How Do I Cook Hamburger Meat With Tomato Sauce in It?

Hamburger and meat sauce transform bland meals into a tasty delight brimming with color and flavor. This versatile combination provides you with the makings for spicing up pasta and bean dishes and can even be used to make sloppy Joes. Adding fresh veggies, such as onions, peppers and mushrooms, boosts nutrients and adds variety, but they aren’t necessary for a basic sauce. Keeping a pot of meat sauce on hand, or freezing it to use later, ensures you’ll always have the ingredients for making quick dinners with ease.

Things You'll Need

Heavy saucepan
Wooden spoon
Slotted spoon

Colander
Pasta sauce
Canned tomatoes

Instructions

Crumble the hamburger meat in a heavy pan over medium heat, turning it with a wooden spoon until all portions are browned. The amount of hamburger meat you need depends on the amount of sauce you intend to make. As a rule, choose 1 pound of hamburger meat for a 28-ounce can of pasta sauce, a 15-ounce can of tomatoes and any fresh veggies you choose to add.
Drain the browned hamburger meat in a strainer or colander to remove the fat from cooking. Unless you are using 90 percent lean beef, considerable fat collects in the pan while cooking.
Rinse the browned and drained hamburger meat under hot running water to remove excess fat.
Place the pasta sauce and canned tomatoes in a heavy saucepan. Stir in the browned hamburger meat and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer until your sauce reaches the desired consistency, typically 30 minutes to 1 hour. As the sauce simmers, it releases steam and thickens.

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