Authentic Italian Simple Tomato Sauce from Scratch: A Classic Recipe Made Easy
Never underestimate the power of a simple homemade tomato sauce!
This is a classic go to for an easy pasta dish or it can be a base for other dishes, like a delicious ragu sauce. Any beginner chef can create this sauce from scratch with a small amount of ingredients and light cooking skills and will wow their guests with a flavorful and authentic dish!
Simple Tomato Sauce from Scratch
Servings: people
Ingredients
- 5 lbs fresh tomatoes (peeled and seeded, a smaller tomato will result in a sweeter sauce)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh basil (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Cut small “x” shapes onto the tops of the tomatoes and let them sit in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain, then plop them into iced water – the skin should now peel off easily. Seed the tomatoes as much as possible then set aside. *Don't worry if you can't get them all, it doesn't make too much of a difference!
- Warm up olive oil in a large saucepan and then throw in the tomatoes once ready. Cover with a lid and let the tomatoes soften. Once they have, go in with a utensil and squish the tomatoes down until they start to break up.
- Add the basil, oregano, and parsley then cover again and let it simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes, checking every so often to stir and squish the tomatoes down.
- Check the consistency of the sauce – if it is too thick, add a little water; if it is too thin, add a little bit of tomato paste.
- Let sauce simmer for up to 3 hours to really set in the flavor and consistency, or directly serve over your choice of pasta! Otherwise, you can use this as a base for other pasta dishes like ragu or lasagna.
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I’ve always been a fan of homemade sauces and this one does not disappoint! The flavor was great, really fresh. The process of peeling and seeding the tomatoes was a bit more work than I anticipated but not terrible once you get it down.
The flavors were perfect – you can really taste the difference with fresh tomatoes. Four stars only because the consistency was a bit too thin for my liking, but I’ll definitely be using this recipe again!
A solid, straightforward recipe! It took a bit longer than is ideal for a quick meal (perfect for meal prep though) but the final result was worth the effort. Nice balance of herbs, not too overpowering. Alice Waters would be proud.
So fresh, so nice. this earns an Owen Wilson “woooww”
The best tomato sauce I’ve made at home so far! I can’t believe how simple it is. Takes a bit of time, but the end result was perfect – rich, vibrant, and packed with flavor. This will be my standard sauce recipe from now on.