Authentic Homemade Pasta Sauce (Fresh or Canned Tomatoes)

I married into an Italian family, and as such, several things are a given:

1. Family gatherings will be loud
2. There will always be a faint aroma of basil and garlic in the house
3. 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. It’s great on homemade “spaghetti” and meatballs.

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

Authentic tomato marinara sauce from fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Calories 254kcal

Author Katie Wells

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Servings

4 cups

1x2x3x

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.
• Add the tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, oregano, thyme bay leaves, parsley, and sea salt.
• 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.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 254 Calories from Fat 123

% Daily Value*

Fat 13.7g21%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 130mg6%

Carbohydrates 33.1g11%

Fiber 7.9g33%

Sugar 20.3g23%

Protein 5.5g11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

To peel fresh tomatoes (or peaches) cut a small "x" on the top and drop into boiling water for 10 seconds and then drop into an ice bath. The skin will easily peel off.

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:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium size pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes
2. Add garlic and saute another minute.
3. Then, add tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, bay leaves, thyme and salt/pepper.
4. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 10-15 minutes to let flavors meld. (Can simmer longer if desired for a thicker sauce with a deeper flavor).
6. Serve over pasta of choice.
7. 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.