Homemade Tomato Sauce
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Based on Marcella Hazan’s famous recipe, this simple and rich homemade tomato sauce is a summer essential.
I’ve got a confession: there’s a whole shelf in my pantry dedicated to my favorite jarred tomato sauce for those crazy-busy nights. But when tomatoes are in season and I have a little time to spare, nothing beats making tomato sauce from scratch. It’s so good that it makes me wonder how I ever settle for that run-of-the-mill jarred stuff! My go-to recipe is inspired by Marcella Hazan’s famously simple tomato butter sauce, although I’ve tweaked it over the years to make it my own. It’s such a rich and flavorful sauce, it doesn’t even need Parmesan cheese when tossed with pasta. If fresh tomatoes aren’t in season or you’re short on time, canned whole peeled tomatoes work beautifully (San Marzanos are the gold standard). Just steer clear of canned diced tomatoes—they are made with a chemical that keeps them from breaking down properly.
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Tomato Sauce
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by scoring the tomatoes with an X on one end. Don’t cut too deep; about 1/4 inch is good.
Place the tomatoes in boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the skins start to peel back. Be careful not to cook too long, or the tomatoes will become soft and difficult to handle.
Plunge the tomatoes into an ice-cold water bath to stop the cooking process.
Transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and peel the skins off.
Cut the tomatoes into 1/2-inch chunks.
Place the chopped tomatoes, along with all of their seeds and juices, into a large Dutch oven or saucepan, along with the butter, olive oil, onions, garlic, salt and sugar.
Bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, until the sauce is no longer watery.
Remove the onion and discard. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to smash any large chunks of tomatoes or garlic to make a slightly chunky and thick sauce.
Before serving, stir in the basil.
The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days, or can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Video Tutorial
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Homemade Tomato Sauce
Based on Marcella Hazan’s famous recipe, this simple and rich homemade tomato sauce is a summer essential.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds plum tomatoes (or two 28-ounce cans whole peeled plum tomatoes)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut in half
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- If using fresh tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl halfway-full with ice cubes and cold water. Using a sharp knife, cut a ¼-inch deep X on one end of each tomato. Place the scored tomatoes into the boiling water and cook until you see the skin starting to wrinkle and split, 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to cook too long, or the tomatoes will become soft and difficult to handle). Using a slotted spoon, lift the tomatoes out of the pot and plunge them into the ice-cold water bath. Let sit for a few minutes to cool, then transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and, using your hands, peel off their skins.
- Cut the tomatoes into ½-inch chunks (discard the cores at this point) and transfer them, along with all of their juices, into a Dutch oven or saucepan.
- To the chopped tomatoes, add the butter, olive oil, onions, garlic, salt, and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1½ to 2½ hours, stirring occasionally and mashing the tomatoes, until the sauce is no longer watery. Remove and discard the onions. Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, mash any large chunks of tomatoes and garlic to make a slightly chunky and thick sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Before serving, stir in the basil.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 256
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 503 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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can I process the onion or can I use the onion on another recipe? I feel bad to discard them.
Sure, Barbara, either is fine!
Made this sauce yesterday. Best and easiest I’ve ever made. Delicious.
Made this today with my sister, 4X, recipe. Fresh local tomatoes. Simmered 2.5 hours. Onions were difficult to remove as they broke down and came apart. Took considerable time to get onions out, and I did not get all for sure. Sauce is very sweet/orange looking. Taste is maybe for sausage I don’t think I’d like it on pasta.
Any thoughts? Or what did we do wrong?
Hi Diane, sorry that this didn’t come out quite right for you. The onions do break down a bit while cooking particularly if you cook the sauce for the full 2 1/2 hours. (It’s not a problem to actually leave them in there if you have a hard time getting them out.) There’s not a lot of sugar in this so the only conclusion I can come to is that you may have had very sweet tomatoes. Regarding the color, the butter does mellow the color – I find that it’s a lighter shade of red. Hope that helps at least a bit!
I love this sauce. I can’t eat plum tomatoes because of the acidity levels. I have been making it with low acid tomatoes both heirloom from the local farmer’s market and out of my own garden. They come in yellow, and pinkish red. This Recipe works and is just excellent. I do add a bit of tomato pasta that I make from the low acid tomatoes to thicken the sauce. The low acid tomatoes have less pulp and more liquid than plum tomatoes. I suppose you could use cornstarch or flour as thickening agent. Being gluten sensitive I try to not to use flour thickeners.
My friends love this sauce. They ask for the sauce as a 2nd helping with no pasta!
Delicious! It’s the butter! This is my second time making it. I forgot to leave the onions in halves and chopping them finely this time so we’ll have to see if we see the difference.
I made this yesterday using a mix of fresh tomatoes from our garden. It was so easy, and yet it resulted in a sauce that tastes anything but “simple.” Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing it.
What would be the best substitute for the butter? I cannot have dairy.
Hi Susan, you can use more olive oil in place of the butter. 🙂
You mentioned freezing this, but I would like to can these in jars and store up to a year. Do you think that would work? I’ve got so many nice ripe tomatoes now and haven’t found a good recipe for salsa so I’m looking forward to trying this sauce!
Hi Nancy, I didn’t develop this recipe with canning in mind so I’m not sure it would be safe — sorry! I do have a salsa recipe that’s quite popular in case you want to give it a try. 🙂
If using the canned San Marzano tomatoes what size and how much should I use. Want to make this next week for hubs birthday dinner.
Thanks
`Dorothea
Hi Dorthea, You’ll need two 28-ounce cans. Hope your husband enjoys!
I noticed you used roma tomatoes. Will any tomato variety due or are romas preferred?
Hi Dave, any variety will do. Hope you enjoy the sauce!
Can’t wait to try this! I used your pickle recipe it was amazing! Question is I accidentally bought salted butter instead of the unsalted butter and I really don’t want to go back to the store! Haha. Can I use this? And maybe just reduce the amount of salt in the recipe?
Glad you liked the pickles! And no need to go back to the grocery store for unsalted butter. While it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can use the salted butter and reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope that helps!