123 Reviews of My Mama Iuliucci's "Don't Skip a Step" Spaghetti Sauce

From: TMF

On Dec 13, 2002

This is a great sauce recipe. I have made it three or four times, and I can't believe no one has rated it yet. It really goes together easily and fills the house with a wonderful aroma while it cooks! I used an end piece of pork loin that I browned first and then put into the pot. The only change that I made was to use 1/2 cup of red wine instead of water to deglaze the pan. Then that went into the pot, too. Thanks Karen - this is a real keeper.

From: NcMysteryShopper

On Apr 13, 2005

This sauce was so good! I did not skip a step or alter a thing! The whole house smelled divine while this was cooking! I could not keep DH from dipping into the sauce as it simmered on the stove. I added Mama Iuliucci Famous Meat-a-Balls (#32618) and the optional Pepperoni to the sauce. The sauce actually tasted even better the second day! Thank you for sharing your family recipe!

From: Little Bee

On May 25, 2003

Fabulous! I followed to a tee up to step 14 ( I only added meatballs and not the rest of the meat) It smelled so good and tasted even better. I took the other persons advice and deglazed the onion garlic pan with red wine and it was fantastic. Thanks

From: Graybert

On Oct 26, 2004

This is a wondeful recipe! I let mine cook for the better part of 7 hours - and it was thick delicious! I only used the italian sausage, but also added some fresh chopped basil and some chilli flakes (we like our sauce a bit spicy). I served it with Angel Hair pasta, caesar salad and my Portuguese bread recipe - truly a fantastci meal! I will use this recipe from now on - yummy! Thank-you for sharing!

From: Connie5

On Jan 3, 2003

I made this recipe with the corresponding meatball recipe and it was great. My 14 month old son loved it too. I haven't made homemade sauce in ages, but I think it will be a regular on my menu now!

From: marna

On Mar 24, 2004

Very good sauce- I made mine with no meat and thus increased the olive oil and garlic. Thanks much

From: atlfitgirl

On Dec 15, 2006

Absolutely the best spaghetti sauce I have ever made...or tasted... by far!!! I cut the recipe in half b/c I wanted to test out the recipe, but I should have known by the rave reviews that the sauce was going to turn out terrific. Even though my BF and I had two huge helpings, we had plenty left over. I followed the recipe as directed...used romano cheese in the sauce which gave it a richness I have never tasted in a sauce before. Frying the onions and garlic in the oil I used to fry the meat-a-balls in really made the sauce out of this world. I seemed to have a very large amount of oil in the pan after frying the onions and garic, so I scooped them out and added them to my sauce, but poured out the excess oil before using red wine to deglaze the pan. The drippings and reduction added to the sauce really put it over the top! This is a keeper for life! Thank you for sharing with all of us!

From: jujusmommy

On Feb 11, 2007

I have made this sauce twice. The first time I used homemade meatballs (ground beef based) and pepperoni as the meats and deglazed the pan with about 1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon. I added 2tbsp brown sugar as I thought it was bit acidic with only 1tbsp. The sauce had a nice taste but I thought it was a bit thin. This time I browned 1lb of ground sirloin and some turkey pepperoni and deglazed the pan with water (only because I was out of red wine). I can't really tell a taste difference between the batch with wine and the batch with water, probably because I used such a small amount of wine. This time I only used 1 15oz can of tomato puree and used that 15oz can to add water, to keep the sauce very thick. I added the ground sirloin to the sauce and cut up 2 slices of the turkey pepperoni into the sauce (ate the rest! ). I minced 3 cloves of garlic into the pan drippings, and though I would like more (love garlic!), DH says that's a fine amount. I did not add the salt in the beginning, but added it to taste after the sauce simmered a while, as I had salted the cooking sirloin and DH doesn't like sauce "too salty." The sauce is very thick with a smooth taste. I actually prefer "spicier" sauce and my use of italian seasoning is a bit more liberal than 1tsp, but my family prefers smooth and mild and this sauce got compliments when I served it to company, who asked for the recipe. It is a good all-purpose meat sauce - I've used it to top spaghetti, to make lasagna, baked ziti, and when I made it without meat the first time I used it as a base sauce for a pizza casserole. I think it is better the second day and beyond, after it sits and the flavors have more time to "meld." I am not really a fan of pork italian sausage (due to the fat) but suspect that would give it more flavor than my version with beef due to the spices in italian sausage, so I may try turkey or chicken-based italian sausage next time I make this. Of the sauces I have tried from Zaar, my DH prefers this one.

From: IAteMyGluestick

On Nov 5, 2006

I have tried each of the most popular spag sauces here on zaar and this is by far the winner. I love that the parm is added to the sauce. I made it with the meatballs suggested, for the whole extended family for my hubby's b-day dinner and it was a smash. THanks so much, everyone wanted the recipe. Followed the recipe exactly only I added an extra tbsp sugar and simmered it all in a huge crockpot. Thanks again, and I won't be trying any of the other spag recipes because this is the only one I need! Thanks thanks thanks!!!

From: KatieMom84

On Aug 31, 2004

Great taste. Frying the onions in the meat drippings gave the sauce great flavor. I used Itallian sausage. DH and dd loved it! I'll be making this again.