You don’t have to be a professional Italian chef to make great tomato sauce. Use this easy recipe and forget the over priced jars of marinara.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup red wine (optional)
- 1 (28 oz) can of whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano is great!)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½-1 teaspoon sugar (optional, balances acidity)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or herbs de provence
- A pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
- Fresh basil leaves (a few, optional)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
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Sauté onion and garlic:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and minced garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, until fragrant. Once it sticks lightly to the pan, add some red wine to deglaze the pan (optional.) -
Add tomatoes:
Carefully pour in the canned tomatoes with juices. Use a wooden spoon to break them up, or crush them by hand beforehand if you prefer a smoother sauce. -
Season it up:
Stir in salt, sugar (if using), oregano, red pepper flakes, and a few cracks of black pepper. -
Simmer:
Let the sauce simmer gently, uncovered, for about 25–30 minutes. Stir occasionally. It will thicken and the flavors will deepen. -
Finish with basil:
Tear up a few fresh basil leaves and stir them in right before serving (optional but highly recommended). -
Blend if desired:
For a smoother texture, blend the sauce with an immersion blender or let it cool slightly and blend in a regular blender.
- Bring this sauce to the next level: There are small things you can do to make big changes to this sauce.. add fresh basil at the end of cooking, add roasted garlic with the onions, add even more red wine to the sauce after the tomatoes come to a simmer.
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Want it richer? Add a tablespoon of butter at the end.
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Want it chunkier? Use diced tomatoes and skip blending.
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Want to store it? Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for 2–3 months.
- All-Purpose: This sauce can be used countless ways anytime you need a rich, flavorful base. Try it in a lasagna, bolognese, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parm, and more.
Arthur in the Garden! says
Yummy! Simple sauces are best!
Debbie says
Would you like to add bay leaves to the ingredients list? Thanks for the recipe!
Sally says
Great flavor and pretty simple to make. My only comment is the bay leaf mentioned to remove at the end is not in the list of ingredients nor instructions to add so I totally overlooked it. The sauce was still yummy and will keep this along with the Chicken Parm. Thanks for posting it!
David says
Great catch! Just updated to remove that line.. I haven’t used bay leaves in my tomato sauce for a long time now. Though they couldn’t hurt to add if you have them on hand!