The Best Authentic Italian Sunday Gravy (Sugo)
This authentic recipe for Italian Sunday gravy (sauce) - or sugo, as my family calls it - is a rich tradition that's been passed down through my Sicilian family for generations. It's a homemade red sauce that gets simmered for hours with meatballs, Italian sausage, and melt-in-your-mouth pieces of tender slow cooked pork. Traditionally served on Sundays, this iconic Italian recipe is perfect for big family gatherings, special occasions or any night of the week.
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The smell of sauce simmering on the stove always brings me back to Sundays at my grandparent's house growing up, when the whole family would gather around for what we call "pasta sugo." Those memories hold a really special place in my heart.
I come from a big Sicilian American family, and gathering on Sundays to eat pasta with red sauce and slowly cooked meats has always been a tradition in our family.
My great grandparents came to America as Italian immigrants and brought their Sunday ritual for making "pasta sugo" along with them.
Here in New Jersey, there's an age-old debate about whether this dish is called "sauce" or "gravy." Every Italian American makes their pasta sauce a different way, and they all have strong opinions about what it's called.
In our family, we never really called it sauce or gravy ("gravy is for turkey," my pop-pop would say). Our family calls it sugo, which is the Italian word for sauce. No matter what you call it - sugo, sauce or gravy - this is a recipe you definitely want to make.
This recipe for authentic Italian red gravy is ideal for feeding a large group. We serve it at every single family gathering - Christmas, Easter, and sometimes even Thanksgiving - along with other Italian specialties like sausage and peppers, chicken Milanese, eggplant parmesan and lasagna.
While red gravy does require several hours of low and slow cooking, the actual hands-on prep is pretty minimal. This is the best Sunday gravy recipe because it's incredibly forgiving and adaptable. It can easily be scaled up or down to accommodate your number of guests.
But best of all, it freezes beautifully. I always make a full batch even if it's just Chaser and I eating dinner. Then I freeze the leftovers for quick and easy dinners to enjoy another day.
Everyone makes their sauce a little bit different. What makes this recipe special is that ultimately you get to decide what tastes best, and continue the tradition on in your own way.
I'm so excited to share my version of my Sicilian family's authentic recipe for Sunday Sugo, aka pasta sugo, aka Sunday gravy, Sunday sauce, red gravy, or whatever you want to call it. The important thing is that you make it and share it with the people you love.
For more authentic Italian recipes, try my Sicilian pasta alla Norma, Sicilian rice balls, or pasta Ponza.
Why This Recipe Works
- An authentic recipe, made with quality ingredients, passed down from my Sicilian family.
- Adjust the ingredients and quantities to suit your needs and make it how YOU like it.
- Serves a crowd and is great for parties and special occasions.
- Freezes exceptionally well to make for super easy dinners that your future self will thank you for.
Canned Tomatoes - You can use whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes in this recipe. If using whole peeled tomatoes you will need to crush them yourself. Some Italians prefer using tomato puree, or passata pomodoro, which produces an extra smooth sauce. It's really about personal preference. Italians are passionate about which brand of tomatoes they use. San Marzano tomatoes are often said to be the best tomatoes, but I find them inconsistent. My family is partial to the brand Pastene, but use whichever canned or jarred tomatoes you like and are available to you.
Herbs and Spices: We keep the spices minimal in our sugo. I use fresh Italian parsley and bay leaves, which is our secret ingredient. It gives the spaghetti sauce a subtle, but distinct flavor. If I have fresh basil, I will add a few sprigs as well, but I never add dried basil - it has a different flavor that I don't care for. Some cooks prefer to season only with red pepper flakes and no black pepper - I add a little bit of both for depth of flavor.
Sugar: This ingredient is very controversial and personal to each cook, but you can add a pinch of sugar to your sauce to balance the acidity - if you prefer. For me, it depends on the tomatoes. Sometimes I add sugar, and sometimes I don't think it's needed.
Meats: A good Sunday sauce typically includes a variety of meat. Ours always includes meatballs, Italian sausage and big fall-apart pieces of pork. The different types of meat give the sauce lots of flavor and richness - without the meats, it would just be marinara sauce.
*Find the full ingredient list in the recipe card below!
Helpful Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
- Large Stock Pot
- Wooden Spoon
- Immersion blender or food mill
- Can opener
- Large strainer or colander
- Large slotted spoon
- Gravy boat
how to make italian sunday gravy
- First, sear the pork to develop a nice depth of flavor. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork and cook on each side until nicely browned. Set aside.
