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This Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce is bursting with flavor! Rich, thick and hearty. Make extra to freeze it for when those lazy cooking days strike!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Servings: 4 people
- Calories: ~234 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- Technique: Sauté aromatics, crush tomatoes by hand, simmer with herbs until thick and rich.
- Difficulty: Easy
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I won’t be buying pasta sauce again! You’re right, about all those extra ingredients, are they really necessary? The recipe is filled with flavor and super easy to make. I also love that I can freeze the sauce for future dinners. –Mara
This may come as a shock to you but there are nights when I just don’t feel like cooking. [Gasp!!!] I don’t feel like chopping or washing dishes. Boiling water seems like too much effort. What do I make every time the laziness hits? Homemade Tomato Pasta with meat sauce. Mmm pasta sauce. Pasta sauce on stuffed shells with meat? Sign me up!
I used to just crack open a bottle of my favorite brand of pasta sauce and dump it in a pot, but have you looked at those ingredients lately?! It’s horrifying. Is all that sugar and salt really necessary? And don’t get me started on “natural flavoring”. So several weeks ago (back in 2012 – can you believe how old we are getting?!) I made it my mission to create my perfect homemade pasta sauce: a little sweet, bursting with flavor and super tomatoey!
The Origins of this Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce
I started with the recipe from The New York Times Cookbook (1961 Edition) that I picked up from The Strand Bookstore in NYC. The Strand is certainly heaven here on Earth.
Want to know another true story? When I was younger (like last week) I used to eat pasta sauce straight from the pot. In High School my mom particularly caught on to this penchant for pasta sauce and she would make a pot of pasta sauce with ground sirloin just for me! No noodles, just sauce. Isn’t she the greatest?!
I do feel like this is more socially acceptable than it sounds. Just call it gazpacho and surprisingly suddenly it’s normal.
As we were! I know you’re here for the sauce. This sauce is darn good. It is rich from the tomato paste, chicken stock and all the herbs. The chicken stock is optional and, without it, it is more like my 15 Minute Pasta Sauce. I do love the additional flavor from the stock and that it bumps up the yield, so I get more sauce from the same amount of tomatoes. A little extra stove-time is all she needs to make it extra thick and luscious.
I make a large batch and then freeze the rest, so I always have it on hand for when those lazy days strike. Or just, you know, Tuesday.
You can (and should absolutely) try my ultimate lasagna recipe or this whole wheat vegetarian lasagna or pour it over homemade ricotta meatballs for a hearty meal! You know I won’t judge if you eat it straight out of the pot though!
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If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 52 oz whole Italian tomatoes San Marzano, 2, 28 oz cans
- 12 oz tomato paste 2, 6oz cans
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 5 sprigs basil on the stem
- 2 sprigs oregano on the stem
- 3 sprigs thyme on the stem
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
Instructions
- Gently sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until onion is transluscent, stirring often. Add the tomatoes and crush by hand. Add the tomato paste, broth, herbs, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
- Simmer uncovered about two hours, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaf. The sauce should be thick. Continue to cook if you would like it thicker.
- Add browned meat of choice, pour over pasta, use in lasagna or chicken parmesan, or just eat it with a spoon!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed sauce recipes, like the very best pizza sauce recipe out there!
Although I haven’t tried the recipe yet, I was wondering what the equivalency would be for dried herbs. I live in a small community without access to fresh herbs, especially after summer. I’m sure it won’t be as good but would love to tried it with dried oregano, basil & thyme. Thank you!
Hi Sharon! You can absolutely make this recipe with dried herbs! When substituting dried for fresh in this recipe, a good starting point would be to use about ⅓ the amount, so roughly 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon dried thyme. Add them when you add the bay leaf so they have time in the sauce. Happy cooking!
I won’t be buying pasta sauce again! You’re right, about all those extra ingredients, are they really necessary? The recipe is filled with flavor and super easy to make. I also love that I can freeze the sauce for future dinners.