Homemade Tomato Sauce is made from canned tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, onions, garlic, and lots of herbs. It's my go-to recipe for spaghetti, meatballs, pizza, lasagna, baked ziti and more!
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One of the first recipes I perfected decades ago is this delicious homemade tomato sauce using canned tomatoes. While simmering on the stove top it will fill your house with the incredible sweet aroma of onions, herbs, and tomatoes. I've created a pressure cooker version of this marinara sauce that you can make in just 20 minutes.
I also have my favorite quick homemade tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes that I make in the summer when tomatoes are fresh out of the garden. It can also be made on the stovetop, or in the Instant Pot.
Homemade spaghetti sauce is comfort food at its finest, and every family should have a favorite homemade tomato sauce ready to be whipped up at any time. Cook this sauce once and it'll be your new favorite! Use it as a pizza sauce, on meatball parmesan subs, in Instant Pot spaghetti and meat sauce, blend it into this crockpot chicken parmesan soup or use it to make lazy chicken tenders parmigiana.
Ingredients
This homemade tomato sauce is made with canned crushed tomatoes and plain canned tomato sauce. Keep in mind that different brands have subtle, yet noticeable differences, in flavor. Some, like Furmano's, are sweeter than others. Some have more of a natural tomato flavor. Use your favorite brand, but know that your homemade tomato sauce might taste slightly different than mine if we're using different brands. My favorite is Hunts so I stick with that most of the time.
In addition to crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, you will need:
- onions
- garlic
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- dried basil
- dried parsley
- Italian seasoning
- garlic powder
Most of the time I use dried herbs in my homemade tomato sauces. To use fresh herbs, use three times as much as dried herbs a recipe calls for, as the ratio for dried herbs to fresh herbs is 1:3. In other words, 1 teaspoon of a dried herb equals 3 teaspoons of same fresh herb. Remember that you can always add herbs but you can't take away. You can always start with smaller amounts of herbs and add more later. I especially do this with salt and pepper when I use a sauce brand other than Hunt's.
Step-By-Step Directions
Although making tomato sauce at home takes about 90 minutes, most of that time involves letting the sauce simmer while you do other things. It only has about 5 minutes of preparation time to dice the onions and mince the garlic and a few minutes to add herbs about an hour into the simmering process.
Here are the steps:
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil on medium high and add garlic and onions. Saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, Italian seasoning, parsley and garlic powder. Stir and simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sauce from burning.
- Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes 10 cups of homemade tomato sauce.
Recipe Tip
Make sure to taste your sauce a few times while it's simmering and add more herbs as needed. Do this particularly near the end when all spices, herbs, and vegetables had a chance to marry and release their full flavors into the sauce.
How To Store Tomato Sauce
I like to make big batches of tomato sauce, then freeze them for easy dinners later. Tomato sauce freezes well, so divide it into 1 or 2 cup portions and put into freezer baggies. Freeze until ready to use. Homemade tomato sauce will last for about 6 months to 1 year in the freezer.
You can defrost it overnight in the fridge or submerge the bags in hot water for a quick thaw.
Recipe
Homemade Tomato Sauce with Canned Tomatoes
Ingredients
For Tomato Sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ cup onions diced
- 10 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cans tomato sauce (28 oz each)
- 2 cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz each)
- 2 ½ tsp salt
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil on medium high and add garlic and onions. Saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, Italian seasoning, parsley and garlic powder. Stir and simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sauce from burning.
- Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Judy
Is this a gluten free recipe?
Kristina Tipps
Yes, it should be as long as your herb and spice containers do not contain gluten (they usually don't but can depending on the brand).