- Lower the heat, then sauté the onions until soft.
- Add the garlic and chili flakes, then continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Pro Tip: Be careful not to brown the garlic and onions. Cook them nice and gently just to soften.
- Stir in the tomato paste.
Pro Tip: Tomato paste is optional. My family like their sugo a little bit thinner, but it adds nice body to the sauce. If you like your gravy a little bit thicker, don't skip it! You can also thin out the sauce with more water as needed.
- Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and parsley, then season with salt and pepper. Fill one empty tomato can with water and add it to the pot, then stir to combine.
Pro Tip: Have your can of tomatoes opened and ready before adding the garlic so that you can add it quickly to prevent the garlic from burning, which can happen quickly.
- Bring the sauce up to a boil, then add the pork loin, sausage and meatballs, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer on the lowest possible heat setting for about 3 hours, or until the pork is falling apart and tender.
Pro Tip: It's important to stir the pot about every 20 minutes or so to prevent the bottom from burning.
- Turn off the heat and allow the meats to sit in the sauce until ready to eat. I like to make my sauce on Sunday morning, then let it hang out on the stove all day.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as needed. Remove the bay leaves and any bones from the pork, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the meats to a large platter, and serve with pasta. Enjoy!
Pro Tip: Italian red gravy is very rich, so consider finishing with some fresh basil or parsley to add a little freshness.
Tips for Success
- If using whole peeled tomatoes, use the back of a wooden spoon to break them apart. For a smoother sauce, an immersion blender to puree the tomatoes before adding to the pot.
- Adding sugar to sauce is controversial amongst Italians, but a little pinch can help mellow the acid and balance the flavor. It won't make the sauce sweet as long as you use a small amount!
- After sautéing the vegetables and adding the tomatoes, you can transfer the sauce to a slow cooker or crock pot, add the meat, and let it cook on low for 5-6 hours.
- This recipe is very forgiving - you can adjust the amount or type of meat to suit your preference and the number of people you're serving.
- Be sure to make enough to have leftovers! They taste even better the next day and freeze beautifully for later.
Variations
- You can use a pork loin, pork chops, pork shoulder (Boston butt), pork ribs, or neck bones, which will breakdown and tenderize as they cook.
- You can also use tough cuts of beef, like chuck, short ribs or shin meat instead, or use a combination of beef and pork. I usually buy whatever is on sale at the grocery store.
- Use either sweet Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage or both to give the sauce a delicious flavor. Put the sausage links in whole and they will break apart as they cook. Try to find sausage made at a local butcher, Italian markets or local grocery stores for best results.
- I always make my homemade authentic Italian meatballs when I make Sunday gravy, but you can use a good quality store bought meatball if you're short on time. Italian markets often sell homemade meatballs that are perfect for using in the sauce.
Optional Additions
These additional ingredients can be added to the sauce for added flavor and will stretch it to feed more people.
- Parmesan Rind: Always save your old parmesan cheese rinds (I keep mine in a bag in the freezer) and add one to the sauce as it slow cooks to give your gravy an extra rich, buttery flavor.
- Hard Boiled Eggs - This is something my grandmother and great grandmother would add to their sugo to add extra protein to the meal to feed their large families. It's not something I typically do today, but it's common among Sicilians.
- Wine - I don't typically add wine to my sauce, but many cooks do. Adding a generous splash -or up to a cup - of either red wine or white wine to this slow-cooked tomato sauce will give it an even deeper flavor, a bit more sweetness and some acidity. For the best tomato sauce, sure to use an un-oaked wine, and don't use an expensive wine (it's a waste).
- Braciole - I prefer to make homemade beef braciole as a stand-alone dinner, but for many families an Italian Sunday dinner wouldn't be complete without braciole in the gravy.
Every family and every cook makes their Sunday gravy a little bit different. Play around with different flavors and ingredients to discover what your family loves!
Serving Suggestions
This is a family recipe, so I'm sharing how my Italian family likes to serve our pasta sugo recipe, aka Italian red gravy. This meat-filled Italian tomato sauce is meant to be served family style. Serve it in the center of a large table, or buffet style on a separate table.
