With fresh tomatoes in abundance, why not make a fresh tomato sauce? It's fresh, natural, wholesome and most delicious. This simple, easy recipe takes less than 20 minutes to make.
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The best way to make a good tomato sauce is to use good Italian tomatoes, they are sweet and have a beautiful red color which makes a big difference to the sauce. Now we are not in Italy!! So it means we probably have to use canned Italian tomatoes.
Now I do use canned tomatoes when I have to but when fresh is an option!! Of course, I want to use fresh!! I do get absolutely delicious fresh tomatoes here. I make my homemade tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and you will see I still manage to get rich red color and sweetness to my sauce. Want to know the little secret? It's in the recipe below. The caramelize sugar!! You must try it.
About this tomato sauce
Do you prefer chunky tomato sauce or smooth tomato sauce?
Honestly? They are both absolutely delicious! My kids tend to favor the smooth sauce more than the chunky so we always blend it to a smooth sauce. I love a nice chunky tomato sauce especially with a few added olives to it.
This is often my go-to for many many pasta dishes. Pizzas, mushrooms, bakes, etc.
- If you see my recipe for Penne Lasagna - yes, I've used this as well.
- For my pizza - I thicken the sauce a little more and spread over the pizza dough. Add toppings and bake. Don't forget to read my Secrets to delicious homemade Pizza.
- For a mushroom sauce - Saute mushroom slices in one tablespoon of olive oil, add a pinch of salt so the mushrooms will release the liquid. Once the liquid has evaporated add in the tomato sauce and cook for five minutes. Serve with pasta.
- Meat sauce - saute the ground meat in a tablespoon of oil until brown. Add the tomato sauce and cook on low for an hour until thick and delicious.
- Lasagna - Layer this fresh tomato sauce with ricotta or bechamel for vegetarian lasagna. Or layer the above meat sauce with ricotta or bechamel for a meat lasagna
How I get a deep red color for my fresh tomato sauce
One of the challenges with fresh tomatoes is that they don't always have a bright red color. However, No matter what the color they do taste amazing and make a great fresh tomato sauce. Here's a little trick I use to make sure no matter what the color of my fresh tomatoes - the sauce is always deep red not yellow, orange, or pale red.
Caramelizing the sugar - The main purpose of the brown sugar here is to caramelize it so it adds a touch of brown to the red. Do you know what happens to red when you add a touch of brown? It deepens the red. We are using the same principle here. Just add a dash of brown to the red which is why we want to make sure we just caramelize it not burn it.
I use this trick to deepen my red fondant in cake decorating. One day I realized this should work with my pasta sauce too. Right? Guess what it does. Now, you can get a deep red color for your fresh tomato sauce every single time.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Tomatoes - I love picking red ripe but still firm tomatoes. They cook down beautifully. You can even roast the tomatoes in the oven at 160 C for an hour to get a nice roasted/smoky flavor for the sauce. If you like cherry tomatoes you must try my recipe - Cherry Tomato Olive and Basil Pasta
- Garlic - I think you absolutely need garlic and its' just a small amount but adds so much flavor. If you like roasted garlic, save a few for your tomato sauce. It adds a lovely sweet garlicky flavor.
- Bay leaves - add an earthy flavor but if you don't fancy you can just leave it out.
- Thyme and Oregano - I do love fresh herbs but I don't always have these fresh on hand but if you do have fresh? by all means, fresh is the way to go.
- Brown Sugar - The main purpose of the brown sugar here is to caramelize it so it adds a touch of brown to the red. Do you know what happens to red when you add a touch of brown? It deepens the red. We are using the same principle here. Just adding a dash of brown to the red so make sure just caramelize not burn it.
Step by step instructions
Prepare and saute veggies
- Chop tomatoes roughly into small pieces.
- Slice the garlic thin.
- Cut onions fine.
- Add oil and garlic into a large pot or Dutch oven.
- With the heat on low let the garlic infuse into the oil for a minute or so making sure not to brown or burn it.
