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I married into an Italian family, and as such, several things are a given:
- Family gatherings will be loud
- There will always be a faint aroma of basil and garlic in the house
- Learning to make a delicious and authentic homemade pasta sauce is high on the to-do list for a new wife
Why Homemade Pasta Sauce?
When I married into the family, I became privy to Nonna’s (my husband’s grandmother) pasta sauce recipe that uses pre-canned tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (that she probably canned herself). One year I attempted to mimic the recipe using fresh tomatoes since we had an abundance from our garden and came up with my own pasta sauce recipe.
I’m sharing my variations of both today:
How to Make Pasta Sauce from Fresh or Canned Tomatoes
If you are working from fresh tomatoes, use the first recipe. If you are using canned tomatoes, use the second.
While “Nonna’s Recipe” is still the gold standard of pasta sauce in our family, I’m not sure I’m allowed to share the secret recipe so I’m sharing my variations instead. I know that I can share one part of her secret, which is to throw a piece of a carrot into the sauce while it is cooking to absorb the acidity of the tomatoes and create a sweeter sauce. This also removes the need for a sweetener to cut down the acidity.
Homemade Pasta Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes
Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 lbs fresh tomatoes (peeled and seeded, see notes)
- 3 medium onions (diced)
- 8 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 carrot (divided)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh basil (finely chopped)
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
- 1 sprig fresh oregano
- 2 bay leaf
- 2 springs fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried parsley)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 TBSP honey (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and seed the tomatoes and set aside.
- Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and grate half of the carrot.
- Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.
- When hot, add the diced onions to the olive oil and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and grated carrot and saute for 2-3 minutes longer or until onions are translucent and tender.
- Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours or until cooked down and starting to darken.
- Add carrot piece for the last 30 minutes to absorb acidity.
- Remove sprigs of herbs, bay leaves, and piece of carrot.
- Optional: Use an immersion blender to puree sauce until smooth (for a thicker sauce, skip this step).
- Use fresh or store in the refrigerator up to 1 week, or can it according to your canner's instructions for tomato products.
Notes
Nutrition
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10-Minute Pasta Sauce from Canned Tomatoes
If a two-hour simmer time isn’t your thing, this 10-minute recipe tastes almost as good and cooks in much less time. This is my go-to on a busy night when I have 20 minutes to turn a pound of ground beef into dinner. We serve with zucchini or other vegetable noodles for a great flavor.
Pasta Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 8 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 (28-ounce) cans or jars of whole, crushed or stewed tomatoes (or 4 15-ounce cans)
- 1 (6-ounce) can or jar of tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves (or 1/4 cup fresh, finely chopped)
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Pasta Sauce Instructions:
- Heat the olive oil in a medium size pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes
- Add garlic and saute another minute.
- Then, add tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, bay leaves, thyme and salt/pepper.
- Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes to let flavors meld. (Can simmer longer if desired for a thicker sauce with a deeper flavor).
- Serve over pasta of choice.
- Optional: for a thinner sauce that works better for pizza, chicken parmesan, etc, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
How to Use Homemade Pasta Sauce
You probably already have a recipe in mind since you’re reading this post, but this is endlessly versatile and great in many recipes. The fresh tomato recipe variation is great for tomato season, and I often can any extras to use in the winter.
I use this sauce in:
- Homemade meat sauce by adding 1-2 pounds of browned ground beef and serving over zucchini or shirataki noodles
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Meatza
- Chicken Cacciatore (in place of the tomato sauce/paste/spices)
- Chicken Parmesan
- etc.
How to Can Your Own Pasta Sauce
You can easily make a large batch of either of these sauces and can it for future use. I often do this when we have an abundance of tomatoes from the garden. There is really no reason to can the recipe made from canned tomatoes, since it is so quick to whip up and there is no need for the extra step.
Canning Instructions for Homemade Tomato Sauce
I follow these instructions for canning my homemade tomato sauce. There is some debate if it is ok to water bath can tomato products or not. The general consensus seems to be that tomatoes are iffy for water bath canning because the pH is not quite acidic enough. One solution is to add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice per quart for canning or check the pH to make sure it is 4.4 or below.
Personally, I prefer to just pressure can according to my pressure canner instructions as the pressure is enough to kill any botulism spores and is considered safe for tomatoes.
How to Freeze Homemade Tomato Sauce
If canning isn’t your thing, you can also freeze this homemade sauce. I like to freeze in quart size glass mason jars (here’s how) or metal containers, to avoid plastic. You can also freeze this sauce in any container once it has cooled.
