When you have more fresh tomatoes on your hands than you can cook with, make this easy, homemade tomato sauce. Eat it right away with pasta or garlic bread, or freeze or can it for later. It's an ultra-simple, hands-off recipe and you can let the stove or the slow cooker do most of the work for you!
Late summer, when tomatoes are in full flush, is a great time to make recipes like marinara sauce, tomato onion masala sauce and tomato compote, which can be frozen or canned for use over the winter.
Another of my favorite tomato recipes to make this time of year, one I can use for nearly any Italian dish over the next few months, is this delicious and super easy fresh tomato sauce.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this tomato sauce
- Easy recipe with fresh ingredients: This Italian tomato sauce needs just six ingredients, and two of those are at their peak in summer: tomatoes and basil. Many tomato sauce recipes that use fresh tomatoes ask you to peel the tomatoes and/or deseed them. I like using the whole fruit because why throw out all those delicious nutrients? Using fresh tomatoes also adds a lovely, fresh flavor to this sauce, but if you prefer using canned tomatoes I've got you covered as well!
- Delicious. The amazing flavors of tomato and basil are concentrated in this sauce, making it absolutely yummy.
- Versatile. You can use this tomato sauce for pasta or pizza. You can also use it to top grilled veggies, and so much more. Or serve as a dipping sauce with garlicky bread!
- Soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and vegan. The sauce is everyone-friendly. Jay, my son, loved tomato-based sauces and this one in particular, so I daresay it is kid-friendly too.
Ingredients
See recipe card below for exact quantities of each ingredient
- Fresh tomatoes. All tomato varieties will work for this, including Roma tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes. If you have home grown tomatoes, this is the recipe to make sure you store and savor your bounty for a long, long time.
- Fresh basil. Basil adds amazing flavor to this sauce. You can use other herbs, like oregano, for a different flavor.
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes. Can also use cayenne or paprika instead.
- Tomato paste. This intensifies the wonderful tomato flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil
How to make tomato sauce
Puree the tomatoes and put them in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan or in a crockpot liner along with the chopped, fresh basil, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper and salt.
Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let the sauce cook 30-45 minutes over low heat or in a crockpot set to high heat for 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally. The sauce should be reduced by half when it's done. If necessary, remove the lid in the last few minutes of cooking to help the moisture evaporate. If the sauce is too tangy, depending on the tomatoes you used, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to neutralize the tanginess.
Recipe FAQs
If making the sauce with canned tomatoes, replace the three pounds of tomatoes needed for this recipe with four 14-oz cans of plum tomatoes (with juice) or pureed tomatoes. If using plum tomatoes crush them with your fingers before adding to the crockpot. This will also add more texture to the sauce.
No. It's better not to peel vegetables with edible peels because often a good deal of the nutrition lies in the skin. If possible, use organic tomatoes. Although the Environmental Working Group dropped tomatoes from its Dirty Dozen list in 2023, tomatoes continue to rank among vegetables with a high pesticide residue.
This basic tomato sauce is terrific as a pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce. You can also use it to top pizzas, or any savory dish, including vegan steaks and burgers. You can also use it as a dipping sauce for garlic bread!
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Store in the fridge for up to two weeks in an airtight container.
- Freeze: Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to six months.
- Can: You can also can the tomato sauce and store it for up to a year. Be sure to follow proper sterilization and canning procedures if you do this.
More yummy tomato recipes
If you love this tomato sauce recipe, be sure to check out more sauce recipes on Holy Cow Vegan!
Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven (or crockpot or any heavy, large pot)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds tomatoes (pureed in a blender or food processor. Don't add any water. If you want to make the recipe with canned tomatoes, see recipe notes below).
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ packed cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use more or less according to your preference)
- 6 cloves garlic (crushed into a paste or put through a garlic press)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the pureed tomatoes in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan or in a crockpot liner along with the chopped basil, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper and salt.
- Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let the sauce cook 30-45 minutes or in a crockpot set to high heat for 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally. The sauce should be reduced by half when it's done. If necessary, remove the lid in the last few minutes of cooking to help the moisture evaporate.
- If the sauce is too tangy, depending on the tomatoes you used, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to neutralize the acidity.
Recipe notes
- If making the sauce with canned tomatoes, replace the three pounds of tomatoes needed for this recipe with four 14-oz cans of plum tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes (with juice) or pureed tomatoes. If using plum tomatoes crush them with your fingers before adding to the crockpot. This will also add more texture to the sauce.
- Refrigerate: Store in the fridge for up to two weeks in an airtight container.
- Freeze: Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to six months.
- Can: You can also can the tomato sauce and store it for up to a year. Be sure to follow proper sterilization and canning procedures if you do this.
bob ciecierega
GREAT RECIPE--i'm ready to try it.
do you blanch the tomatoes to remove skins?
ALSO do you remove any seeds.
my wife doesn't like skins in her sauce.
thanks
bob
Vaishali
Hi Bob, I don't remove the skins or seeds because they have so much nutritive value. Because they are pureed you don't really notice them. If you don't like them, you can remove them and then make the sauce.
Gina
I love the sound of this, and will try making it this weekend. Where we live there's local produce galore, at the moment, that is ready for this sauce. I want to make this to use at some point during this long weekend, but also want to freeze some for the coming cooler season (I don't want to say the "w" word...). I love the sound of the concentration of flavors in this recipe, and the ingredients are right down my alley (my tomato sauces, of late, have been either quite "meh", or out of a jar). Thank you for this one!
Vaishali
Heheh I am with you on the "w" word! This is a great sauce to use up all those excess tomatoes for sure. Make sure you simmer until reduced by half--that's the key for concentrating flavors. Hope you love it as much as we did!