Pesto Butter Pasta with Slow-Simmered Cherry Tomatoes
A warm bowl of angel hair tossed with pesto butter and topped with sweet slow-simmered cherry tomatoes — simple, glossy, and deeply comforting.
All-Day Tomato Meat Sauce with Spaghetti (Slow-Cooked, Kid-Friendly Comfort Food)
An all-day tomato meat sauce that tastes like home. Slow-cooked with soffritto, beef, tomatoes, and optional mushroom tea, this cozy bowl of spaghetti is pure comfort — the kind of meal that makes the whole house smell like love.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
All-Day Tomato Meat Sauce (Slow, Cozy, Kid-Approved)
Some meals earn their keep before you ever take a bite.
My sister’s kids were coming over for dinner — five total, each with their own preferences, quirks, and non-negotiables. One wants plain noodles. One only eats meat sauce. Another will claim they’re not hungry and then devour a whole plate. You never quite know what’s going to happen when you’re feeding a crowd of kids.
But on a cold day, spaghetti with an all-day tomato meat sauce felt inevitable.
Low and slow. Hours on the stove.
A pot that warms the house before it ever warms your stomach.
There’s a particular kind of comfort that comes from a sauce like this — a smell that fills the house with something deeper than “dinner.” It smells like patience, like care, like someone decided a long time ago that tonight is going to be a good night.
This is that sauce.
Ingredients
Soffritto
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
Base
• 6 tablespoons Kerrygold unsalted butter
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/3 lbs grass-fed ground beef
• Whole milk (enough to cover the meat)
Tomatoes
• 1 × 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (I love Safeway Organics)
• 1 × 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
• Parmesan rind
• Pinch of sugar
Extra Umami Upgrade
• A small handful of dried mushrooms
• Hot water for steeping (to make mushroom tea)
Serving
• Spaghetti
• Freshly grated Parmesan
• Ricotta mixed with heavy cream, EVOO, salt, and pepper
Step-by-Step
Step 1 — Make the soffritto
Pulse the onions, carrot, and celery in a food processor until very finely chopped.
This paste is the foundation. It gives the sauce sweetness, depth, and body without ever announcing itself.
Step 2 — Butter + patience
Add the soffritto to a large Dutch oven with 6 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of salt.
Cover and cook gently for about 10 minutes, softening everything without browning.
Everything should look glossy, relaxed, and on its way to becoming something better.
Step 3 — Add the beef
Add the ground beef and season it with salt.
Keep the lid on and let it steam/braise until fully cooked, breaking it up with a spatula as it softens into the soffritto.
It should look like one unified mixture — not chunks of beef swimming around.
Step 4 — The milk magic
Pour in enough whole milk to completely cover the beef.
Turn the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until all the milk evaporates and gets absorbed into the meat. Make the mushroom tea in step 5 while this cooks.
This step is old-school and brilliant. It tenderizes the meat and makes the final sauce silky.
Step 5 — Tomatoes + mushroom tea
Steep some dried mushrooms in hot water for 10–20 minutes.
Chop the rehydrated mushrooms finely.
Add both the mushrooms and the mushroom tea to the pot.
Now add:
- Crushed whole peeled tomatoes
- Diced tomatoes
- Another pinch of salt
- A pinch of sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- dry oregano
- Parmesan rind
Bring it all to a gentle simmer.
Lower the heat and cook slow and low for at least 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick.
After four hours
The sauce deepens, thickens, and becomes something you couldn’t rush if you tried.
Season to taste.
Optional (And Tasty!) Upgrade — Whipped Ricotta
Mix whole milk ricotta with a splash of heavy cream and a glug of EVOO.
Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
This turns a simple bowl of spaghetti into a whole mood.
To Serve
Cook your spaghetti until just shy of done. Drain it, reserving about 3 cups of pasta water. Add the cooked pasta to a large pan over medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons unsalted good butter and 2 cups of the starchy pasta water. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. When the pasta is buttery and shiny, then add some of the sauce and mix well. If your pasta looks dry, add a little more of the pasta water.
Top with more sauce, if you’d like, a snowfall of grated Parmesan, and a spoonful of whipped ricotta.
Why This Works
- The soffritto builds the backbone.
- The milk reduction tenderizes the beef.
- The mushroom tea adds umami without making it “mushroomy.”
- The long simmer ties everything together.
This is the kind of dinner that feeds a table full of picky kids… and the adults hovering behind them, pretending they’re not excited about spaghetti night.
Kitchen Notes
- This freezes beautifully.
- It tastes even better the next day.
- Use good tomatoes — it makes a difference.
- If the sauce tastes flat, it probably needs more salt or more time.
Related Posts
Pasta Puttanesca
A late-summer afternoon, Gio’s first record, and the most satisfying pasta dish I know. This lusty, briny puttanesca hits with bold flavor and a touch of family ritual.
Orzo with Rancho Gordo Puglia Lentils and Calabrian Chilies
An Italian comfort dish with Rancho Gordo lentils, orzo, Calabrian chili paste, and a splash of balsamic. Simple ingredients, deep flavor, and a kid-approved favorite.
Made with Bullet