I made this sauce last night. It is really delicious! Thank you for sharing it!
I used yellow, roma and house tomatoes that were given to me (just a tad over 10 lbs and so I doubled the recipe. I had all of the herbs in my garden. I used lemon thyme and it worked out just great. Since I had more yellow then reds the sauce is more orange, but its still awesome. I actually grated the two carrots and pureed them at the end.. You had honey on the list, but didn’t say when to add it. So, I added it after I put all of the other ingredients in. I was also given these really tiny green peppers and I tossed them in when I did the onions. I used vidalia onions which are my favorite. I also freeze my homemade sauces. There is a special way you have to can pasta sauce. It lasts in the freezer for about 6 months.
Here’s a couple pics — The beginning of the sauce and what it looked like when it was done. I cooked it for just over 3 hrs because of the amt of tomatoes I had.
Hi Ellen,
Would you be kind enough to share the special way to can and then freeze the sauce? I really want to do this with the batch I made. It was fantastic! I also used vidalias.
Hi Tara,
I just made 7 more quarts (4 cups = 32 oz or 1 quart). I used 50 lbs of tomatoes and I did the recipe using 25 lbs each. After the sauce had cooled down I measured 4 cups of sauce in a plastic freezer container. I kept doing this until I filled 9 quarts of sauce (the 2nd box of 25 lbs I only got 8 quarts of sauce out of that batch. I used my hand blender to get the sauce all blended before putting them in the storage containers. Besides the ingredients above I did add some dry Italian seasoning to make up for not having enough basil for the recipe. I also use a small amt of rosemary and I used lemon thyme. I kept tasting it during the cooking process till I got the “wow” taste factor.
By using the hand blender it does thin down the sauce (marinara is usually thiner). After I got the sauces in the containers (you need containers that will give you at least a 1/2 in clearance from the top — overfilling will cause it to expand during the freezing process. I just took out a container today and it was rather thin. So, I took a small can of tomato paste and added it to the sauce plus added some more seasonings from the garden. Then I let it simmer for an hour … It’s a huge success with my family — I noticed that mine came out looking orange (I think it was the carrots), but it doesn’t take away the flavor of the sauce.
Hi Tara,
I just made 17 more quarts (4 cups = 32 oz or 1 quart). I used 50 lbs of tomatoes and I did the recipe using 25 lbs each. After the sauce had cooled down I measured 4 cups of sauce in a plastic freezer container. I kept doing this until I filled 9 quarts of sauce (the 2nd box of 25 lbs I only got 8 quarts of sauce out of that batch. I used my hand blender to get the sauce all blended before putting them in the storage containers. Besides the ingredients above I did add some dry Italian seasoning to make up for not having enough basil for the recipe. I also use a small amt of rosemary and I used lemon thyme. I kept tasting it during the cooking process till I got the “wow” taste factor.
By using the hand blender it does thin down the sauce (marinara is usually thiner). After I got the sauces in the containers (you need containers that will give you at least a 1/2 in clearance from the top — overfilling will cause it to expand during the freezing process. I just took out a container today and it was rather thin. So, I took a small can of tomato paste and added it to the sauce plus added some more seasonings from the garden. Then I let it simmer for an hour … It’s a huge success with my family — I noticed that mine came out looking orange (I think it was the carrots), but it doesn’t take away the flavor of the sauce.
To do water-bath canning of tomato sauce, you need to get the pH too low for botulism to grow. That’s below 4.5 (so aim for 4.4 or lower). Use pH test strips to check the acidity, and if the pH is too high, add citric acid (sold with the canning supplies at your local hardware store). A lot of people assume tomatoes are acidic enough that you don’t have to worry about it, but it varies heavily between different varieties of tomato and probably also growing conditions. Beyond that, leave the usual 1/2″ of headspace and process as usual (the Ball Blue Book says 35 minutes for pint jars and 40 minutes for quarts).
Thanks for the recipe. Smells great. Trying to figure out when to put tablespoon of honey?
at the end of cooking it down…
I added it at the beginning and cooked it in… It worked just fine..
Cooking destroys all the benefits of honey: the enzymes and such. Why waste your money? If you are going to cook it, just add sugar and save the honey for non cooked things!
ok i see it!
I am thinking the honey is what cuts down the acidity. I have been making sauce since 1970 and I always put in sugar to cut down the acidity. Not sure what the carrot adds to the equation.
