Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Making homemade tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes is not difficult but often getting that nice bright red color is a challenge. With my simple easy trick you will make beautiful bright red tomato sauce every single time.
Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomato
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 in Israel. I make my homemade tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and you will see I still manage to get a rich red color and sweetness to my sauce.
Want to know the little secret? It’s in the recipe below.
Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Let’s talk 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 – adds 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 add a touch of brown to the red. You know what happens to red when you add a touch of brown? It’s deeps 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.
Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Consistency – Chunky Tomato Sauce vs Smooth Tomato Sauce.
Honestly ? They are both absolutely delicious! but 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.
Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
How I use this Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with fresh tomatoes
This is often my go to for many many pasta dishes. I use it as a base for my Pizza!! I use it as a base for my Mushroom Sauce. If you see my recipe for Baked 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 table spoon 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.
Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Recipe – Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Tools
Ingredients
- Ripe firm red tomatoes – 8 large (about 6 cups when chopped)
- Extra virgin olive oil – 3 tbsp
- Garlic cloves – 3 tbsp sliced thinly
- Red / Spanish onion – 1 1/2 medium – chopped fine
- Brown sugar – 2 tbsp
- Tomato paste – 4 tbsp
- Dried thyme leaves – 1/2 tsp ( or 2 tbsp fresh)
- Fresh basil – 4 tbsp fresh
- Dried oregano – 1/2 tsp (or 4 tbsp fresh)
- Bay leaves – 4 nos
- Salt – 2 tsp
- Pepper – 1/2 tsp
Method:
Prepare Veggies
- Chop tomatoes roughly into small pieces
- Slice the garlic thin
- Cut onions fine
Saute veggies
- Add oil and garlic in to 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 of 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 to 3 minutes.
The secret to that beautiful red color color
- 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.
- Continue to cook on medium high for 5 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Slow simmer
- 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 using a hand blender blend it to a smooth paste.
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Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Recipe Card – Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 servings
Making homemade tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes is not difficult but often getting that nice bright red color is a challenge. With my simple easy trick you will make beautiful bright red tomato sauce every single time.
Ingredients
- Ripe firm red tomatoes - 8 large (about 6 cups when chopped)
- Extra virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp
- Garlic cloves - 3 tbsp sliced thinly
- Red / Spanish onion - 1 1/2 medium - chopped fine
- Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
- Tomato paste - 4 tbsp
- Dried thyme leaves - 1/2 tsp ( or 2 tbsp fresh)
- Fresh basil - 4 tbsp fresh
- Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp (or 4 tbsp fresh)
- Bay leaves - 4 nos
- Salt - 2 tsp
- Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Instructions
Prepare Veggies
- Chop tomatoes roughly into small pieces
- Slice the garlic thin
- Cut onions fine
Saute veggies
- Add oil and garlic in to 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 of 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 to 3 minutes.
The secret to that beautiful red color color
- 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.
- Continue to cook on medium high for 5 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Slow simmer
- 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 using a hand blender blend it to a smooth paste.
Courses Lunch Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 100 g
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 47 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 2.5 g | 4% | |
Saturated Fat 0.3 g | 2% | |
Unsaturated Fat 2.2 g | ||
Sodium 266 mg | 11% | |
Total Carbohydrates 6.2 g | 2% | |
Dietary Fiber 1.4 g | 6% | |
Sugars 3.8 g | ||
Protein 1.1 g | 2% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Making a quick meal is as easy as adding some boiled pasta into this sauce!! Sprinkle with more fresh basil and a generous dash of Parmesan cheese.
Love Cooking? You may like to check out some of my other quiche recipes.
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Hi!
The simmering time of 15 minutes isn’t it too short?
I learned from another recipe it takes 2hrs for a batch of 10 pounds of tomatoes
There are many different versions of tomato sauces Mario. You can make a concentrated recipe too if you want but for everyday cooking this one amazing. Very fresh and beautifully light.
One of my favorite things about creating recipes is the variety. Im=haven=mine, but I really love your recipe. Using fresh tomatoes is the best and the flavors are amazing. Love everything about this fresh tomato sauce
Thank you so much Eileen. This is absolutely delicious – you must try.
