Italian Sunday Gravy, or Italian Red Gravy, is more than just a tomato sauce—it’s a tradition. Made with simple, quality ingredients and simmered low and slow, I’m sharing my recipe that is the epitome of authentic, homemade flavor.
This post was Originally Published on August 23, 2017, Updated on January 19, 2021, and Re-published on August 23, 2020, and December 9, 2024, to improve content and photos.
This Sunday Sauce is more than just a recipe for our family—it’s a way to bring everyone together at the table. The process of making the sauce is just as meaningful as enjoying it. The aroma it creates fills our home with warmth and nostalgia.
Unlike a Quick Marinara Sauce, Italian Sunday gravy is deeply layered with flavor, with the addition of beef bones and stock, and simmered for hours to create a velvety, rich texture.
Whether you're new to making Sunday sauce, or looking for a different recipe, I will guide you through every step to achieve the best Italian Gravy yet!
Jump to:
🤔 What is Italian Red Gravy
- Sunday Gravy or Red Gravy is an Italian-American sauce made with meat bones, just meat, or both to add layers of flavor to create a rich tomato sauce.
- The difference between Sunday Gravy and Marinara is that Red Gravy is made with meat and cooked for an extended time. On the other hand, marinara is quickly made without meat and has a light and fresh flavor.
- Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce, also known as 'sugo,' is also cooked longer to develop flavor, but typically doesn’t contain meat. This is different from canned “tomato sauce” in the grocery store.
🍅 Ingredients to Make Italian Sunday Sauce
If there is one thing I learned in school, a great sauce is made by layering flavors, from the beginning. If you start with good-quality ingredients, the end product will be that much better.
- Tomatoes - I prefer using equal parts of whole peeled, tomato puree, and crushed tomatoes for the best texture and flavor. If you can get your hands on San Marzano tomatoes, they are sweeter, less acidic, and perfect for sauce. Note: Authentic San Marzano tomatoes are only available in the whole peeled variety, so be on the lookout at the store. If you'd like to learn more about finding authentic varieties, check out my guide on San Marzano Tomatoes.
- Meat - I prefer marrow bones for a rich sauce, but you can also use sausage, short ribs, or leftover steak trimmings for a meatier flavor.
- Herbs - I used a combo of dried parsley, oregano, and basil which are added at the beginning and toasted so they start to release their flavor from the beginning. If you have fresh herbs you want to use, I recommend adding them towards the end of cooking instead since they don’t need as much time to release their flavor.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make the Best Homemade Italian Sunday Gravy
First, brown the marrow bones in a large pot, then add the onions and saute for a few minutes to soften them.
Add the garlic, dried herbs, and tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes until the tomato paste melts into the other ingredients.
Deglaze the pan with the red wine and scrape the bottom to remove any stuck-on flavorful bits.
Add the beef stock, whole peeled tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and tomato puree. Stir everything well and then let the sauce simmer over low heat. It should just bubble on the surface, but not too vigorously. (You can add a rind of parmesan or pecorino romano cheese too!)
Let the sauce simmer for at least 2-4 hours, or longer! The longer it simmers, the more it thickens, and the flavors condense. I usually start my sauce first thing in the morning and let it go all day. (Don't forget to stir it every hour to prevent burning.)
After the sauce is simmered, taste it for seasoning and remove the marrow bones. You can use an immersion blender to blend the sauce to your desired consistency or leave it as is.
❤️ Pot for Sunday Sauce
You will need a heavy-bottomed pot to make this recipe. I recommend this 12-quart one for plenty of room and even heat distribution.
Below is an affiliate link and I may be compensated (at no cost to you)
if you purchase after clicking on it.
🥡 How to Store Italian-American Tomato Sauce Gravy
After making the sauce, cool it completely before storing it. I transfer it to large bowls in the refrigerator and then into quart freezer bags. If you want to refrigerate some, it will last 3-5 days in an airtight container.
Pro Tip: To make storage easier, lay the filled quart bags flat on a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once frozen, they can be stored more efficiently in the freezer. The sauce will last for 3-6 months. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then warm on the stovetop over low heat.
