Simple Tomato Sauce
This simple tomato sauce is fresh, flavorful, and made with everyday ingredients. It's an easy homemade tomato sauce that comes together quickly and works so well for pasta, pizza, and more.
Made with ripe tomatoes, garlic, and a few pantry staples, this quick tomato sauce does not need hours on the stovetop. We cook it just long enough for the tomatoes to cook and flavors to meld together.
Keep it chunky or blend it smooth, this versatile tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes is one you’ll use again and again. It's worth making a little extra - just double the batch and freeze so always have rich, homemade pasta sauce ready for easy, cozy meals.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✨ This simple tomato sauce is quick and easy, with minimal prep and no complicated steps.
✨ Made with basic pantry ingredients, it’s a budget-friendly homemade sauce.
✨ This delicious sauce has fresh, rich, and well-balanced flavors - The kind that makes store-bought feel unnecessary!
✨ Super versatile - it's fantastic for pasta, pizza, lasagna, and even as a dipping sauce.
✨ Make-ahead friendly! This fresh tomato sauce stores and freezes very well for later use.
Recipe Ingredients
Tomatoes: Use in-season, ripe, juicy tomatoes for the best flavor and natural sweetness. I don't blanch and peel the tomatoes. Instead, I puree them along with the garlic to save time. The tomato peels and seeds all disappear anyway as the quick tomato sauce from scratch gets cooked.
You can also use good-quality canned whole peeled tomatoes if tomatoes are not in season.
Onion: For depth and gentle sweetness that balances out the acidity of tomatoes. They also add a chunky texture. Make sure you dice them finely so they melt into the sauce.
Garlic: Adds a warm, savory note. In this recipe, I like to puree the garlic with the tomatoes. But you can use minced or finely sliced garlic and saute it along with the onions before adding the tomatoes. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown, as that can make the tomato sauce bitter.
Olive oil: For richness and body. It helps make the homemade tomato sauce smooth and rounded.
Sugar: To bring out the natural sweetness of tomatoes and balance the acidity.
Please see the recipe card below for full information about the ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Simple Tomato Sauce
Step 1: Puree tomatoes and garlic in your blender until smooth.
Step 2: Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add chilli flakes and onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion is softened.
Step 3: Add the tomato puree and give a good stir.
Step 4: Mix in salt, sugar, and dried oregano. Cook the sauce for 35-40 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust for seasonings.
Top Tips
- Use the best quality tomatoes you can get. Make sure they are ripe and juicy. You want the fresh, bright, clean flavors to come through. The better your tomatoes, the better your sauce.
- You can cook the sauce for a longer time if you want a more intense and deeper-flavored sauce.
- You can keep the sauce chunky or run it through a blender to make it very smooth.
- You can add a dash of cream right at the end to make it rich. A knob of butter also makes this sauce silky and creamy.
- You can make this easy tomato sauce as spicy as you like. I like to keep it fairly mild and then add more seasonings according to the dish I'm making.
- This sauce freezes very well. Make a bigger batch so you’ll always have homemade tomato sauce ready for quick meals.
How To Use This Simple Tomato Sauce
This easy tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes is so versatile!
- Add it to your pasta ( as I did in my vegan gnocchi) and pizza ( like in this no-yeast stovetop pizza)
- I even use it (with a little modification) for my Indian curries, tomato risotto, or shakshuka.
- Add a couple of tablespoons to your soups or in your burgers for extra moisture and flavor!
- This is also a great dipping sauce for my copycat Olive Garden bread sticks, cheesy pesto rolls, or pull-apart pizza rolls.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use canned tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes?
Yes, canned tomatoes work very well and are a great option when tomatoes are not in season.
How do I make tomato sauce less acidic?
I like to add a teaspoon of sugar to my sauce. This brings out the natural sweetness of tomatoes and also balances out the acidity. You can also stir in a little bit of butter.
How to store tomato sauce?
This easy homemade tomato sauce keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for two months.
More Easy-To-Make Pantry Staples
Recipe
Simple Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 3.3 lbs / 1.5 kg Tomatoes roughly chopped
- 5-6 cloves Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium Onion finely diced
- 1 tsp Chilli flakes
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Salt to taste
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the chopped tomatoes and garlic to your blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add chilli flakes and onion. Cook for a few minutes until the onion is softened.
- Add the tomato puree, salt, oregano, and sugar. Simmer on medium-low for about 35-40 minutes, till the sauce is thickened and chunky.You can cook the sauce for a longer time if you want a more intense and deeper-flavored sauce.
- Taste and adjust for salt. You may need to add a bit of sugar if the sauce is tart.Stir in fresh basil if you wish.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Use the best quality tomatoes you can get. Make sure they are ripe and juicy. You want the fresh, bright, clean flavors to come through. The better your tomatoes, the better your sauce.
- You can cook the sauce for a longer time if you want a more intense and deeper-flavored sauce.
- You can keep the sauce chunky or run it through a blender to make it very smooth.
- You can add a dash of cream right at the end to make it rich. A knob of butter also makes this sauce silky and creamy.
- You can make this easy tomato sauce as spicy as you like. I like to keep it fairly mild and then add more seasonings according to the dish I'm making.
- This sauce freezes very well. Make a bigger batch so you’ll always have homemade tomato sauce ready for quick meals.
This recipe has become a staple for me... mostly use it for home made pizza and pasta ... simple, healthy, delicious. Thanks for sharing. Love your blog , have followed many recipes but never commented 🙂
Natasha Author
Thank you very much, Megha! You really made my day. It brings me so much joy to know that you're enjoying the recipes. So grateful for your support. xoxo
I love your recipes. With this I'm curious though.... Why grind the garlic and tomato together... I thought the garlic in the olive oil would taste better. Wanting to learn 🙂
Natasha Author
Thanks so much, Swathi!
I just do this as an additional time-saver, as there is no garlic chopping required. It just gets ground with the tomatoes. Of course, you can sautee the garlic in olive oil first. 🙂
This is really so simple recipe of Tomato sauce I have ever seen in my life. I will try this tomato sauce recipe asap for sure. This is so healthy cz It's not coming to the preservative category. Loved this completely. Bookmarked this recipe of yours dear. Looking forward to more recipes like this. Best wishes and regards.
natashaminocha Author
Aw thank you Supriya! You leave the kindest comments. Means so much to me. Do let me know how this worked out for you. Lots of love
Beautiful. There's nothing simpler than a tomato sauce. I don't understand why people buy it in jars!
natashaminocha Author
Thank you so much Mimi! I totally agree with you.When we can get superior fresh quality at home, why bother with jars at all!So glad you stopped by. 🙂
cheers