In Italy we do not add the carrot, not in my region, just a bit of sugar as you say
The carrots also cut down the acidity, for people wanting a sugar free option, or honey free option for vegans. One could also use a little applesauce, pear sauce, or maple syrup, to use natural, vegan & unprocessed ingredients as a sugar substitute. They do not change the texture much & doesn’t make it taste like fruit.
Do you simmer the sauce covered or uncovered?
Uncovered
Thanks Katie for posting your homemade tomato sauce recipe. I can’t wait to try it and use it in all my recipes calling for tomato/pasta sauce. No more store bought pasta sauce for me!! Thanks again!!!
If I plan to blend it at the end, is it OK to include whole tomatoes…skins, seeds and all? 🙂
Yep…
You can blend the wbole thing, seeds, peels and all (which is what I do because I have very little time for preparing healthy home made dishes), but keep in mind it will make your sauce considerably thinner. My first batch was delicious, but was closer in texture to salsa than sauce. Whisking a few tsp of corn starch (or more depending on the size of your batch) into some cold sauce will combat this nicely. And be sure to blend well so as not to end up with large pieces of skin.
My grandmother was straight off the boat, but her tomato sauce was surprisingly bland for my taste. She used a ton of garlic, basil, salt & pepper and not a whole lot else.
We really like to add a bit of rosemary, some red pepper flakes and a splash of red wine to our sauce to up the flavor (in addition to most of the ingredients you mention). I’d never heard of the carrot trick, but I don’t really like my sauce sweet.
No I do not like a sweet sauce also, so I was wondering about the carrot, carrots are not real sweet so maybe it will not sweeten it much, going to make this tonight, might not use the carrot. I will post more after I try this recipe, I make homemade sauces just want one that will be my go to.
Yep… good idea on the soaps though!
Thanks for the recipe!! I have been working on a good pasta sauce for a while now. Each time it seems I throw something different in and haven’t found the “right” mix yet. Can’t wait to try this. I have 15 tomato plants in my backyard and hope to be doing a lot of canning this summer!
Can this be canned using a water bath? Or does it need to be pressured canned?
Yes you can definitely can this past sauce, or any other for that matter,
in a hot water bath…needs boils for 35 minutes…but you can find out other specifics by just googling canning pasta sauce 🙂
DO NOT WATER BATH TOMATO RECIPES!!!! Because of the acid in the tomatoes they have to canned with a pressure cooker or canner.
It’s because of the acid in the sauce that you can Water Bath Can the sauce. It is appropriate to add some lemon juice to the sauce for added acidity and boil for a full 40 minutes with at least 2 inches of water covering the jars. I have been doing this my whole life and learned it from my mother who grew up farming and preserving food for the winter.
Very nice sauce! I added wine and my family loved it.
Somebody better tell the Italians that they can’t water bath their tomatoes as they have been doing for a very long time…
i have a ball canning book and it says you can water bath tomatoe recipes so i’m not sure where your getting your information from.
Acid foods can be canned in a water bath. It’s the foods with no acid that need to be pressurized.
This information is incorrect. You can most definitely water bath can tomato based items because of the acidity.
You are so right about asian garlic. I grow my own garlic and there is no comparing the 2, and knowing what I learned about asian garlic I shall never buy it even if I was desperate….
Penny
I have canned tomato sauces using just a water bath in canner and found it was just fine. Just make sure the lids seal. I have also premade BBQ sauce this way.
You can water bath can cooked tomatoes. Use a pressure canner when raw pack canning. For a water bath be sure to increase water bath method by 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level. For pressure canning use a 10lb jiggler for 25 minutes at Sea level and a 15lb jiggler above 1,000 feet of elevation with no adjustment to time.
If it is plain tomatoes and you add some lemon juice to bring up the acidity…you can waterbath can. If you have any other vegetables in there you should always pressure cook, the chances of bacteria growing is just to great to risk it.
I would not can this recipe. Even plain canned tomatoes need added acid to can them. This recipe has way to many low acid ingredients to can without extra added acid. For guidance on canning – check this out.
Would this recipe freeze well? I’d like to make a big batch but I’m not quite adept at canning yet 🙂
I don’t see why not. I make a pizza sauce and freeze it in smaller portions for our family pizza nights. Tastes just fine thawed out. Just won’t last as long as canning.
Yep, it just has to be reheated to a boil…
Thank you for asking this question and thanks for those that answered. That’s exactly what I was wondering. I’m making this today!
I’ve found the best way to freeze this sort of item to to place into zip lock plastic bags (of cause u must cool it first) then you can lay flat in the freezer tray taking up less room. It becomes easy to thaw also this way.