📘 Glossary
If you don't recognize a tool or skill I mentioned, you can look it up in my Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information!
🍽️ Uses for Sunday Sauce
This Italian Gravy is best for heartier dishes, but I’ve used it on everything from pasta to pizza! Here are some of my favorite dishes to use it in:
- Italian Braised Beef Braciole - Tender, flavorful stuffed beef rolls simmered in this rich sauce—perfect for a cozy meal.
- Classic Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese - Layers of pasta, ricotta, and this savory Sunday sauce for the ultimate comfort food.
- Baked Mostaccioli with Italian Sausage - Pasta and sausage baked in Sunday sauce, topped with melted cheese.
- Crispy Baked Eggplant Parmesan - Crispy, golden-brown eggplant layered with this sauce and melted mozzarella.
- Italian-Style Meatloaf Recipe - A hearty, flavorful meatloaf made with Italian herbs and Sunday Gravy.
📖 Recipe
Sunday Italian Gravy (Tomato Sauce)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 or 2 medium beef marrow bones, or neck, knuckle, or rib bones
- ½ large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic, approximately 3-4 cloves
- 2 Tablespoons dried basil
- 2 Tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 (6-ounce can) tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups dry red wine, cabernet or merlot
- 2 quarts beef stock, or beef broth
- 2 (28-ounce cans) whole peeled tomatoes, San Marzano certified, if possible
- 2 (28-ounce cans) crushed tomatoes
- 2 (28-ounce cans) tomato puree, or passata
- parmesan rind, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Once the oil shimmers, add the bones and brown on all sides.
- Add the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent and start to brown.
- Add the minced garlic, dried herbs, and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, while stirring, until the tomato paste melts into the other ingredients.
- Deglaze the pot with the red wine and scrape the bottom to remove any stuck-on bits.
- Add the beef stock, whole peeled tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and tomato puree. (If you are using the parmesan rind, add it here.)
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring the sauce every hour to prevent burning. (It should gently boil on the top, but not rapidly.) I recommend simmering the sauce for 2-4 hours if you can, but 6-8 hours is preferred. The longer it simmers, the thicker it will become and further consense the flavors.
- Once simmered, remove any bones and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Use an immersion blender to blend to the desired consistency or use as is.
- Use the sauce immediately or cool completely and store for later. (see note below)
Bryan
This is exactly my grandmas recipe! Only thing I changed cause we ate it that night was I added spicy sausage and beef short ribs with the bone instead of just beef bones. Truly a classic!
Amanda
Oh, spicy sausage...delicious! I love it! Glad you enjoyed it as much as we do!
Jere
I love that this is called a gravy. The flavors from the beef bones mixed with all the tomatoes and the long stewing time makes the most incredible sauce (gravy). Definitely need to plan ahead for these, but the outcome is worth the time.
Amanda
Thank you Jere!
Mr. TJ
Great deep rich flavor. 32 servings would be way too much, no storage space, so I used the slider to cut the recipe in half. No shortage on flavor, that's for sure. I did not have beef bones, so I used a short chunk of the St.Louis trimmings from my weekend's spare ribs, trimmed all of the heavy fat off and most of the meat. Omitted the olive oil, as I knew the pork rib and points were going to be plenty fatty, cooked the onion and garlic in the pork fat that rendered. Substituted fresh herbs (Oregano, Flat Leaf Parsley, and Basil) at triple the rate, and used Cento tubed tomato paste.
Used the rest of the ingredients as stated, except I added about a teaspoon full of crushed red pepper.Next batch will ramp that up to two teaspoons, for a bit more of the heat bite. Ran it on low simmer for about 6 hours, covered initially and then uncovered the last three hours to fully thicken and reduce.
This is a great sauce, I keep sampling and it's three hours before dinner. ( I keep dipping bread into it, I'm sure my nutritionist says " Thank you! ")
Amanda
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that 🙂 Thank you for trying the recipe!
Bob
Thank you for such a great recipe! I have longed for this sauce. I had a fiancé when I was younger and her parents were from Italy and eating dinner at their house was incredible..... now I can go down that flavor memory lane!