- Once the garlic is nice and fragrant. Add in the dried herbs.
- Followed by the diced onions, bay leaves and saute for 2 minutes.
- Gently move the onions on one side of the pan keeping the center near the heat clear.
- Add in the brown sugar. Let it caramelize slowly so it browns not burns. This will add a little brown color that will intensify the color of our sauce.
- Now mix in the onions again and continue to cook.
- Next, add in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover the pan, lower the heat to a simmer and let simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes you should have a thick, dark tomato sauce.
- Add in your fresh basil leaves.
- You can leave the sauce chunky or use a hand blender to blend it to a smooth paste.
- Serve over fresh pasta or use as a basic tomato sauce for making other variations.
Frequently asked questions
This sauce will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can portion it and freeze it in ziplock bags for about 3 to 4 months.
Both are tomato sauce. However, marinara sauce is best made with crushed and strained San Marzano or plum tomatoes. Since I'm using regular seasonal tomatoes I prefer to call this a fresh tomato sauce.
The base is the same however, a pasta sauce is usually simmered over low heat until thicker. The slow cooking makes the tomatoes sweeter, richer and deeper in flavor.
Absolutely, you can make a wonderful vegetarian spaghetti pasta with this sauce.
Yes, of course, just cook the sauce a few minutes longer so it is thicker, not runny. See my 5 minutes pizza sauce
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Printable Recipe
Fresh Tomato Sauce - 20 mins
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Ingredients
- 6 cups (1 kg) Tomatoes chopped
- 3 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 cloves Garlic sliced
- 1 cup Red onion chopped finely
- 2 tablespoon Brown sugar
- 4 tablespoon Tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon Dried thyme leaves
- 4 tablespoon Basil fresh chopped
- ½ teaspoon Dried oregano
- 4 Bay leaves large
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Chop tomatoes roughly into small pieces.
- Slice the garlic thin.
- Cut onions fine.
- Add oil and garlic into a large pot or Dutch oven.
- With the heat on low let the garlic infuse into the oil for a minute or so making sure not to brown or burn it.
- Once the garlic is nice and fragrant. Add in the dried herbs.
- Followed by the diced onions, bay leaves and saute for 2 minutes.
- Gently move the onions on one side of the pan keeping the center near the heat clear.
- Add in the brown sugar. Let it caramelize slowly so it browns not burns. This will add a little brown color that will intensify the color of our sauce.
- Now mix in the onions again and continue to cook.
- Next, add in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover the pan, lower the heat to a simmer and let simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes you should have a thick, dark tomato sauce.
- Add in your fresh basil leaves.
- You can leave the sauce chunky or use a hand blender to blend it to a smooth paste.
- Serve over fresh pasta or use as a basic tomato sauce for making other variations.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Lakshmi Nandwani
Read this
thank you for all the info
Christi
Do I need to peel the tomatoes or is it ok to leave the skins on?
Veena Azmanov
Hey Christi. I like a rustic tomato sauce so I do leave the skin on. But you can certainly take it one step further and skin the tomatoes (blanchiing them for a minute in hot water should do the trick)
Adriana
A good tomato sauce is very important in cooking. I tried your recipe and I fell in love with it. Use it every time I am cooking a tomato based dish.
Veena Azmanov
Absolutely, Thanks Adriana
Cynthia Greathouse
Everyone in my family loves this! Delicious!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Cynthia.
Diane Willis
Excellent sauce. Used my fresh Roma tomatoes and the taste and sauce also using my fresh onions and basil sent this sauce over the edge. I have tons of tomatoes so working on my second batch and will probably be doing it again another 2 times to end up with 4 batches. I used my food Saver and froze flat for stacking. I look forward to walking to the freezer this fall and winter for sure.
Veena Azmanov
Wow, Diane. So lucky you have so many fresh homegrown tomatoes. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. So happy you are enjoying this recipe. It sure is our family favorite. Have a great day