Easy Pasta Sauce. It’s so easy to make homemade tomato sauce, you’ll (probably) never buy the stuff in the jar again. Great with pasta, grilled sausages, polenta, and more.
I’m Italian-American. So I don’t even have to tell you that I grew up in a house where tomato sauce was regularly made from scratch. But I’ll tell you anyway: At home, I never ate store-bought sauce during my childhood. Ever.
During those Ragu commercials, where they declared “It’s in there!”, my mom would scoff as if she’d been personally offended by the commercial.
Her sauce was amazing. It cooked for hours and, let me tell you, was the best sauce most folks had ever tried. (Unless they too were Italian-American, then their mother’s or grandmother’s or father’s sauce was the best sauce they’d ever tried.)
The recipe I’m sharing today is not my mother’s sauce.
This tomato sauce cooks in less than an hour but, let me tell you, it’s good.
How good is it?
Glad you asked! It’s so good that my mom likes it.
If you’re in the habit of buying expensive sauce from a jar, this recipe might just help you break that spendy habit.
All you need is a few ingredients and a bit of time.
Crushed Tomatoes
This recipe uses crushed tomatoes. This is key for this sauce. Diced tomatoes work but the consistency of the sauce won’t be the same. Crushed tomatoes tend to vary in thickness from brand to brand and sometimes from season to season. Start the sauce by adding 1/4 cup of water. If your sauce seems thick, add a little more water.
Cook’s Tip: The sauce thickens as it cooks. When you start the sauce, you want it thinner than you want the finished sauce.
Onions and Garlic
Onions and garlic bring a lot of flavor to the sauce. Use one medium onion and three to five cloves of garlic. Yes. You read that right. Three to five cloves. Why the range? If the cloves are small, use more.
This makes a somewhat chunky pasta sauce. The consistency comes mainly from the diced onions. I roughly chop them. If you want a silky smooth sauce, you’ve got three options:
- Dice the onions very finely.
- Dice the onions in a food processor until they’re almost a paste.
- Puree the sauce after it’s finished cooking.
Butter
I don’t know when I started adding a pat of butter to my sauce but I did and, woah, it makes a difference. A mere pat of butter adds a roundness to the sauce that you’ll love.
Dried Basil
I know. I know. All the cool culinary snobs say that dried herbs don’t add any flavor. Do you know what I say? ‘Eff em. Seriously. Buy a good dried basil and you’ll be fine. Is dried the same as fresh? Nope! But it will add flavor.
An easy way to know if the dried basil you’re using is good is to smell it. Even without rubbing it between your fingers, you should be able to detect a summery-basil smell. If you can’t smell anything, it’s probably time to buy a new jar.
Cook Time
This sauce only requires 10 minutes of simmering. Seriously. For a deeper flavor, cook it longer, up to one hour. The longer you cook the sauce, the thicker it gets. Be sure to stir it occasionally and add additional water as needed.
Salt, Pepper, and Other Good Flavors
Think of these ingredients as a starting point. Sometimes you might want to add a pinch more salt or a sprinkle of additional red pepper flakes. Other times, you might want to stir in some additional herbs, like oregano, or add freshly grated parmesan at the end of cooking. You can do that with this sauce. It’s yours. Have fun with it!
Can I use this sauce for pizza?
Sure! I prefer a thick sauce for pizza; so I’d suggest you cook it until thick before using it on pizza.
How do I freeze tomato sauce?
Allow the sauce to cool completely. Place into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Heat thoroughly before serving. Adjust consistency as needed.
Can I use fresh tomatoes?
I wouldn’t. Fresh tomatoes are amazing. But this recipe was developed for canned tomatoes.
Can I can this sauce?
Nope! It’s not an approved recipe for canning.
Can I omit the sugar?
Absolutely! The 1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar enhances the natural sweetness of the tomatoes and, believe it or not, does make a difference. If you want to leave it out, go ahead.
Easy Pasta Sauce
Easy Pasta Sauce. Cooks in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 3-5 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- pinch red pepper flakes about 1/4 teaspoon
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 pat butter, about 2 teaspoons
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
Heat the olive oil over high heat until it shimmers. Saute the onions, stirring frequently, until they soften and shine, about three minutes. The onions should sizzle and hiss as they cook. Add the garlic. Stir to combine. This prevents the garlic from burning. Cook an additional two minutes. Add the basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine. Add the butter. Stir, cook for about a minute.
