This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.
Keep this Homemade Tomato Sauce in your back pocket for lazy days and last-minute dinners. The recipe is simple to prepare and tastes great after a short simmer time (just 15 minutes). Spoon it over pasta, meatballs, or your favorite Italian recipes.
There are plenty of reasons to make your tomato sauce at home: You want to consume fewer processed foods, the “healthy” options at the store are too expensive, or you just genuinely enjoy cooking.
This homemade tomato sauce recipe came from a mix of all of those reasons, but the main goal was to increase my flexibility in the kitchen. I don’t necessarily buy spaghetti sauce regularly, but I always have canned tomatoes on hand.
I wanted to be able to convert those pantry staples into a sauce for pasta, pizza, or a casserole dish without having to commit in advance. This quick tomato sauce is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for busy nights when you are just “winging it.” But it’s also great to plan for it too, because the flavors are top-notch and you’ll just love it.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Sugar: This is an optional sauce ingredient; I prefer just 1 teaspoon to balance out the acidity in, and enhance the natural sweetness of, the canned tomatoes. Sweeten to taste or feel free to omit.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes (Be careful! They may splatter when they hit the hot oil, so keep the lid handy), diced tomatoes and their juice, basil, oregano, and sugar.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Keep warm over low-heat until serving time, or cool completely and store covered in the refrigerator.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 cups (1 quart) sauce, enough for 8 servings, ½ cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The sauce can be made, cooled, covered, and refrigerated up to 3 days in advance. To make sauce cool quickly, add it to a bowl set in a vat of ice water and stir frequently.
- Freezer: Cool the finished sauce, then pack into freezer-safe containers (I like to use glass Mason jars; leave a half-inch of head space for expansion), and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Flat-laying freezer bags work too!
- All the produce: Customize your pasta sauce by adding diced onions, red peppers, or even finely chopped carrots to the skillet with the garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir fresh herbs such as fresh basil or fresh parsley into the final sauce. And if 4 cloves is too much, start with just one clove garlic.
- Spicy: Stir in red pepper flakes to taste with the other spices or pass separately at the table.
- Creamy: Add heavy cream to taste (start with ¼ cup and see if you want more). If you have time for the sauce to simmer longer, stir in a leftover Parmesan cheese rind from the freezer.
- Buttery: Add 1 or 2 tablespoons butter to the sauce for a rich, buttery taste.
- Thicker: For a thicker sauce, simmer to your desired consistency or stir in a can of tomato paste.
- Blender: For a smooth marinara sauce, process in batches in a blender (or use an immersion blender). Ideal for dipping appetizers like mozzarella sticks or pizza bites.
- Serving suggestion: To serve with spaghetti, bring a large pot of water (at least 4 quarts) and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes, then drain well.
- Italian meatballs: These classic Italian Meatballs are ready to be sauced and served with spaghetti, on meatball subs, or as an appetizer. Pan-fry and baking instructions included! Or try my wildly popular Turkey Meatballs.
- Meat sauce: My favorite Homemade Meat Sauce has both ground beef and Italian sausage. It’s perfect for lasagna, spaghetti, or spiralized zoodles, and it comes together with easy pantry ingredients.
- Spaghetti and Meatballs: This classic Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe is a hearty and comforting family dinner idea. One bite of this Italian-American dinner recipe will transport you to a Midwestern red sauce restaurant.
- Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce: Learn how to cook spaghetti squash, then top with homemade tomato sauce or your favorite meat sauce.
- Lasagna: This traditional Lasagna Recipe has three kinds of cheese, two different meats, one fantastic homemade sauce, and plenty of cheese. Or, try my super popular Make Ahead Lasagna which uses standard lasagna noodles (not the no-boil kind) but they go in unboiled, uncooked, bone-dry. It’s amazing.
- Zucchini Lasagna: Grilled ribbons of zucchini stand in for lasagna noodles in this Zucchini Lasagna layered with ricotta and marinara-coated ground beef.
- Zucchini Parmesan: In lieu of the whole breading-and-frying situation, this fuss-free Zucchini Parmesan uses roasted zucchini “noodles” in one of my best Italian dinners for busy weeknights.
- Baked Ziti: Far less fussy than lasagna but just as cheesy and comforting, this meaty Baked Ziti casserole is made with ground Italian sausage and calls for just 15 minutes of prep time.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is quick and easy because of the canned tomato products, but you can substitute 16 to 20 Roma tomatoes for the crushed and diced tomatoes. You’ll want to peel the tomatoes and seed the tomatoes for this recipe, and you’ll need to cook the sauce longer.
San Marzano tomatoes come from the San Marzano region of Italy. They are a type of plum tomato with a narrow in shape, a pointed tip and fewer seeds than standard plum tomatoes. They are one of those ingredients with a PDO designation: Protected Designation of Origin, just like true Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France and Parmigiano-Reggiano is tightly regulated in both origin, ingredients, and aging. San Marzano tomatoes are now grown in the United States, too, but they will never have the PDO (DPO in Italian) designation. Or at least, they shouldn’t.
While some epicureans swear San Marzano tomatoes are worth the extra money, that’s up to you, your wallet, and your taste buds.
Put your tomato sauce to work
Italian Recipes
Baked Ziti
Italian Recipes
The Best Make Ahead Lasagna
Italian Recipes
Eggplant Parmesan
Italian Recipes
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Join Us
Homemade Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes (be careful; they may splatter when they hit the hot oil, so keep the lid handy), diced tomatoes and their juice, basil, oregano, and sugar.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Keep warm over low-heat until serving time, or cool completely and store covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Sugar: This is an optional sauce ingredient; I prefer just 1 teaspoon to balance out the acidity in the canned tomatoes. Sweeten to taste or feel free to omit.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 cups (1 quart) sauce, enough for 8 servings, ½ cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Looks like a good recipe, do I really throw the garlic away ?
Hi Nora, the garlic is there to flavor the oil. If you desire you can mince the garlic and leave it in, being careful to not burn it. I hope you love it! – Meggan
Meggan, I have been on the hunt for the “perfect marinara sauce” for years. Had to be made with ingredients I can get and have on hand. This is absolutely the best, easiest marinara sauce I have ever had. I used the 1 tsp of sugar and added the 2 tbsp of butter at the end. Tomato can sizes are what I can get at Costco. This is better than our best Italian restaurant’s sauce. I am over the moon. I wake up every day to your email of recipes and absolutely could not be more thrilled to have found you. Thank you!
Recipes all look good & easy, I’m so over cooking since COVID STARTED, frozen dinner s are awful
So looking for easy!
Thank you
Happy to help Lennie, hope you enjoy! – Meggan
This is everything I hoped and more! Quick, easy and tasty!