Pasta - Pasta is always served with Sunday gravy. My favorite pasta to use is rigatoni, but spaghetti, linguine, penne or your favorite pasta will work. Toss al dente pasta with a little bit of sauce and a splash of pasta water until every noodle is evenly coated. Serve the pasta with the meats and extra sauce on the side.
Meats and Sauce - Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the sauce and place it on a large serving platter. Transfer the sauce to gravy boats or pitchers and serve along side the pasta and meat.
Grated cheese - Always have a bowl of grated cheese for passing around the table. I use either grated Locatelli pecorino Romano, grated Grana Padano or grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for topping. Just be sure to use a good quality, freshly grated cheese and not the pre-grated cheese in a can.
Ricotta cheese - It's traditional in our family to eat pasta sugo with a scoop of ricotta cheese on the side. There's always a bowl of ricotta on the table for passing, and it's my personal favorite addition to the meal. Especially when it's homemade ricotta cheese.
What to serve with it
This authentic Italian Sunday gravy recipe is a classic and comforting dish that your entire family will love. Make your dinner extra special by including some starters, sides and dessert!
The best Sunday dinners always start with a little Antipasto. Serve a few Italian appetizers or snacks like olives, marinated vegetables or caponata. Italian meats and cheeses are also great to nibble on while the sauce simmers.
I like to offset the rich gravy with something fresh and green, like a simple Italian salad or Caesar salad, or garlicky sautéed vegetables, like spinach, escarole or broccoli rabe.
A basket of warm, crusty Italian bread or garlic bread is essential for mopping up every last bit of sauce (and sometimes we even make this chicken cutlet recipe to go along side as well!).
Wine at the dinner table is a family tradition. Pair your Italian Sunday red gravy with a nice Italian red wine, like Chianti or Sangiovese.
To end the meal, a traditional Italian or Sicilian dessert like ricotta pie would be ideal. Cannoli, tiramisu or ricotta cheesecake would all be great.
FAQs
The Italian word for sauce, sugo, is sometimes translated to English as gravy, which is how some Italian immigrants began calling it gravy when they came to America. It is commonly debated whether this dish is called sauce or gravy in Italian American culture.
Typically marinara sauce, or tomato sauce, is prepared without meat and only simmers for 20-30 minutes. Red gravy, or sugo, contains big pieces of meat and takes several hours to cook so the meats become tender.
Italian red gravy, or sugo, is a southern Italian dish that consists of a rich red sauce with large pieces of meat. Typically meatballs, Italian sausage and tough cuts of either pork or beef tenderize and fall apart after cooking low and slow for several hours. The meats are typically served on the side along with pasta. Bolognese, or Ragu as it's called in Bologna, is a northern Italian specialty. It's made with ground meat, often pork, beef and/or veal, simmered with Italian sofrito (carrots, celery and onion), white wine, milk and very little tomato. It's traditionally tossed with tagliatelle pasta or layered in lasagne.
This recipe tastes even better the next day. Store leftover meat and sauce together in resealable containers and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days. Keep any leftover pasta separate. For longer storage, the containers can be frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost before reheating on the stove or in the microwave, stirring frequently.
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Italian Sunday Gravy (Sugo)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 lbs pork loin pork chops, ribs and/or neck bones
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 yellow or sweet onion, small size, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic very thinly sliced
- pinch of red chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley finely minced
- pinch of sugar optional
- 1 ½ lbs Italian sausage hot, sweet or both
- 1 batch homemade Italian meatballs or 16-20 store-bought meatballs, cooked
- pasta for serving
- pecorino Romano cheese grated, for serving
- ricotta cheese for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper, then sear until nicely browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium, then add the onions to the pot and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and chili flakes, then continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and parsley, then season with salt and pepper. Fill one empty tomato can ½ to ¾ of the way with water and add it to the pot, then stir to combine. If using whole peeled tomatoes, use the back of a wooden spoon to break them apart, or use an immersion blender for a smoother sauce.
- Bring the sauce up to a boil, then add the pork loin, sausage and meatballs and reduce the heat to low.
- Cover, but leave the lid slightly ajar and simmer on the lowest possible heat setting, stirring about every 20 minutes to prevent the bottom from burning, for about 3 hours, or until the pork is falling apart. Turn off the heat and allow the meats to sit in the sauce until ready to eat.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed. Remove the bay leaves and any bones from the pork, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the meats to a large platter.