I did not know you could make perfect tomato sauce with just fresh tomatoes. We loved this recipe. Love your trick to getting that deep red. I will be using this recipe more often now. Thanks
Thank you Vatch, So happy to hear you had success with this recipe. Sounds delicious! I love using fresh whenever possible. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback, appreciate it very much. Always a great feeling to read such success and positive comments. Thank you.
The sauce was delicious and the seasonings spot on.! I appreciate how simple it was to make. I found that four cups of tomatoes cooked down didn’t yield enough sauce (we must be generous in our servings), so I added a can of crushed tomatoes, more seasonings and simmered again. Next time I will be sure to double or triple the tomatoes so it’s fresh from start to finish.
Thank you Jessie – You can definitely double or triple the recipe. I do make small batched to serve only 4 people. For us the becomes right as we are not too generous with our tomato sauce. Glad you hear you loved the taste. Thanks for the feedback.
Nothing beats homemade sauce .. specially in summers!! I have a veggie patch and have lots of Tomato plants.. can’t wait to make my own sauce at home.. pinning you recipe for later!
Thank you Soniya. SO lucky to have home grown veggies.. Enjoy
Fresh sauce always best, love that color which is lacking the store bought one. I think this will great for home made mixed veggie pasta or even some curries. I think options are endless.
Thank you Swathi. Yes definitely there ain’t nothing better than fresh for sure
Thank you for the little tip about the colour!! the sauce looks beautiful. I’ll definitely try the brown sugar the next time I make pasta sauce. Your photos are really good too
Thank you Karyn. Yes it does a great job of deepening the color. Try it.
This is such a gorgeous looking tomato sauce that I can literally eat few spoons just like that 😉 Nothing compares to homemade sauces/jams and this would be perfect to make a huge batch and store for later use. Love the pictures.
Thank you so much Molly. I do make a big batch and freeze some so I can use on my busy cake days.
I always put granulated sugar but I love the brown sugar idea. I’m sure it’ll add a beautiful caramelized flavor! Recipe saved!
It definitely enhances the flavor Handy. Thanks
Ooh I get your little trick to getting the colour right – I tend to just let it simmer until I see the colour coming in. This will definitely quicken the time it takes! Thanks for the recipe!
Yup, this little trick can save you a little time.
Fresh sauce is the BEST kind! I love making it from scratch. The tip about the brown sugar is a good one, I often use it to combat acidity (when I can’t find the good tomatoes, it helps!). Your recipe looks GREAT
Yes, it does help with acidity too Kylee. Here I use it to deepen the color.
I love a good tomato sauce — it’s the basis of so many good recipes. Your sauce recipe sounds wonderful, Veena! I like how you deepen the red, very clever! I haven’t had breakfast yet but you’re making me hungry for something Italian — our sauce is frozen right now but I am craving it. We’ll have to try your recipe next time we make sauce. (Thank God, you don’t call it gravy!!!!!)
Thank you Marisa. Yeah I always called it sauce never gravy. I hope you try it the next time
OK….I love the fall harvest of tomatoes. I always slow roast them and put them in the freezer for use over the winter. This sauce sounds so delicious and would be perfect on pasta, and so many other recipes. Printed and will try when the harvest is ready.
I love roasting tomatoes for a good sauce Gloria especially my cherry tomatoes – so yum.
A store bought tomato sauce never beats a homemade sauce. I find the addition of brown sugar interesting. I bet your sauce tastes great on a pizza.
Absolutely Helen. Nothing beats homemade ! Oh it does very well with pizza!!
A good tomato sauce is a must have specially now that tomato season is over and we have so much harvest at home. Yoru recipe looks very good!
Thank you Adriana. Yes, tomato season is almost coming to a close. Do you can tomato sauce?
Fresh homemade tomato sauce is the best! Your recipe looks like perfection – the brown sugar is key! Love it!
Thank you Marlynn. Yes the brown sugar her give a lovely color
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