How to Season Ground Beef and Meat Sauces for Spaghetti (2024)

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Co-authored byMarkeicha Dulaneyand Madeleine Flamiano

Last Updated: December 2, 2023Fact Checked

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Salt and pepper

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1. Cook up a crowd favorite by using salt and pepper to make meat pop. Salt and pepper are must-haves for unseasoned meat like ground beef, turkey, or pork. For a basic recipe, coat meat with about 1 teaspoon (5.69 g) of salt and ½ teaspoon (1.15 g) of black pepper right after you brown it. Adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes.^[1]

   • Play around with this classic combo! For example, a blend of parsley, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and fennel seed mixed with go-to veggies like garlic and onions make meat taste like sausage.^[2]

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1. Use savory veggies and Italian seasoning to give meat an umami flavor. Garlic and onions are super easy to find in the produce section, while Italian seasoning is a great staple to have in your pantry.^[3] Sprinkle Italian seasoning onto your meat, then add minced garlic and onions. After you coat your meat, brown it.

   • Usually, you only need a dash of Italian seasoning—around 2 tsp (8.4 g) typically works.
   • Some recipes call for just 1 tsp (5.69 g) of minced onions or garlic, while others suggest a whole onion and many cloves of garlic.
   • For an extra dose of savoriness, pair cooked onions and sauteéd garlic with simmered celery and mushrooms.

Chopped bell peppers

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1. Cook green bell peppers with meat for a slight amount of sweetness. Green bell peppers are great for enhancing the sweetness of sausages—on top of that, they can add a subtle flavor to unseasoned meats like ground beef or ground turkey, too. Chop up 1 green bell pepper and soften it before adding meat to a pan.^[4]

   • To make your meat super flavorful, pair green bell peppers with cooked garlic, onion, and—if you’ve got a serious sweet tooth—a spoonful sugar.^[5]

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A mix of Italian herbs

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1. Give meat a tasty earthiness with some Italian herbs. Boost the flavor of any type of meat with a blend of Italian herbs. Buy a pre-made mix or make your own with herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Add the herbs to browned meat to give it a balanced flavor that helps it stand out against heavy sauces and noodles.^[6]

   • When you season meat, just 1 tsp (14.15 g) of dried Italian herbs is enough to make a big difference.
   • For really meaty notes that don’t get lost in a blend of Italian herbs, season a protein with a flavor profile that stands out, like Italian sausage. Then, add in some savory ingredients, like garlic powder and cooked onions.

Red pepper flakes

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1. Sprinkle a spicy blend over meat to add mouth-watering heat. Use crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes as a quick and easy way to add spice to a meat-based sauce. First, brown your meat. Then, sprinkle red pepper flakes on ground beef to add flavor or toss some on Italian sausage to balance out its sweetness.^[7]

   • For a standard spicy meat, use about 2 teaspoons (5.40 g) of crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes. Adjust the amount depending on how hot you like your sauce to be.
   • An alternative to crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes is cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper provides a similar heat level, but you only need about half as much as regular red pepper.
   • To tone down red pepper flakes for just a dash of spice, season meat with rich and earthy ingredients, like olive oil, garlic cloves, oregano, and tomato paste.

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Chili powder

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1. Sprinkle on chili powder to kick up the heat in your meat. Chili powder is one of the most balanced spices available for seasoning meat. Use it to add spiciness without overwhelming subtle flavors from spiced meats or other seasonings.^[8] First, brown your ground beef, then toss about 1 1/2 tsp (8.53 g) of chili powder on it.

   • Chili powder usually has cumin and red pepper flakes in it, along with other ingredients like garlic powder and even cinnamon.
   • To infuse ground beef with a rich savoriness, combine chili powder with diced onions and minced garlic cloves.
   • In order to make the “umami” notes of chili powder pop, mix it with ingredients that taste “meaty,” like tomato paste, salt, and Worcestershire sauce.

Hot sauce

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1. Stir hot sauce into the meat for some bold and unforgettable spice. Since the ingredients and spiciness vary from sauce to sauce; just choose your favorite hot sauce. As long as you use a small amount, it'll pair well with bland ground meat or neutralize the sweetness from sausages. Cook your meat all the way through, then throw a dash of hot sauce in with your preferred seasonings.^[9]

   • Hot sauce easily overwhelms a sauce if you use too much of it. Stir in about 1 teaspoon (4.9mL) of it and add more as needed.
   • In order to soak up some of the heat in hot sauce, go for a super absorbent protein, like meatballs, and pair it with a flavorful base, like a combo of olive oil, butter, broth, and marinara sauce.

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Cumin

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1. Sprinkle on cumin to add spice to meat that's balanced with bitterness. Use cumin for an earthy, slightly bitter flavor that other spices like crushed red pepper lack. To cook spicy spaghetti, coat meats like beef, turkey, and sausage with cumin. Try mixing about 1 tablespoon (6.0 g) of cumin into browned meat. ^[10]

   • When you want to use cumin to make meat taste sharp and spicy, try a pepper blend, like a mix of chipotle chili powder, standard chili powder, sea salt, and crushed red pepper.
   • For an extra earthy flavor, combine cumin with fresh herbs like spicy oregano and rosemary.

Cinnamon and nutmeg

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1. Stick to cinnamon and nutmeg to make some sweet and spicy meat. Use cinnamon as your secret weapon for meat-based sauces—it isn’t extremely sweet, and it has a spicy kick at the end that gives ground beef and turkey a unique flavor.^[11] Reach for ground nutmeg to give meat a slight amount of spice and deepen sauces by giving them a nutty taste. Brown your meat first, then sprinkle on about 1 tbsp (14.3 g) of ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp (1.42 g) ground nutmeg.^[12]

   • For spicy-sweet ground beef, combine ground cinnamon and nutmeg with ingredients that have sugary notes, like browned butter and sauteéd onions.
   • If you just love the spiciness of cinnamon, highlight it by sprinkling black pepper onto ground beef.

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Cloves and cinnamon sticks

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1. Sprinkle in cloves and cinnamon sticks for hearty and sweet meat. Try cloves to balance out the acidity from meat-based tomato sauces as well as the heat from spicy sausage. First, cook your meat all the way through and prepare your sauce. If you've dropped a cinnamon stick or two into your sauce, balance out the spicy bitterness with the sugary notes of 6-8 cloves.^[13]

   • To complement the sharp sweetness of cloves and cinnamon sticks, throw in savory ingredients like olive oil, cooked onions, and tomato sauce.
   • To make the sweetness of cloves and cinnamon sticks shine and stand out, season a protein with a nutty flavor—for example, go for ground pork.

Sugar

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1. Use sugar to reduce the acidity in meat from tomato-based sauces. Cut back on the spiciness of sausage or dial back the sour notes in from tomatoes with a little bit of sugar. Brown the meat first, then try sprinkling about 1 tsp (4.0 g) of white sugar onto the meat after you've transferred it into a pot of simmering tomato sauce. ^[14]

   • To infuse your slightly sweetened meat with some earthiness, throw in some oregano, parsley, and basil.
   • For a spicy-sweet meat sauce, toss in pinches of red pepper flakes and ground black pepper after you've added your sugar.

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