Swedish meat sauce with spaghetti
45 min · 43 g protein · 605 cals / serving
Sweden's most-cooked weeknight dinner, with red lentils simmered into the meat sauce. They melt into it completely, so the sauce stays thick and meaty while the pot stretches further, and grated carrot gives it the gentle sweetness Swedish köttfärssås is known for.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz ground beef (95% lean), 5 % fat
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cans (14 oz each) crushed tomatoes, canned, with liquid
- 2/3 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 2/3 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 8 1/2 oz pasta, spaghetti
To serve
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Cook the onion and carrot for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until soft; add the garlic for the last minute.
- Turn the heat up, add the beef and brown it, breaking it into small crumbs, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F, 6–8 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute, then add the crushed tomatoes, lentils, broth, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have broken down and the sauce is thick. Loosen with a splash of water if it catches; taste for salt.
- While the sauce simmers, cook the spaghetti in well-salted water according to the package and drain.
- Serve the sauce over the spaghetti with the parmesan on top.
Good to know
Will anyone notice the lentils?
Red lentils lose their shape after about 20 minutes and thicken the sauce rather than sitting in it, so most people read them as extra meat. Green or brown lentils stay whole and are easier to spot.
Can I use regular 10 % nötfärs?
Yes, it works the same way. Pour off any fat that collects after browning and the sauce comes out much the same, at about 54 instead of 57.
Does it freeze?
The sauce freezes well for up to three months. Freeze it without the pasta and cook fresh spaghetti on the day.
Per
- Calories
- 104
- Protein
- (29%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (18%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (53%)
- 15 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 199 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2421 kcal goes into the pot and 2389 g of ingredients comes out as about 2330 g of food: 104 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.