Amanda
Thank you Bob, I'm so happy to hear that. Enjoy!
Michael Garcia
Cut this in half with some adjustments to the tomatoes since I grow and can my own purée and a thick Roma sauce. Used short ribs which worked well.
Thanks
Amanda
Sounds delicious! I love adding some fresh tomatoes! Thank you for trying the recipe!
Christina
I could only find short ribs, would these work for marrow?
Amanda
Short ribs have less marrow and gelatin in them, but they will still provide great flavor!
Bill Felton
This recipe sounds great! I can’t wait to make it. Question - what kind of beef broth do you suggest?
Amanda
Thanks Bill! I would recommend something that maybe is low sodium so it doesn't get overly salty when the sauce cooks down. Enjoy!
Shirley
My grandma is italian and we were raised up on meatballs boiled eggs and sugar in our red gravy that’s what us southern Italians call red gravy. Plus other meats as well. We make a sweet red gravy that is delicious.
Amanda
That sounds delicious!
Robin
This is our new favorite recipe, now making it for Christmas! Serving with meatballs and fried raviolis.
Amanda
This makes me so happy to hear! We will be having it with manicotti for Christmas eve...Merry Christmas!
Nikki Lehnhardt
I have been trying to find out the secret to good Italian red gravy for years. Beef bones and marrow makes sense. There is only one Italian restaurant left in metro New Orleans that has the distinctive taste that means real Italian to me. It’s called Riccobono’s Peppermill and I have to have it whenever I get near it. There used to be others. Tony Angelo’s and Tony’s Spaghetti House are both gone now. Thank you for the recipe. I’m going to try it this weekend.
Amanda
Not a problem Nikki, enjoy!
Luby LeBlanc
Can you please tell me what kind of beef bone?
Thank you!
Amanda
Neck, knuckle or ribs bones will all work. Ideally you want something with marrow in it as it will melt…
Holly
Amanda, i’m trying to place an order to get some meat to make this. Unfortunately they don’t have knuckle or neck bones since I’m ordering from a small grass fed beef farm there is limited choices.
So my options are beef shank, beef back ribs or short ribs. I think the only one of those with any marrow would be the shank but I don’t think there’s much since I would only be using one. They weigh 22 ounces each!
Can you tell me what the best option would be here..? i’m trying to re-create my mom‘s sauce but she used pork and we don’t eat pork. But it sure did impart wonderful flavor with all that juicy pork fat!
Thank you for your help!
Amanda
Hey Holly! Thanks for your message, I would probably go with the beef shank if you can, but honestly, all of them will still add a ton of flavor to the sauce. Enjoy!
Shanon Brooks
Just to confirm, you use all 6 cans of tomatoes? Peeled, Crushed and Puree? I'm having trouble finding the San Marzano crushed and puree. I didn't know if I could get cans of peeled and crush or puree them my self.
Amanda
Yes, all 6 cans are used in the recipe. Sometimes I can only find the san marzano whole peeled tomatoes so I just use regular crushed and pureed tomatoes or you can buy them all whole peeled and crush and puree on your own.
Jacob
This is outstanding. I go “heavy” tablespoons on the herbs & garlic, & 2 full cups of wine.
Use it for ziti, spaghetti, anything.
Yum!
Amanda
Heavy on garlic is never a bad idea 🙂 I'm so glad you enjoy it as much as we do!
Elizabeth Hohenberger
So delicious!
Amanda | Saporito Kitchen
Thank you so much Elizabeth! I'm so glad you enjoy it 🙂
Deb
What brand/kind of red wine do you use
Amanda | Saporito Kitchen
I would recommend a dry wine as opposed to sweet. It doesn't have to be terribly expensive, but something that you would drink. Cabernet or Merlot would work great!
Jodie Reed
My mouth is watering as I read this. We've recently instituted spaghetti night every Monday and I think this is going to be implemented immediately!
SaporitoKitchen
Excellent! You will have to let me know how it turned out!
Cindy Davis
Sounds delicious! I am excited to make it and have extras in the freezer for a quick, delicious dinner on a busy night!!!
SaporitoKitchen
Let me know how it works for you!