- Toss al dente pasta with a little bit of sauce, then transfer the rest to gravy boats or another serving vessel, and serve the pasta with the platter of meats and sauce on the side, with a bowl of grated cheese and a bowl of ricotta for passing at the table.
Notes
- Cook the onion and garlic slowly over medium-low heat to avoid browning.
- Have your can of tomatoes opened and ready before adding the garlic so that you can add it quickly to prevent the garlic from burning, which can happen quickly.
- For a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender to puree the chunks of tomato and onion, but be sure to remove the bay leaves first.
- My family likes their sugo a little bit thinner, but if you like your gravy a little bit thicker, add more tomato paste. You can always thin out the sauce with more water as needed.
- Adding sugar to sauce is controversial amongst Italians, but a little pinch can help mellow the acid and balance the flavor. It won't make the sauce sweet as long as you use a small amount!
- Make sure the sauce is simmering on the lowest heat possible, and give it a stir at least every 20 minutes to ensure the bottom doesn't burn.
- After sautéing the vegetables and adding the tomatoes, you can transfer the sauce to a slow cooker or crock pot, add the meat, and let it cook on low for 5-6 hours.
- This recipe is very forgiving - you can adjust the amount or type of meat to suit your preference and the number of people you're serving.
- Italian red gravy is very rich, so consider finishing with some fresh basil or parsley to add a little freshness.
- Be sure to make enough to have leftovers! They taste even better the next day and freeze beautifully for later.
I was researching Sugo recipes and came upon yours. Reading the reviews and the recipe, I will certainly be making this…sounds delicious!
Usually, I wouldn’t leave a comment without first trying the recipe, but I wanted to bring something to your attention. I found this EXACTLY same recipe, right down to the exact ingredients, cooking instructions and commentary included in your post, on a “Stanley Tucci recipes” FB post (while looking for other Sugo recipes.) I have included the link below for your examination….
https://www.facebook.com/groups/628223381629661/posts/1235392254246101/
Unless this guy is your relative, you might want to look into this.
Hey Steven, I really appreciate you taking the time to write this comment. It appears that this account stole my recipe, used AI to change a few words in the instructions and put my photo through an AI generator to create a new image. They're using the name Stanley Tucci for clout and credibility. While I wasn't aware of this copycat recipe, unfortunately this is becoming more and more common. There's been an influx of bad actors flooding Facebook and Pinterest with either totally AI generated fake recipes and photos or recipes that have been stolen from real creators like myself. They run the stolen recipes and images through AI to make them just different enough so that we cannot file a copyright infringement claim. It's a huge problem that's affecting so many creators, but sadly there is currently no regulation or recourse. The best thing to do is report these posts and accounts and just hope they get shut down. It's a shame, but this is just the world we live in now.
Hi Nicole,
I’m sorry that this has happened to your recipe. Seems a travesty, when you have taken the time to share a time honed, family recipe for everyone to enjoy. Sadly you are correct…..this is the world we live in nowadays.
On a more hopeful note, I am going to try your recipe this week for dinner, but hope you would be able to provide me guidance on a couple of questions I have. I just recently made a Sugo from another recipe, and was blown away by the depth of flavour in comparison to my usual meat sauce. Not willing to rest on that recipes laurels, I continued my research and found your recipe. The extent of customizable options and glowing reviews convinced me to give it a try, but it differed in some respects from my previous recipe and my own expectations.
Allow me to explain.
With the previous Sugo recipe, the meats were slow cooked in the tomato sauce in order to break down/soften the meats (bone-in short ribs, pork shoulder, in that recipe’s case) to add extra flavour to the sauce while braising the meats. However, once the cooking process was completed (3 hours in a covered dutch oven at 325 degree in the oven), the meats were chopped up/shredded to be added back into the sauce itself. It was this flavour intensified, very meaty sauce that was mixed with the pasta. After trying this, I was spoiled for “regular” meat sauce made with ground beef and sausage.
Your recipe has varied this approach, by using the sauce separately from the meats.
While I understand that they are all meant to be served together with pasta, I was hoping to be able to freeze smaller portions that had all of the elements from the original meal.
Considering the above dilemma, I came up with a couple of different approaches to achieve my desired goal using your recipe. The meats I would be using in your recipe would be homemade pork meatballs and sausage, along with bone in short ribs.
