Greek Spaghetti Meat Sauce (Makaronia me Kima)

By Lucy Parissi

5 from 2 votes

, Updated Sep 25, 2025

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“Makaronia me Kima” (spaghetti with meat sauce) is one of my favorite comfort foods. This incredibly popular recipe is the Greek version of spaghetti Bolognese, a rich ground beef and tomato sauce served over pasta.

Bowl of spaghetti with meat suace

Whenever I go back to Greece, my mum makes makaronia me kima (Greek spaghetti with meat sauce) and we devour it in minutes. It’s a dish I grew up on, comforting and full of layers.

This version is my modern take: simple pantry ingredients, aromatic spices that don’t overwhelm, and just enough richness to make everyone ask for seconds. Whether you’re serving it over spaghetti, rolling it into lasagna, or layering it in baked pastitsio, this sauce is a keeper.

Here’s What You’ll Need

I have switched up my mum’s recipe a little bit but it tastes just as delicious! Here’s what you will need:

  • Unsalted butter and virgin olive oil
  • Onion and garlic
  • Canned plum tomatoes such San Marzano are my go-to, but fresh grated or chopped tomatoes work too.
  • Spices and seasoning: sea salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, allspice berries and cloves
  • White wine plus vegetable stock (bouillon powder or a stock cube)
  • Ground beef (beef mince) mix with ground lamb or pork for more richness
  • Grated cheese such as Parmesan or a Greek Kefalotyri, and chopped parsley to serve

How to make Greek Meat Sauce

Make the tomato sauce base

  1. Heat the butter in a Dutch Oven over medium heat until it starts foaming. Once the butter starts turning brown, add the garlic and onions, cut side down.
browning onions in brown butter
  1. Add the canned tomatoes (be careful as they are likely to spatter when they hit the hot pan). Break them up with the back of a spoon and stir in the salt, sugar, pepper and bay leaves. Place the cinnamon stick, allspice berries and ground cloves in a tea filter bag for easy disposal later and add to the sauce.
  1. Pour the wine into the sauce and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot tightly and cook for 20-25 minutes.
  2. Discard the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, clove sand allspice berries. Use an immersion blender to process the sauce until smooth.
Adding plum tomatoes to pot to make sauce
Tomato and onion sauce in a pot

Add the ground beef

  1. Stir in the ground beef and break it up with your spoon.
  1. Add in the olive oil and the vegetable stock, bring the sauce back to a simmer, partially cover the pot and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning before serving.
adding ground beef to pot of tomato sauce
Greek Meat Sauce cooking in a pot

Serving Suggestions and Storage

Spoon over spaghetti and add plenty of grated cheese such as Parmesan or Kefalotyri. Pair with my Greek Bread (Horiatiko Psomi) or Dough Balls With Garlic Butter and red wine. You can also use this meat sauce in lasagna, moussaka or pastitsio or as a filling for phyllo meat pies.

Stored cooled leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days or portion into suitable containers or freezer-safe bags and consume within three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove, adding a little water if needed to loosen the sauce

Makaronia me kima in a bowl

Recipe Notes and Tips

  • You can use my San Marzano Tomato Sauce or this roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce as the base for this meat sauce.
  • This ground beef sauce recipe is suitable for freezing. I usually make a big batch, divide it into portion sizes and freeze it so that we always have a kid-friendly meal on stand by.
  • If you don’t want to blend the sauce then you can use finely grated onion and crushed tomatoes.
  • If the sauce is a little watery, continue to cook it for a bit longer until it has reduced.
Bowl of spaghetti with Greek meat sauce

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Makaronia me kima in a bowl
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5 from 2 votes

Greek spaghetti with meat sauce

By Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes
“Makaronia me Kima” (Greek spaghetti with meat sauce) is one of my favorite comfort foods. This incredibly popular recipe is the Greek version of spaghetti Bolognese, a rich ground beef and tomato sauce served over pasta.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4
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Video

Equipment

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 1 lb (450g) ground beef (beef mince)
  • ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 onion , peeled and quartered
  • 14 oz (400g) canned tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground pepper
  • ½ tsp sugar , more if needed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ cinnamon stick
  • 3 allspice berries
  • 3 whole cloves or generous pinch ground cloves
  • ½ cup (120ml) white wine
  • 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock from a cube is fine
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

To serve

  • cooked spaghetti or any type of pasta
  • Grated parmesan
  • flat leaf parsley
  • salt and pepper

Instructions 

  • Heat the butter in a Dutch Oven over medium heat until it starts foaming. Once the butter starts turning brown, add the garlic and onions, cut side down.
    ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, 4 garlic cloves, 1 onion
  • Add the canned tomatoes (be careful as they are likely to spatter and sizzle when they hit the hot pan).
    14 oz (400g) canned tomatoes
  • Break them up with the back of a spoon and stir in the salt, sugar, pepper and bay leaves. Place the cinnamon stick, allspice berries and cloves in a disposable filter bag and add to the pot.
    1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground pepper, ½ tsp sugar, 2 bay leaves, ½ cinnamon stick, 3 allspice berries, 3 whole cloves
  • Pour the wine into the sauce and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot tightly and cook for 20-25 minutes.
    ½ cup (120ml) white wine
  • Discard the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and allspice berries. Blitz the sauce with an immersion blender until mostly smooth.
  • Stir in the ground beef and break it up with your spoon. Add the olive oil and stock, bring the sauce back to a simmer, partially cover the pot and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    1 lb (450g) ground beef, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock
  • Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Serve over spaghetti with grated Parmesan or Kefalotyri cheese.
    cooked spaghetti , Grated parmesan, flat leaf parsley, salt and pepper

Notes

  • This ground beef sauce recipe is suitable for freezing. I usually make a big batch, divide it into portion sizes and freeze it so that we always have a kid-friendly meal on stand by.
  • If you don’t want to blend the sauce then you can use finely grated onion and crushed tomatoes.
  • If the sauce is a little watery you can continue to cook it for a bit longer until it has reduced.

Nutrition

Calories: 538kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 28928mg | Potassium: 682mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 1190IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 255mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.

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5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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2 Comments

  1. Catherine says:

    There is no meat listed in ingredients. How much ground beef do you use for this recipe?

    Reply
    1. Lucy Parissi says:

      Apologies for that Catherine I have corrected it

      Reply