Easy Tomato Sauce Recipe - The Kitchen Girl (2024)

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This quick and easy tomato sauce recipe shows you how to make tomato sauce with any tomatoes and a few pantry ingredients. Use this zesty sauce for pasta, pizza, lasagna, you name it!

Why this is the best tomato sauce recipe

This homemade tomato sauce is a dinner-saver for all things Italian! When you don't have jar pasta sauce on hand, or even if you do, this sauce makes you think about reaching for the packaged stuff. Here's why...

• Easy - Any cooking level will find this recipe easy.
• Convenient - Use any canned or fresh tomatoes for this recipe.
• Great flavor - It tastes as good as any packaged spaghetti sauce.
• Low sodium - Naturally low-sodium compared to packaged varieties.
• No sugar - There's no sugar added to this recipe.
• Easy storage - Freezing tomato sauce is easy and convenient.
• Low cost - Quality pasta sauce is expensive and making your own can save money.
• Diet-friendly - This homemade sauce is naturally vegan AND gluten-free.
• Versatile - It's ideal for Shakshuka, a quick tortilla pizza recipe, one-pot pressure cooker spaghetti, sloppy Joes, chicken Parmesan, pull-apart bread, lasagna, and meatballs.

Ingredients you'll need

• extra virgin olive oil - Adds rich flavor and texture to this sauce.
• fresh garlic - You can certainly use granulated garlic, but it won't have the deep, pungent flavor you get from raw garlic.
• onion - Any color onion will work.
• tomatoes - Canned tomatoes are convenient and packed with flavor, which makes them ideal for this quick recipe. This recipe also includes instructions for fresh tomatoes.
• tomato paste - Use canned tomato paste or tube tomato paste in equal amounts.
• oregano - This recipe includes amounts for fresh or dried oregano.
• crushed red chili pepper - This adds a spicy kick that makes this sauce even more irresistible.
• salt and pepper
• water - Adds volume and helps adjust the sauce consistency while it cooks.

How to make tomato sauce

Step 1: Heat oil over medium-high. Saute onions and garlic until tender.

Step 2: Add tomatoes, tomato paste, seasonings, and water. Stir to combine.

Step 3: Bring this mixture to a boil for a few minutes. Reduce heat to low, loosely cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until sauce thickens to your liking, stirring as needed.

Serving idea for a large group

This tomato sauce is perfect for meatball subs or sliders for a crowd of 25 people. I quadruple the sauce recipe to yield 16 cups, which is the perfect amount to serve with 75 cooked meatballs as sliders. So good and highly recommend!

Recipe tips

• tomato variety - Use any canned tomato variety, including crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and whole or plum tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are a very popular plum variety for this sauce.
• simmer for depth - This quick tomato sauce can be simmered beyond the suggested time frame to develop deeper color and richer flavor.
• adjusting flavor - Everyone's palate is different, so taste your sauce as you go and adjust the seasonings to your liking, especially salt.
• sauce thickness - To thicken tomato sauce, simply simmer it longer until the liquid reduces the sauce to your desired texture.
• acidity - If you need to cut the acidity in your sauce, add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavor.
• freezing tomato sauce - It's super convenient to freeze any leftovers in an airtight container for future meals. Just thaw, heat, and serve!

Recipe variations

• add-ins - Add finely chopped vegetables, such as carrots and celery for added volume, flavor, and nutrition. Do this during the sauté step.
• herbs - Flavor your tomato sauce with other herbs and spices, such as basil, thyme, ground fennel, or an all-in-one Italian seasoning.
• texture - Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree this naturally chunky tomato sauce into a smooth texture.

📖 Recipe