- Add 1/2 can of the crushed tomatoes. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck on bits. Reduce heat to low. Add remaining tomatoes. Stir in 1/4 cup water. If the sauce seems too thick, add additional water.
Allow sauce to simmer for 10 minutes to up to one hour. If simmering for a longer, stir the sauce occasionally and add additional water as needed to keep the sauce at the correct consistency.
Jessica says
My first time making sauce! So quick, easy, and delicious! Thanks so much! 🙂
PJ says
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I have made it several times and it has became my go to pasta sauce. I’ve used it for pizza, spaghetti, veggie no-meatball subs, lasagna, etc. and it works perfectly every time. When sauteeing the onions, I like to add in a finely shredded carrot and finely diced zucchini and it adds a little extra “hidden” nutrition to the sauce. The carrot adds a little sweetness, too. So quick and easy and always a family pleaser.
Ed says
This was great – I added a small shot of red wine, and cooked it for the full hour. The kids thought it came from the shop. Thanks for posting.
Val says
My first time of making the sauce. I added some crushed chillies to give it a bit of oomph and it was absolutely delicious. Will be my pasta sauce recipe from now on. Thank you for sharing it👌
Elizabeth says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Chris Ratnasingham says
Da-damn… is this what pasta sauce is supposed to taste like? I’m never buying store bought pasta sauce again! This recipe taste delicious!
Elizabeth says
Ha! I really enjoyed this comment. Glad you liked the sauce!
Kendra Cameron says
Would tomato sauce and fresh diced tomatoes work in this recipe instead of the canned crushed tomatoes? I’m trying to avoid going to the store lol
Elizabeth says
Yes! You’ll need to cook the sauce a little long but that works!
Esther says
How long do you think this would keep in the fridge?
Elizabeth says
About four days.
Jan Kean says
I have made this recipe about 4 times now and every time it is perfect. It is so easy. I have used fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes and a mix of both – no problem! Tonight I am going to add some chickpeas to the sauce before I add the pasta. Looking forward to tonight’s dinner. Thank you for the recipe.
Christine says
Brilliant
Maureen Brown says
Making it today for tomorrow’s company. Sounds so easy and delicious
123mary says
Can I skip the Basil
Elizabeth says
Absolutely!
Amy says
I love the sauce Thanks for posting it people loved it
Elizabeth says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
S says
I have fresh basil in the garden. When would I add it?
Elizabeth says
I like to do it twice. I put some in during the middle of cooking and then again right at the end.
If you only want to add it once, add the basil at the end for the best flavor.
Enjoy!
sandy french says
what could i substitute the red pepper flakes with? or could i skip out on them? great recipe btw!
Elizabeth says
You can certainly skip them. If you want heat and don’t have red pepper flakes on hand, add a dash or two of hot sauce.
Jenn says
I’ve used this recipe dozens of times. It’s fantastic. I omit the sugar and use a shredded carrot for sweetness.
Suria says
What kind of butter are we talking about? unsalted butter or salted? either way it looks really good I’m excite to try it out.
Elizabeth says
For this recipe, it doesn’t matter. Use whatever butter you have on hand and then, at the end, adjust the salt to taste.
Ron Samuel says
Instead Of salt, I popped in 2 anchovy fillets with the garlic. WOW!
Og says
I made this today. Absolutely delicious!
saman saif says
i’m making it as i write, using fresh tomatoes and i added a little crushed red pepper. just tasting the the water at the start of the cook, it was delicious! i added a little soft brown sugar and i’d say it enhances the taste.
Sarah Guy says
I was looking for a way to make sauce using my home grown basil and your recipe worked so well, thank you for providing it, and I will definitely put it in my recipe book
Shreya Bhattarai says
I didn’t have any canned crushed tomatoes on hand so I used 2x 400g Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes, crushed them using mortar and pestle and it worked fine! Thanks so much for this recipe ❤️ Will use for more dishes and may use for tomorrow’s PIZZA!
Debbie says
Thank you soooo much. My repertoire of dinners is seriously limited in lockdown with the kids. A fussy 3 year old girl and an even fussier 10 year old boy are eating with no complaints. When asked how is it, I got a ‘hmmmmm delicious.’
That in it itself is worth a million. Thanks so much xxxxxx
Elizabeth says
Aw! This made my day! Glad they enjoyed it.
Lindsay says
This sauce is a keeper! I get discouraged seeing a pasta sauce that takes hours of simmering with ingredients and spices that I don’t keep on hand. This sauce was so good that while I was eating it I realized that I forgot the butter! I will be sure to add it next time. Thank you.