How To Make Tomato Sauce From Crushed Tomatoes (for Pizza or Pasta)

Learn how to make tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes for pizza or pasta. It takes about 30 minutes when you start with canned crushed tomatoes. Use this easy homemade tomato sauce recipe for spaghetti sauce, or to make pizza sauce from scratch. Once you learn how to make tomato sauce from canned crushed tomatoes, you won’t need to buy the pre-made stuff again. Let’s get ready to simmer! 

Now that I’ve taught thousands and thousands of people how to make homemade pizza with store bought dough, it’s time to let you in on another secret…

It’s ridiculously easy to make tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes! Make it in big ‘ol batches to last for months. With just a few minutes of active time. 

Ingredients for making easy homemade tomato sauce

This recipe starts with canned crushed tomatoes. Other ingredients you need to make this homemade garlic tomato sauce include garlic, yellow onion, olive oil, dried spices (oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, a bay leaf), salt and pepper to taste, and fresh basil. 

How to make tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes

In a large and deep saucepan on medium heat, combine the crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes. Stir together. 

Once the sauce begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir every few minutes while the sauce simmers without a lid for 30 minutes. 

Once the sauce is done, turn off heat, remove bay leaf, and add salt and pepper if desired. Add fresh basil and cover the sauce with a lid until serving. 

How do you make smooth tomato sauce at home?

There are two ways to make smooth tomato sauce from this recipe. One option is to blend the can of crushed tomatoes before the sauce simmers. My preferred method is to blend the homemade tomato sauce smooth after it simmers. 

To get tomato sauce with a smooth consistency, process the tomato sauce with a traditional blender or handheld immersion blender. I love using an immersion blender because it is simple to use without much cleanup. And it helps me to make awesome soups. 

If you don’t have a blender, you can make tomato sauce smooth manually with a sieve. Here’s how. With a bowl below, add a cup or two of tomato sauce at a time to the sieve. Push down on the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to pass the tomato sauce through the sieve. 

Which type of tomatoes are best for tomato sauce?

Canned tomatoes are the way to go to make easy homemade tomato sauce in a half hour or so. So skip making the tomato sauce from whole tomatoes, and use canned tomatoes to make sauce in only 30-45 minutes.

San Marzano tomatoes, named after where they grow in the Campania region of Italy, are your best best for making a really high-quality homemade tomato sauce. 

Do you need to use onion in homemade tomato sauce?

Yes and no. It’s important to use onion in homemade tomato sauce because it adds big flavor. Personally, I LOVE onions (have you not heard me rave about these red wine caramelized red onions, or my favorite sous vide onion recipes?). So I use diced onion and enjoy it in the sauce. 

If you or someone you’re cooking for doesn’t love onions, then don’t dice it. Instead, stick the entire half of the onion in the sauce while it simmers.

Then remove the onion before serving.

This way, you’ll get the important flavor of the onion without having to eat onion in the sauce. 

Do you need tomato paste to make homemade sauce?

There are probably a million ways to make homemade tomato sauce. I don’t believe you need to make tomato sauce from diced tomatoes and paste. Making sauce from just crushed tomatoes in a can works fine. 

Do you need to add sugar to tomato sauce?

For this recipe, I don’t. But if you like your sauce a little sweeter, you can always add 1-2 tsp of sugar to the recipe. I recommend you make the recipe as instructed, taste it, then add a little bit of sugar if you’d like. 

So why do some people add sugar to tomato sauce?

The sugar balances out the acidity of the tomatoes. When you start with good quality crushed tomatoes, like San Marzano crushed tomatoes, you can get away with skipping the sugar. 

If you taste your tomato sauce and think it tastes too acidic, then add a little sugar and try it again. 

So what if the tomato sauce tastes too acidic?

If you’ve added 1-2 tsp of sugar and tomato sauce is still too acidic, or bitter, or sour, there’s one more thing you can try.

Some people swear by using one half teaspoon of baking soda to offset tomato sauce that is too acidic. Increase the amount to a full teaspoon of baking soda if needed. 

What can you add to tomato sauce to make it more exciting? 

• Add more crushed red pepper to spice it up
• Add cheese such as asiago or parmesan
• Cooked ground beef – seasoned with Italian herbs
• A mix of anchovies and capers
• Italian sausage
• A splash of red wine – start with two tablespoons
• Greek yogurt – add one cup right before serving

How can you make store bought tomato sauce taste fresh?

Here are tips for people who don’t have all the ingredients on hand to make this easy tomato sauce recipe at the moment, and need a quick-fix to freshen up store bought sauce. 

As someone who makes 100+ pizzas a year, let’s just say I’m a pro when it comes to answering this question. 

I spent years “doctoring up” store bought tomato sauce to pass it off as fresh. For pizza, my favorite tasty tricks include seasoning sauce with this pizza seasoning and the dough with this pizza dough seasoning. For pasta, I love using this pasta sprinkle.

It has the right amount of all the Italian dried herbs needed to make store bought tomato sauce taste better. And no list of my go-to seasonings would be complete without my old faithful garlic salt.

I put it on everything from roasted vegetables to sous vide meat recipes to homemade pizza! There’s no reason not to buy garlic salt in bulk. 

See tips on choosing the best store bought pizza crust for pizza night.

Dishes to use homemade tomato sauce in

• Homemade pizza
• Baked chicken parmesan
• Steak (it’s a great marinade, or serve steak with a cup of tomato sauce on top, “pizza style”)
• Crispy Italian chicken
• Meatballs 
• Pasta – of coarse! 

This may come as a surprise, but fresh tomato sauce goes in my favorite version of BBQ chicken pizza. Most people make theirs with only BBQ sauce, but my way is so much better.

Tips for freezing tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes

Can you freeze homemade tomato sauce? 

Yes! It’s so convenient to have frozen tomato sauce on hand. Let tomato sauce cool before portioning it out in air-tight containers.

Don’t forget to label the tomato sauce a “use by date” – which should be three months from the date the sauce is made, for best results. These snapping lid containers are the best. I love how easy they are to stack. 

How do you thaw frozen tomato sauce? Thaw it overnight. Or put tomato sauce in a sauce pan on the stove on medium-low heat to thaw it quickly. 

Tasty tips and notes on making tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes

• How far in advance can you make tomato sauce? Make tomato sauce 3-4 days in advance. 
• Try this tasty pasta sprinkle instead of the herbs recommended. 
• As an alternative to diced onions, put half an onion directly in the sauce while it simmers. Take it out when sauce is done. The flavor will be there without the chunks of onion. 
• Make tomato sauce smooth with a traditional blender, handheld immersion blender, or manually with a sieve. 
• Store leftover homemade tomato sauce in  snapping lid containers in the fridge for three days, or in the freezer for up to three months. 
• Thaw frozen tomato sauce overnight, or in a saucepan on medium-low heat.  

Enjoy homemade tomato sauce on homemade pizza, on frozen pizza crust, in this baked rigatoni with ground beef, and in this baked chicken parmesan dish. 

Let me know when you make this homemade tomato sauce recipe. Leave a comment and rate the recipe.

Want some more sauce ideas? Check out my free sauce recipe ebook!

I love seeing photos of your food! Don’t forget to tag me @sipbitego on Instagram so I can see how the recipe turned out.