This homemade sauce is fantastic…I know you’re going to LOVE it!!! The sauce is slow-simmered to create a luxuriously rich flavor. It makes 8 servings and freezes great. I like this sauce over zucchini noodles, as shown in the photo. It’s so versatile, you can serve it over gluten-free noodles, steamed spaghetti squash, broccoli slaw, a medley of steamed vegetables, or stuffed in a baked potato. And if you’re not gluten-free, it’s perfect over whole-grain spaghetti. Each ¾ cup serving has only 135 calories and 3 grams of fat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1 pound extra-lean ground beef or ground turkey, see shopping tips
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (28 oz). can crushed tomatoes, in tomato puree
- 1 cup tomato sauce (from a can), for gluten-free use one such as Del Monte or Contadina
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- Zucchini pasta, optional
- Parmesan cheese, grated for topping, optional
Instructions
- Add ground beef to a large nonstick pan. Cook beef until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove beef from pan and pour into a colander in the sink to drain the fat. Blot beef with paper towels. Place beef in crock-pot and add all the remaining sauce ingredients except the zucchini pasta. Mix well. Cover and cook on HIGH heat for 4 hours or on LOW heat for 8 hours.
- My skinny facts and Weight Watchers points are just for the meat sauce. This sauce is gluten-free. To keep gluten-free, serve over steamed zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, broccoli slaw, steamed veggies, gluten-free pasta or stuffed into a baked potato. If you’re not on a gluten-free diet, this sauce tastes terrific over whole grain pasta.
- To make zucchini noodles: Use a  julienne peeler, mandoline or vegetable spiral, see shopping tips below. Place zucchini noodles in a large bowl and cook in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes, until soft. Drain liquid. To serve: Add 1-1½ cups cooked zucchini noodles to each plate. Top with ¾ cup sauce. Top each with 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Makes 8 servings of meat sauce total. Each serving ¾ cup sauce
Shopping Tips
Happily, most supermarkets sell lean ground beef. I used the 96% lean ground beef from Trader Joe’s. You’ll find many brands of spiral slicers to create zucchini noodles on both Target.com and Amazon.com. Here are two I like. Both are really easy to use.
Amazon sells both the Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer and
Paderno World Cuisine A4982799 Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 2-Blue
WW SmartPoints 2-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 4 Â
Shopping Tips
Happily, most supermarkets sell lean ground beef. I used the 96% lean ground beef from Trader Joe’s. You’ll find many brands of spiral slicers to create zucchini noodles on both Target.com and Amazon.com. Here are two I like. Both are really easy to use.
Amazon sells both the Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer and
Paderno World Cuisine A4982799 Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 2-Blue
WW SmartPoints 2-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 4 Â
| SKINNY FACTS: for ¾ cup serving of meat sauce 135 cal, 3g fat, 1g sat. fat, 25mg chol, 15g prot, 16g carbs, 4g fiber, 468mg sod, 5g sugar |
| FACTS: for Freestyle Points 86 calories, 1g sat. fat, 12g protein, 3g sugar |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 0.75cupCalories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 15gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 468mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gBlue Smart Points: 2Green Smart Points: 2Plus Points: 4
