepper
• Sugar

[Edit]Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 3/8 cup red wine
• 1 tbsp. white sugar
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans of peeled and diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

[Edit]White Pasta Sauce

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. crushed rosemary
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

[Edit]Pesto Pasta Sauce

• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 large quartered garlic clove
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Pasta Sauce with Beef

1. Cook 1 lb. of ground beef in a frying pan. Pour a 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) layer of vegetable oil in the pan and stir the beef until it's almost browned. When it's almost ready, add in 1 finely chopped small onion and dust the beef with a light layer of garlic powder.
   
   
   
2. Drain the grease from the beef. To drain the beef, tip the pan over until the grease pours out. You can keep the beef in the pan by placing a plate below the beef, which will keep the beef from falling down as the grease drips out below the plate.
   
   
3. Mash one can of whole tomatoes with a potato masher. You can also use a fork to mash the tomatoes, but the consistency will be a bit thicker.
   
   
   
4. Add 1 large can of tomato sauce and 1 small can of tomato paste to the mashed tomatoes.
   
   
5. Stir the tomato ingredients together.
   
   
   
6. Add one pinch of cayenne pepper, one pinch of sugar, and lightly dust the sauce with garlic powder.
   
   
7. Add 1/2 of a finely chopped green pepper, 5-8 finely chopped white mushrooms, and 1 finely chopped rib of celery to the sauce. Stir the ingredients together.
   
   
8. Heat the sauce over medium-high heat until it bubbles. Then, reduce the heat.
   
   
9. Let the sauce simmer for 15-20 minutes. This will be enough to blend the flavors and soften the veggies.
   
   
   
10. Add the beef to the sauce. Stir the beef and sauce so the beef absorbs the rich and spicy flavors of the sauce.
    
    
11. Serve. This sauce will be perfect with any pasta, especially a simple spaghetti or ravioli.
    
    
    

[Edit]Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce

1. Heat 1 tsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. You can also use a saucepan instead of a skillet.^[1]
   
   
   
2. Sauté 1 cup of chopped onion and 4 cloves of minced garlic in the oil for 5 minutes. The onion and garlic should turn a bit more brown and translucent.
   
   
3. Stir the remaining ingredients into the skillet. Stir in 3/8 cup of red wine, 1 tbsp. of white sugar, 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes, . of tomato paste, 1 tbsp. of lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp. of ground black pepper, and 2 (14.5 oz.) cans of peeled and diced tomatoes. Mix these ingredients together well so that they become more sauce-like.
   
   
4. Bring the sauce to a boil. It should take about 3 minutes to bring these ingredients to a full boil.
   
   
5. Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer the sauce uncovered for about 15 minutes. This will be enough time for the ingredients to blend.
   
   
   
6. Stir in 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley. This will add a nice fresh flavor to the pasta sauce.
   
   
7. Serve. Scoop the sauce out of the pan with a ladle and serve it over your favorite pasta. This pasta sauce is perfect for penne pasta.
   
   
   

[Edit]White Pasta Sauce

1. Melt 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Wait until the butter and margarine have turned to liquid.^[2]
   
   
2. Add 2 tbsp. of flour and stir. Stir the flour well with the butter.
   
   
3. Add 2 cups of milk and 1.5 cups of half-and-half to the ingredients. Stir well.
   
   
4. Mix 1 (15 ounce) can of chicken broth and . of cornstarch in with the rest of the ingredients.
   
   
   
5. Heat the ingredients to a boil. Continue to stir the ingredients without stopping.
   
   
6. Boil the ingredients for one minute.
   
   
7. Remove from the heat.
   
   
   
8. Add spices and cheese to the pasta sauce. To complete your white pasta sauce, just add 1 tsp. of salt, 1/2 tsp. of crushed rosemary, 1 dash of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder, and 1 1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese to the sauce.
   
   
9. Serve. This pasta sauce can taste great with any pasta dish, especially linguine or angel hair. You can also place grilled shrimp or other seafood over the sauce. It also works as a cream soup base.
   
   
   

[Edit]Pesto Pasta Sauce

1. Place the ingredients in a food processor. Combine 1 cup of packed fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of pine nuts, 1 large quartered garlic clove, and 1/4 tsp. of salt in a food processor.^[3]
   
   
   
2. Cover the processor and blend the ingredients evenly. Stop frequently to scrape the sides so all of the ingredients are processed.
   
   
3. Turn the machine setting to low.
   
   
4. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and blend the ingredients. Continue to blend the ingredients until they're thick.
   
   
   
5. Serve. Serve this pesto pasta sauce with fresh fettuccine, chicken, shrimp, or broccoli.
   
   
   

[Edit]Tips

• Cut and clean vegetables on a different surface than the meat area. This could lead to cross-contamination which is not good to your health.
• Other vegetables than those listed can be substituted, find which combinations you like best. Experiment with your food!
• Be careful not to touch your eyes after using the cayenne pepper. Wash hands well. If cayenne pepper comes in contact with eyes it will feel a lot like pepper spray!
• Have a clean and semi-large workspace.
• Make sure to chop veggies before starting to make the cooking process smoother.
• If the cooking seems tedious listen to your favorite music while working.
• Make sure to wash all vegetables before you cook them!

[Edit]Things You'll Need

• Frying pan
• Large pot
• Potato masher
• Vegetables

[Edit]Related wikiHows

• Cook Pasta
• Make Pasta Salad

[Edit]References

[Edit]Quick Summary

1. ↑ http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Arrabbiata-Sauce/Detail.aspx
2. ↑ http://www.food.com/recipe/white-sauce-for-pasta-155570
3. ↑ http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/wine_dine_archive_100/145_wine_dine.html