Homemade Fresh Tomato Sauce – 20 mins
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 and here’s a little trick I often use to get that nice bright red color in my tomato sauce.
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 fresh 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 (Save/Pin)
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.
Useful Tips and Tools
- You will need a clean chopping board and utility knife to cut the veggies
- I like to make this in my saute pan. Make sure to use a nice large one that can accommodate the boiled pasta as well
- I usually prefer to use a wooden spatula and toss things rather than stir to avoid breaking the tomatoes
- I like to use my hand blender for pulsing the sauce. If you use a regular blender it’s best to cool the sauce a bit to prevent accidents.
Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- 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.
How to Make Fresh Tomato Sauce (save/Pin)
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.
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Fresh Tomato Sauce – 20 mins
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
- 6 cups (6 cups) Tomatoes chopped
- 3 tbsp (3 tbsp) Olive oil
- 2 cloves (2 cloves) Garlic sliced
- 1 cup (1 cup) Red onion chopped finely
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Brown sugar
- 4 tbsp (4 tbsp) Tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) Dried thyme leaves
- 4 tbsp (4 tbsp) Basil fresh chopped
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) Dried oregano
- 4 (4 ) Bay leaves large
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Salt
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) 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
Recipe Video
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Nutrition Information
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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
Fawn
I have no clue how but all your recipes work like magic for me. My family loves this sauce. I now use it as a base for all my pasta recipes. That browning sugar.. genius.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Fawn. So happy you enjoy my recipes and your family loves this sauce. Thank you for taking the time to write this feedback. Love hearing back from those who try my recipe. Have a great day.
Junie
This was very delicious, the best homemade sauce I made without canned tomatoes.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Junie. So happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to write this feedback. Love hearing back from those who try my recipe. Have a great day.
Ngan
Tried this recipe and it was so good. The flavors are just right. Used it for my lasagna
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Ngan. So happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to write this feedback. Love hearing back from those who try my recipe. Have a great day.
Shanie
I can’t believe how talented you are – Been following your cake page all this while, now I’m a fan of your food too. Love the trick you have with the brown sugar in this one.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Shanie. I am so happy to hear that you had success with this recipe and enjoy it so much. And happy you trying my food recipes along with cake decorating. Thanks for coming back to write this comment. Always appreciate the feedback, especially good ones like this make my day.
Marietta
I always make fresh tomato sauce but it never has that deep color. Thanks for the trick I used it this week and it worked. The sauce was so deep in color.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Marietta. So happy to hear you had success with my recipe and found this trick useful. Definitely works very well. Thanks for the lovely comment. Appreciate you coming back to write it. Have a wonderful day.
Dorothy
Made this and it was so tasty. I cannot believe how easy it was. Made tomato sauce at home for the first time myself.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Dorothy. So happy to hear you had success with my recipe and everyone enjoyed it so much. Thanks for the lovely comment. Appreciate you coming back to write it. Have a wonderful day.
Sally
Tried this recipe last week. Turned out perfect. I love the sugar trick. Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Sally. So happy you had success with this recipe and that you enjoyed it too. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a wonderful week.
Lucy-Sarah Raymond Gounder
I love this recipe. Simple and easy to follow.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Lucy. Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Bella
Love this recipe and the flavor is just perfect. I love how simple and easy it is. My family loves it. Thank you Veena
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Bella, So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Yes, it is so simple to make. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a great day.
Madain
You have the best recipes on your blog. They always work. Thank you so much. Love this recipe it’s so tasty
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Madain, So happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a great day.
Stacy
This is the best tomato recipe. So simple and easy. Love the brown sugar trick. Thanks for sharing.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Stact, So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. yes, indeed very easy to make. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a great day.
Philip
Made this recipe last week and the kids enjoyed it. Was happy to use fresh tomatoes not canned. Love the caramelizing sugar hack. Thanks for another amazing recipe Veena
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Philip. So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Yes, we love using fresh tomatoes as well. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a great day.
Zandy
Make this recipe a couple of times and it’s always a winner. I used it last week on pasta as well as pizza. We love it. So glad I don’t have to buy canned tomatoes anymore. This gives a nice color too
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Zandy, So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Yes, I use it on my pizza too. Kids love it. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a great day.
Mario
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
Veena Azmanov
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.
Eileen Kelly
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
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Eileen. This is absolutely delicious – you must try.
Vatch
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
Veena Azmanov
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.
Jessie Yung
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.
Veena Azmanov
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.
Soniya
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!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Soniya. SO lucky to have home grown veggies.. Enjoy
Swathi
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.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Swathi. Yes definitely there ain’t nothing better than fresh for sure
karyn
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
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Karyn. Yes it does a great job of deepening the color. Try it.
Molly Kumar
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.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Molly. I do make a big batch and freeze some so I can use on my busy cake days.
Hanady | Recipe Nomad
I always put granulated sugar but I love the brown sugar idea. I’m sure it’ll add a beautiful caramelized flavor! Recipe saved!
Veena Azmanov
It definitely enhances the flavor Handy. Thanks
Whitney @WhittyPaleo
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!
Veena Azmanov
Yup, this little trick can save you a little time.
Kylee from Kylee Cooks
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
Veena Azmanov
Yes, it does help with acidity too Kylee. Here I use it to deepen the color.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
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!!!!!)
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Marisa. Yeah I always called it sauce never gravy. I hope you try it the next time
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
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.
Veena Azmanov
I love roasting tomatoes for a good sauce Gloria especially my cherry tomatoes – so yum.
Helene D'Souza
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.
Veena Azmanov
Absolutely Helen. Nothing beats homemade ! Oh it does very well with pizza!!
Adriana Lopez Martn
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!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Adriana. Yes, tomato season is almost coming to a close. Do you can tomato sauce?
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife
Fresh homemade tomato sauce is the best! Your recipe looks like perfection – the brown sugar is key! Love it!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Marlynn. Yes the brown sugar her give a lovely color
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