🍅 Big Flavor, Zero Fuss, Endless Possibilities
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Hey friends! Just popping in with a recipe I’m thrilled to share: Samin Nosrat’s Lazy Sugo. I’ve been cooking my way through her brand-new 2025 cookbook Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share With People You Love lately and I’m absolutely loving it — every recipe has been a keeper, and this one is no exception.
If you love getting the absolute most flavor for the very least work, this is your recipe. No endless chopping. No browning. No deglazing. No fuss. You simply load everything into one pot, give it a stir now and then, walk away, and let the stove (or oven) fill your home with the most incredible savory aroma.
A few hours later, the pork and beef are meltingly tender and shreddy, the tomato sauce turns deep red and glossy, and you’ve got three full quarts of a beautifully rich, meaty sauce that tastes like it took days to make — not minutes of effort.
I’ve already used this sugo for multiple meals — including the easiest Meat Lovers Lasagna al Sugo — because I keep several containers (all 3 quarts!) stocked in my freezer. Anytime pork shoulder steaks or osso buco go on a buy-one-get-one-free sale, I know it’s time to make another batch. The possibilities are basically endless with a tomato-y, meaty sauce like this.
⭐ Why Lazy Sugo Works So Well
- One pot — almost zero chopping
- Huge batch = dinner tonight + freezer gold
- Bones, marrow, and two Parmesan rinds add luxurious depth
- Tender shreds of meat (no grainy ground beef!)
- Perfect for pasta, lasagna, or dipping crusty bread
🛒 Lazy Sugo Ingredients
- Canned whole San Marzano tomatoes
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Tomato paste
- A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- Dry red or white wine
- Bone‑in pork shoulder, cut into 1‑pound pieces (or shoulder steaks, no cutting needed)
- Beef shank or osso buco
- Yellow onions, peeled and halved
- Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Two Parmesan rinds
- Bay leaves
- Kosher salt, black pepper
- 1–2 tablespoons sugar (optional — balances the acidity)
Every ingredient plays its part to create a sauce that’s savory, velvety, tomato-rich, and deeply meaty.
👩🍳 How Simple the Steps Are
1️⃣ Hand-crush the tomatoes and swish cans with water
2️⃣ Cook the tomato paste in olive oil until brick-red and fragrant
3️⃣ Add the rest of the ingredients
4️⃣ Simmer gently (stovetop or 300°F oven) 3½–4½ hours
5️⃣ Pull the meat, shred into tender ribbons, discard bones
6️⃣ Stir everything back together until thick, glossy, and stunning
That’s it. Truly. 🤯
🔧 Helpful Equipment & Tools
🍲 Large Dutch oven or heavy pot — A 6–7-quart pot keeps the simmer steady and gives the meat plenty of room.
🔗 Sturdy tongs — For turning the meat early on and lifting it out once it’s fall-apart tender.
🥄 Ladle — Helpful for skimming excess fat and serving the sauce.
🔥 Heat-resistant kitchen gloves or pads (I use Red House) — Makes handling the hot pot safer and easier.
🧤 Disposable plastic food-prep gloves — Great if you prefer cleaner hands when trimming or shredding meat.
🍝 How to Make Pasta al Sugo (Quick + Easy)
For each serving: Cook your pasta, heat about ¾ cup sauce in a pan until simmering, then add the pasta with a tablespoon of butter and a generous handful of freshly grated Parmesan. Toss until the sauce looks glossy and beautifully coats every noodle — adding a splash of pasta water if needed. Serve right away with extra Parmesan. It’s comfort food perfection.
💡 Little Things That Make It Even Easier
- Occasional stirring = zero scorching problems. Give it a gentle stir and scrape every 45–60 minutes, especially in the middle where the meat sits. The oven method at 300 °F is truly set-it-and-forget-it if you want zero babysitting.
- Salt the meat ahead when you can — even 1 hour makes a difference.
- Save the cooked onion halves — perfect for snacking or adding to another dish.
- Don’t eat pork? Swap the pork shoulder for beef short ribs — they keep the sauce hearty and flavorful.
- Freezes beautifully up to 6 months — and somehow tastes even better later! Cool the sauce completely, then freeze in freezer bags or plastic containers, leaving a little room at the top. Push all the air out of bags and lay them flat. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat with a splash of water.
Who’s adding this cozy pot of goodness to the weekend plan? Drop a ❤️ if you’re in!
🎥 Watch & Learn
My video walks you through every step, but if you’re curious how Samin does it, her NYT video is a fantastic visual guide too.
Lazy Sugo (Samin Nosrat’s Meat Sauce)
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and crush them thoroughly with your hands (wear an apron!). Rinse the cans with 1¼ cups water, swirling to release any remaining juice, then add the water to the tomatoes and set aside.
- Set a large nonreactive Dutch oven (see Notes) over medium heat. Add the oil and tomato paste. Cook, stirring and breaking up the paste, until the oil turns orange, about 3 minutes. Stir in the red pepper and wine; simmer for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, pork, beef shank, onions, garlic, Parmesan rinds, and bay leaves. Season well with salt and black pepper. Raise the heat to medium‑high and, stirring often, bring the sauce to a steady simmer.
- Partly cover the pot and reduce the heat to keep the sauce at a gentle simmer. Give it an occasional stir and scrape to prevent scorching, especially in the center where the meat tends to settle. Cook until the beef and pork are both incredibly tender and falling off the bone — usually around 3½ to 4½ hours total, depending on the size of your pieces. (Some cuts cook faster, some slower; you’ll know it’s ready when the meat basically collapses when nudged with tongs.) Once the meat is tender, lift it out with tongs or a slotted spoon and set it aside.
- Once all the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and remove and discard the onions, Parmesan rinds and bay leaves from the sauce. Once the meat is cool enough to handle, pick through it and discard the bones, gristle and soft fat clumps, reserving the cartilaginous bits and hard fat strips. Use forks or your hands to shred the meat and return it to the sauce. Very finely chop the cartilaginous bits (they will add body!) from the shank and any kind of hard fat (it will add so much texture and flavor!) from the pork and return it to the sauce.
- Return the sauce to a simmer and adjust the seasoning with salt, black pepper and sugar if needed. Cook until the flavors have melded and the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness, another 20 to 30 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week or freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Return to a boil before serving.
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!
🍽️If You Cook One More Thing, Make It One of These
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If you enjoyed this recipe and would love to see more, join me on YouTube, X, and Instagram! You can follow James T. on his page here and on Instagram, @WarpSpeedWags . Please comment, like, and share. It really helps! I would love to hear from you . And if you made this recipe, how did it go for you?
2 responses to “Samin Nosrat’s Lazy Sugo (The Meat Sauce I Make on Repeat)”
Love this! Meat lovers’ lasagna!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting today, OTS. Meat lovers is a hearty lasagna for sure!