Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes is made using fresh juicy tomatoes, oil, and garlic. It takes only 25 minutes and is a fantastic summer dinner idea to use up those garden or farmer's market tomatoes. This recipe makes a light and healthy tomato sauce from scratch that can be used on any pasta.
For nights when I don't want to use the stove at all but still want a delicious spaghetti dinner, I make a 3-ingredient slow cooker spaghetti and meat sauce or crockpot Italian meatballs and marinara sauce. They're all equally delicious, depending on your mood!
Table Of Contents
When tomato season begins, there is nothing better than using fresh, juicy tomatoes in all different sorts of recipes. Making fresh tomato sauce is one of the easiest ways to use garden or farmer's market tomatoes. It's as delicious as my homemade tomato sauce using canned tomatoes and dried herbs but a little fresher and lighter feeling.
This tomato sauce recipe uses fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil. The tomato skins are left on, and the pasta is simmered in the sauce for a few minutes to give it a fantastic flavor, similar to how we make fried spaghetti. It's a quick and easy recipe for a busy night!
While this fresh tomato sauce with spaghetti is one of our favorite summer dinner ideas for pasta night, Instant Pot spaghetti and meat sauce is a favorite during the workweeks of the winter and fall.
Ingredients
In experimenting with the best way to make a quick tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes I tried different methods and different tomatoes. My goal here was to make it simple and quick, with little prep and little clean up, but have a sauce that was still packed with flavor. These are the ingredients that do exactly that.
- Pasta: shape is your choice! They all work.
- Tomatoes: my favorite are plum tomatoes. They have little seeds and when cooked down, they have amazing flavor. Plump garden tomatoes are also a great choice. They smell and taste amazing too. For a change, use roasted tomatoes.
- Fresh basil: aim for fresh basil, but if you don't have it on hand, lightly dried or dried basil will do. This recipe is written for fresh basil, but if using dried, use ⅓ of the fresh amount.
- Garlic
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Butter
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt & Pepper
I made fresh tomato sauce spaghetti many ways before deciding that using these simple ingredients was the easiest way without sacrificing the flavor.
How To Make Fresh & Light Tomato Sauce
While many tomato sauce from scratch recipes call for peeling and seeding the tomatoes and then simmering them for hours, my method here does not do any of these things. This method takes less than 30 minutes and the seeds and skins are left on the tomatoes.
- First, cook the pasta in generously salted water until al dente. Reserve the water to use in the sauce later.
- While the pasta cooks, core and chop the tomatoes. The tomatoes can be chopped into medium-sized pieces. Mince the garlic and then saute the tomatoes and garlic in olive oil until they' re steaming. This takes about 3 minutes.
- Crush the tomatoes with a potato or meat masher until there are no large pieces. Add the salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and al dente spaghetti to the tomatoes. Toss and simmer for 2 minutes. If the sauce is too dry for you, add a little more reserved water.
- Now remove from the heat and add butter and Parmesan cheese. Toss well and taste. Add more salt and pepper if you'd like. Add torn basil leaves.
- Now top with extra Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
How To Store
Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight covered container.
What To Serve With Pasta & Tomato Sauce
Fresh tomato sauce and pasta is a great meal on it's own. Leave it vegetarian as is, or serve with bread, salad, or a meat dish.
- Bread Machine Garlic Bread
- Homemade Meatballs
- Bread Machine White Bread
- Parmesan Rosemary Bread
- Garden or cobb salad
Recipe
Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 16 oz spaghetti or other pasta
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 large plum tomatoes (use whatever tomatoes you prefer, but the juicier, the better)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 10 fresh basil leaves torn
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti al dente. Reserve water to use in the sauce.
- Core tomatoes and roughly chop into quarters. Mince the garlic.
- Heat oil in a pot or large shallow pan and cook tomatoes and garlic on medium heat until they are steaming and soft enough to easily mash. This takes about 3 minutes.
- Crush tomatoes using a potato or meat masher until there are no more large pieces. Add the salt and pepper and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of reserved pasta water and the spaghetti to the tomatoes. Toss well and simmer 5 more minutes. If sauce is too dry, add 1 more cup of reserved water.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Toss and taste sauce. Add salt and pepper if desired.
- Add basil leaves and serve topped with extra Parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
Megan says
What type of tomatoes do you use?
Kristina says
I use whatever tomatoes I have on hand. Most of the time garden tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, but any tomato works.