Bringing this epic Homemade Tomato Sauce, inspired by the one and only Marcella Hazan, to WGC so we can all use that bumper crop of tomatoes before we really dive into fall cooking.
If you missed my IG stories a few weeks ago, I was in Seattle and my mom was picking 20-30lbs of tomatoes a DAY. Not a week, every single day. Her garden is out of control and I'm devastated her green thumb wasn't passed down to me. We made caprese salads for lunch and dinner. We chopped tomatoes and threw them into salads. We added them to pasta. You name is, we did it. But we still had so many tomatoes. So what's a girl to do, make the infamous Marcella Hazan home made tomato sauce recipe with a few modifications.
I've never been one to make my own tomato sauce from scratch. I always just buy it from the store because it's so easy. But let me tell you, this is the best tomato sauce recipe and it is so freaking special!! You can consider me a convert. The key is incredible tomatoes and then you're in business. Who would have guessed that the tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes would make me a convert! lol
I'd advise making this in the summer and early fall months when it's peak tomato season. If you're using tomatoes at other times of the year that aren't super flavorful on their own, skip it!! Because of the simplicity of this, you need epic ingredients to start!
FAQ's for making tomato sauce:
Can you double this Homemade Tomato Sauce recipe?
Absolutely, if you make this sauce and double it or triple it – the leftovers would be amazing.
Can you freeze Homemade Tomato Sauce?
Sure can! Tomato Sauce absolutely saves well for leftover meals! My favorite tip for freezing tomato sauce to is to pour it into an ice cube mold or divide it among small plastic zip-top freezer bags. This way you can easily pop out a single serving as needed without having to defrost the whole batch.
What types of tomatoes are best for this sauce?
When we made this sauce up at my moms house it was mostly made with heirloom tomatoes. We also made a second batch with Sungold and Cherry tomatoes. If we had access to some fresh San Marzanos that would be epic. I think I need to convince my mom to plant those tomatoes for next year so we can create our own san marzano tomato sauce. That would go really well on Pizza!
What is tomato sauce made of?
- Ripe tomatoes
- Butter
- Onion
- Salt and Black pepper
- Fresh basil
- your favorite seasoning blend (optional)
How do you make a basic tomato sauce?
It's actually very simple. You put the fresh tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered over medium heat very slowly. The tomatoes will break down, as will the onion.
Once removed from the heat, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce (including the onion) to your desired consistency. I like it pretty smooth. Add in a handful of basil and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Serve over freshly cooked pasta or in any other dishes where you need a tomato sauce.
Want some more comforting pasta recipes with Tomato Sauce:
- Penne with 5 Cheeses
- Cheesy Baked Gnocchi
- Cheesy Chicken Taco Pasta
- Chicken Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce
So, what are you waiting for? Get to the grocery store or farmers market and stock up on some tomatoes, or better yet if you have a garden with tomatoes please start harvesting away. With this Homemade Tomato Sauce recipe, you can enjoy all of the amazing flavors of summer well into fall. Make sure to let me know how it goes–I’d love to hear about your experiences with this sauce!
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Homemade Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes cut into large chunks
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion peeled and cut in half
- 1 tbsp Dalkin&Co Tuscan Seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- Put the fresh tomatoes in a medium saucepan, add the butter, onion, Tuscan seasoning and salt, and cook uncovered over medium heat a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45-55 minutes. The tomatoes will break down, as will the onion. Make sure to stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
- Once removed from the heat, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce (including the onion) to your desired consistency. I like it pretty smooth. Add in a handful of basil and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve over freshly cooked pasta or in any other dishes where you need a tomato sauce.
My mom's tomato patch was exploding so I took full advantage knowing I would make this. It is flavorful! Mine is a bit thin so I will probably have it as a tomato bisque with grilled cheese on the side.
I made this sauce with tomatoes from my garden. Such a simple recipe with an amazing outcome. The sauce has a creamy texture without the cream. My family is very particular about sauces and this one will continue to be made in our house. Give it a try!
Taste is awesome & super easy to make. I like a smooth sauce too but found it to be a little thin? Can you suggest what I might add to thicken it up a bit?
you'll just need to continue to cook it down a bit! different tomatoes have different ratios of moisture so just cook it any extra 10-20 minutes
This sauce is delicious! Do you leave the basil whole/torn or blend it into the sauce?
blend!!
Dynamite sauce. I used a variety of tomatoes that I had on my counter from my garden and it worked so well. I had a half of a Vidalia onion that needed used so threw that in the pot. My husband said it tastes vodka sauce-y. I couldn’t agree more. The sauce almost has a cheesy flavor to it. We put it on pizza with some fresh ricotta, red onion, and basil. I’m already planning on making and freezing to have supply on hand!
This was so easy and absolutely delicious.
Have an abundance of tomatoes and will surely make this for the next month!! How long do you think it will last in the freezer?
months! I have some from last summer that I just took out and it's perf
I specifically went to the farmer's market this morning to pickup fresh tomatoes. It was worth the 30-minute trip. This sauce is so delicious, and so easy!! I'm not sure I'll ever use a jarred sauce again. Thanks for sharing.
LOVE TO HEAR IT!! XX
Made this after seeing it on the Instagram page…so glad I did! Used a shallot instead of onion because that’s all I had on hand. Delicious sauce! Will definitely be making this my summertime go-to.
Do you have a certain kind of tomatoes that you prefer for this recipe? So excited to try! Can honestly say, I haven’t tried a bad one. I Love all of your recipes!
honestly any kind of summer tomato works!
This sauce is DELICIOUS!!!
We have made it twice - it was a different color each time because we used two different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, but oh my gosh, it was divine!
I would love to try this but worried about the skins. Do you remove them? I have pieces of skin in my
Sauces.
they get blended in so no need to remove them up front
This was DELICIOUS and so easy! Highly recommend
This is going to be a go-to with end of summer garden tomatoes. It is delicious and yet so simple! I followed it exactly but I did want to put garlic in it. It doesn’t need it
Am making this and using it for the tomato sauce on my lasagna! Can't wait!
I made your garlic confit and tomato confit the other day, both delicious! I think this would be good with some of that garlic in it! Thoughts?? 🙂