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.
Nancy E Troeger says
Fast and delicious. Thank you!
Tallulah Stewart says
I forgot to put the water in but it’s still super good
Janeel Shulmister says
OMG I made this tonight!
My husband took one bite and declared “This is the only way I want spaghetti from now on. No more store bought sauce!”
It was so simple to make and so delicious. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
Elizabeth says
Ah! This made my day! Glad you liked it!
Marti Fernandez says
This sauce is amazing! I actually added about ¼ C butter and just a bit of oregano. This will be my new “go to” for sauce, it just absolutely perfect
mark m says
great sauce but I added 1\4 cup of white wine instead of water turned out great.
Lavina Jones says
This is yummy 🤤, my pasta sauce is usually quite bland and I think the butter is a great addition. My kids have told me to save this recipe and not revert back to my old ones 🤣
Sylvia says
This was an amazing recipe!!! Easy to make!!!
preshy says
Very helpful , my pasta sauce and my pasta turned out very delicioso
Gracias amigas
Renee says
I never imagined such an easy sauce would be so tasty. A+++++++++ 👍
Kini says
Awesome recipe! I made it for my family and they loved it!
Terre B says
Love love love this sauce, I made it a couple weeks ago and couldn’t believe how easy It is and cheaper than using name brand sauces to feed my family the leftovers work great for stuffed shells and lasagna…thank you so much
Terre B says
Forgot to add… I am making another big batch tonight for dinner to prep for meals this week 👍🏽
Bernie Heenan says
How long can you leave in fridge without freezing
Elizabeth says
About four days.
Fran says
I love the versatility of this recipe. I’ve made it many times, sometimes just as is (it’s delicious… trust me) and other times, I add some oregano or Italian seasoning. Sometimes I add a little extra garlic or throw in a few veggies and some plant based crumbles! The possibilities are endless, but it’s because the sauce is so delightful just as it is!
David Cameron says
A teaspoon of dried instead of basil. Thank me later.
amy says
my sauce is looking more orange then red like your pictures. any idea why?
Elizabeth says
The color of canned tomatoes varies a lot by band. My guess is that it’s the type of tomatoes they use and how it’s processed.
Terry C. says
This is so fast and easy and so good! I made the sauce according to directions then added browned ground Turkey sautéed with additional onion, salt and pepper, a glug of red wine and about 1/3 cup of finely grated Parmesan. Simmered low for about 45 minutes. My husband loved it! ❤️
JBfromGA says
Easy to make, tastes great. Good with spaghetti or Italian Sausage
Mark J Mc Donnell says
this is the and easy to make. I use white wine instead of water and also 1/4 tsp of oregano. but the key is the tomatoes I use delallo san marzano or tuttorosso hand crushed tomatoes makes all the difference
Jerry says
Would not have believed a really good sauce could be made without simmering for hours.
Turned out great. However, I cheated a bit and added a little red wine and a few fennel
seeds to the pot.
Also, I think 10 minutes prep time is too short.
With choping dicing, getting ingredients lined up I would say 20-3 minutes.
Anyway, it’s a great sauce
Thanks
Anna Philbert says
I made this for dinner today. It was fast, easy and very delicious! I loved it and will add it to the regular rotation!
Bobbi Shingleton says
I’ve made this several times. It never disappoints! Best sauce ever.!
Tom says
Awesome sauce! I added a half TSP of fennel seeds & a lot more chili flakes (we like it spicy) but this was so flavorful & easy to make. I need to work on dicing my onions more finely though haha