We freeze all our homemade ready meals in ziplock bags, as we always have a stuffed freezer!! I’m going to have a go at this recipe right now, as we have a glut of tomatoes!
Yes, it freezes well. I always freeze my tomato sauce, that way I have a very easy meal during the winter when time is short and I need something comforting.
As for canning, even plain tomatoes can be cooked and canned (water bath or steam method), sealed, cooled and placed on your shelf. Adding 1/2 tsp salt is ALL that is added to the bottom of each jar, prior to adding the tomatoes. I have eaten these for 60+ years, learned from my mama, and now can do my own. However, I prefer freezing as it takes less time, they lay flat in my deep tray, and I make enough for the year. They are just fine. Remember NOT to freeze until they are cooled! Happy canning or freezing (whichever works for you)!
Nice recipe! I’m Italian, but I’m not very good at cooking, but I knew the carrot “trick”. I’m also Portuguese, so I enjoy preparing sopas a lot.
I made this recipe, minus onions, & basil. After i boiled the tomatoes i put them in the blender. Let it simmer put the carrot & honey in. I made it with penne pasta added italian seasoning and olive oil and chicken breast. And married everything together. It was delish. My family loved it. Thank you for a great recipe. I would never have to buy store bought pasta sauce
The onions give the sauce a more authentic taste and no it does not make your breath smell like people in California think. Basil is a toss up. If you can grow authentic italian garlic use it. The Asian garlic oxidizes quickly, tastes terrible is garbage and was not hybridized for cooking. Mainly for pickling.
So where do you obtain “authentic Italian garlic” or the plants to grow your own. I never knew that Asian garlic was Not good, oxidizes quickly and should be used/grown for pickling.
Thanks for this info.
Lynn
So on here, she doesn’t say what she does with the tomatoes. Does she blend them? What exactly does she do with them, I mean, yes she puts the onions, garlic etc on the olive oil until onions are soft, after all that is done and she puts the tomatoes in, is where I’m confused. Someone please help!
i made this yesterday; i did nothing but cooking them down. they break down naturally. per the instructions, if you want is smooth, you can blend. i left mine nice and chunky. i’ve made tomato sauce once or twice but never pasta sauce from scratch. i’m so pleased with myself for finding this recipe. i used all the ingredients listed, but all herbs were dried. i grow my own garlib; not sure if it is Italian or not.
seriously the best sauce i’ve ever had.
i made this yesterday; i did nothing to the tomatoes but cooked them; they break down naturally. per the instructions, if you want the sauce smooth, you can blend it. i left mine nice and chunky. i’ve made tomato sauce once or twice but never pasta sauce from scratch. i’m so pleased with myself for finding this recipe. i used all the ingredients listed, but all herbs were dried. i grow my own garlic; not sure if it is Italian or not.
seriously the best sauce i’ve ever had.
Read Step 8. Blend with a stick blender until pureed, skip this step for a thicker sauce.
As the tomatoes simmer they will break down and incorporate into a sauce that is thicker and “chunkier”. If you puree the tomatoes the sauce will be smoother and as it reduces it will thicken and the seasonings and flavors will concentrate as the liquid simmers out.
The key is low heat and time.
She said that you may use an immersion blender if you want,I think she prefers to skip it. As the tomatoes boil they break up pretty much, I prefer not to puree the tomato sauce.
she will put it all through a blender hun.. to get that smooth sauce.
Quarter them after peeling and then just add them in.
Keith, I’ve never heard that before about “people in Caliifornia” thinking garlic makes your breath smell. Hmmm, stereotype much? It’s a darned good thing we have you to set us all straight on that point. 😉
Regional bigotry aside, this recipe was wonderful!! Thank you, Wellness Mama. Another winner.
Patsy, I thought that was an odd comment, too. I’m Italian, a Californian, and all food makes your breath smell like whatever you’ve eaten. Onions and garlic tend to stay with you longer so…
You are so right about asian garlic. I grow my own garlic and there is no comparing the 2, and knowing what I learned about asian garlic I shall never buy it even if I was desperate….
Penny
Yay, Portuguese! I’m 100% and always get excited to hear someone is the same.. Are you in NY by anychance?
I’m 100% Portuguese too! From MA but living in AZ right now.
My mother was Portuguese and grew up in Taunton!
your italian book needs pictures!
I made the recipe, minus the shredded carrot. I did add the half carrot towards the end. It is amazing, I love it!!! Thank you, Wellness Mama!