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5.0 from 12 votes

The Ultimate Greek Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipe – Makaronia me Kima

Indulgent and comforting: Greek Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is made with luscious ground beef and tomato sauce, along with cheese coated spaghetti in this traditional Greek dish.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean , Greek

Ingredients

  • ⅓-½ cup extra virgin olive oil + 3 tbsp for the pasta
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 2-3 cloves
  • 2-3 allspice berries
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 garlic cloves cut in half
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 pound ground beef 70% lean
  • 1 can 14-15 oz or 400 g crushed or diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes diced or grated
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp dry oregano
  • 1 package 16 oz or 500 g spaghetti (uncooked)
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • 4 tbsp grated dried mizithra (Greek aged cheese) or Pecorino
  • ¼ tsp of ground cinnamon

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a medium size pot, add about ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, at medium heat and once the oil is hot, add the onion, cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and a pinch of salt. Sauté until translucent. Add the garlic halves and sauté 1 more minute.
  2. Add the tomato paste and swirl with a wooden spoon, heating well. Add the ground beef, pressing it with a fork and heat until, it is crumbly and no longer red. Add the wine and cook until evaporated. Add the crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp fine sea salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp sugar and 1 cup hot water, stir well. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour, checking water levels and adding a bit of hot water as needed. Once ready, add 1 tbsp of dry oregano, remove from heat, remove cinnamon stick, bay leaves and set aside.
  3. Boil pasta according to directions. Once pasta is ready, strain and add 1 tbsp olive oil and stir.
  4. In a large casserole dish spread half the pasta, sprinkle over the pasta 2 tbsp grated cheese, place a second layer of pasta and sprinkle 2 more tbsp of grated cheese. Sprinkle over some ground cinnamon. Set aside.
  5. In a little pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil until it starts to shimmer. Remove from heat and drizzle over pasta.
  6. To serve: Serve pasta in a dish and spoon over the meat sauce.

Notes

  • Make Ahead
  • You can make it 1-2 days ahead and reheat when ready to serve. To warm up the pasta preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). Cover the pasta with aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until pasta is warm.
  • To reheat sauce place in the pot over low heat and slowly warm up until a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Storage
  • Store in the refrigerator separately for 3 days. You can also freeze the sauce and pasta separately for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before re-heating it.