In honor of Nana · Grandmother
Nana's Sunday Gravy
Slow-simmered tomato sauce loaded with browned meatballs and Italian sausage. A true Sunday tradition.
Shared by Integration Test in honor of Nana
Prep30 min
Cook3+ hours
Serves6-8
Ingredients16 items
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Every Sunday after church, the whole family came over and Nana already had the pot going by 9 AM. The smell hit you on the front porch. She used her mother's cast iron dutch oven and never measured a thing — just knew by look, smell, and taste. We'd pick at the meatballs when she wasn't looking. This recipe is as close as we could get it from watching her all those years.
“She cooked every Sunday like clockwork.”
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef, 80/20
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
- 1 lb Italian sausage links, sweet or hot
- 3 tbsp olive oil
View original family versioncontributed
Brown meatballs in olive oil — don't crowd the pan. Set aside. Brown the sausages same way. In the big pot, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until soft. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, a little water, basil, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper. Nestle the meatballs and sausages in. Bring to a low simmer, partially cover, cook at least 3 hours — the longer the better. Stir every 30 minutes so it doesn't stick. Taste and adjust salt. Serve over spaghetti with grated Pecorino Romano.
Table talk
This reminds me of Sunday dinners at home. Thank you for sharing!
7/5/2026
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