The first approach would be to divide the sauce into however many portions I would find appropriate….I would guesstimate about 4 portions offhand. I would divide the sauce portions accordingly, 3 for freezing in glass containers and one for the initial evening meal. I would then separate the whole meats into 4 different portions as well, with roughly equal portions of sausage, meatballs and short ribs within each portion. I would then vacuum seal 3 of these “meat portions” for freezing while leaving 1 portion to go with the initial evening meal.
That way, in the future, I would be able to approach the meal in the way you originally intended by defrosting and warming a frozen portion of sauce to go along with a sous vide’d portion of the meats. I figure an hour or 2 at 140 degrees sous vide would bring the meats up to a perfect temp to serve with the sauce and pasta.
The second approach I considered was to divide the sauce into 3 portions. One portion, for the “initial evening meal” would be served with pasta and the meatballs alone. The other 2 portions of sauce and remaining meats (short ribs and sausage) would be combined into a meaty sauce (after chopping up the meats and adding them back into the sauce) for the remaining 2 portions. These 2 portions would then be frozen in glass containers, to be warmed up and then served with pasta in the future.
So, and forgive me for the long, rambling post, which of the above 2 approaches would you suggest I try first in order to maximize my Sugo experience.
No worries, I will have bowls of ricotta at hand for either avenue….
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! I'm actually going to give you a third option, which is to portion the meat out into containers, then cover with sauce and freeze. Then, just reheat the sauce and meats together, cook your pasta and serve. This is what I do and what everyone in my family does. The meat gets even more tender and some of it melts into the sauce, it's so delicious. That said, I think either of the methods you suggested would also work well. I think the meat freezes and reheats better with at least some sauce to keep it moist, as the freezer can dry it out a bit. Either way, you can't go wrong. If you try it, please report back and let me know how it is!
Thank you for recommending option number 3! Much simpler to keep the contents together through the freezing to the reheating. I had considered that approach as well, but was worried about drying out the meatballs/sausage sections by recooking them during the sauce heating process.Still, if it’s good enough for your family…it’s certainly good enough for me!
Regarding the meats that I am using (short ribs, meatballs and sausages), it seems like you prefer baking the meatballs beforehand, and cutting the sausages up into large-ish sections but throwing them into the sauce raw before cooking the Sugo.
I will certainly be braising the short ribs for the entire anticipated cook time (appx 3 hrs in covered dutch oven @ 300 degrees) to get them nice and soft…but, where in the cooking process would you recommend adding in the sausage sections and the meatballs?
Obviously, I would like both to remain juicy with a soft texture. I was going to try cooking rhe sauce for 1.5 hrs with the ribs alone, and then add in the meatballs and the sausage for the last 1.5 hrs.
Does this sound like a good way to coordinate the meat cooks for maximum juicyness and decadent texture?
The short ribs will need the most amount of time, so start them first and make sure they get at least 3 full hours to get nice and tender. You can add the sausage about half way through, and add the meatballs for the last hour of cooking. If cooked too long they can start to fall apart, which isn't the end of the world, but if you want them to stay intact 1 hour is perfect. I think you're right on track! 😀
I was so excited to find this recipe. It is exactly what I remember my mom making when I was young. I am estranged from my mom and really wanted to have some of the sauce she used to make, and I went through so many recipes that never seemed to match until this one. My grandma's side of the family was from Sicily and Naples and unfortunately, they never shared or really made us true Italian dishes, so I am now trying to find and make them myself. Thank you so much for bringing this back into my life. The Sugo and the Italian Meatballs!! So good!
Wow, what an amazing comment to receive! This was so incredibly heartwarming to read and I'm so happy that my recipe reminds you of the one you grew up with. Thank you so much for sharing!
I used Beef Short ribs and homemade Italian Sausage for the meats and followed the recipe to a tee. it was delicious and fed our big crowd They loved it! Grazie Nicole for sharing your family recipe
I'm so glad you loved the recipe!! Short ribs are a great addition 😀
I substituted 50% Ground Bison and 50% Hot Italian sausage for the meat, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I used them in Nichole's Italian Sunday Gravy and there were 8 very happy people. They said the meatballs and the Sunday Sauce were the best they ever had. Thanks for the guidelines1
Awesome, Peter! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe and that it was a big hit!
Three hours @ 325F in the oven, covered, instead of on the stovetop; no need to stir every 20 minutes.
I love this! I do it for a lot of braises but never usually for my sauce. Thanks for leaving the tip!