This 30 minute, easy homemade pasta sauce recipe with crushed tomatoes is so delicious — you’ll want to lick the spoon! Once you learn how to make pasta sauce with a few short cuts, you’ll never buy the jarred version again! Let’s make it…
Table of Contents
Why this is the best pasta sauce recipe
- Practical shortcuts! Learn how to make pasta sauce from crushed tomatoes.
- Make ahead. And use it on everything from pasta dishes like spaghetti and stuffed shells, to homemade pizza.
- Better than store-bought sauce.
- Options for both a chunky pasta sauce and smooth pasta sauce.
- Quick recipe. Dump things in a pot, give a stir once in a while, let it simmer, then you’re done!
- Kids love it. My toddler sticks his hand in a bowl of this tomato sauce and licks his fingers clean. Sure, I’d rather he use a spoon, but you get the point – it’s delicious to kids!
Ingredients for homemade pasta sauce
Good news: You probably have all the stuff in your pantry to make this pasta sauce. Here are the ingredients for homemade sauce…
- Crusted tomatoes, San Marzano is the best choice
- Garlic
- Yellow onion
- Olive oil
- Oregano, dried
- Parsley, dried
- Red pepper flakes
- Bay leaf (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Basil, fresh chopped
How to make tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes
Step 1. Add most pasta sauce ingredients to a large pot. Place a large and deep pot on a stove burner and set the temperature to medium-high heat. Add all the homemade pasta sauce ingredients, except the fresh basil, to the pot.
So in to the pot goes the crusted tomatoes, garlic, yellow onion, olive oil, dried oregano, dried parsley, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Step 2. Simmer sauce. Once the pasta sauce begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low. Whichever setting on your burner will reduce the boil to a simmer.
Simmer pasta sauce without a lid on the stove for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (every few minutes).
Step 3. Finish pasta sauce with seasonings and serve. Turn off the burner, remove the bay leaf, and taste test the sauce. Add a little salt and pepper if desired. Cover the sauce with a lid to keep it warm for up to a half hour before serving with fresh basil.
How do you make pasta sauce smooth?
This recipe as directed will make a slightly chunky pasta sauce. Want a smooth tomato sauce? There are a few ways to make it smooth.
- Use am immersion blender to smooth the crushed tomatoes before making the pasta sauce.
- Make the tomato sauce from scratch as directed, then use an immersion blender to smooth all ingredients once it cools.
- Use sieve (mesh strainer) to smooth the crushed tomatoes before making the sauce. 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.
What else can you add to pasta sauce?
- Spice it up with 2x the crushed red pepper flakes
- Cheese such as asiago or parmesan (add before serving)
- Cooked ground beef – seasoned with Italian herbs
- Salty ingredients, like anchovies and capers
- Italian sausage
- A splash of red wine – start with two tablespoons
- Greek yogurt – add one cup right before serving to make a creamy homemade pasta sauce
FAQ for making pasta sauce at home
Canned, crushed 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. For a slightly different taste, look for Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes.
Onion adds a lot of flavor to tomato sauce, so I recommend keeping it in the recipe. If you’re not a huge fan of the texture of onions, then instead of dicing the onion, put half the onion in the tomato sauce as-is. Then take it out before serving. That way you will get the flavor without biting onion pieces.
For this pasta sauce recipe, I don’t find it necessary. If you want a slightly sweet sauce, only add 1-2 tsp of sugar to the recipe, with the rest of the sauce ingredients in the first step.
Fresh homemade pasta sauce lasts 3-5 days in Let tomato sauce cool before portioning it out in air-tight containers. These snapping lid containers are the best. I love how easy they are to stack.
Yes! It’s so convenient to have frozen tomato sauce on hand and it keeps for up to 2-3 months in the freezer.
Or put cooled pasta sauce in large gallon-sized ziplock bags so they stack neatly in the freezer. Portion them for one serving at a time to make meal prep easy.
Thaw frozen pasta sauce in the refrigerator overnight, with a plate under the bag just incase it leaks. To thaw it immediately, put the block of frozen tomato sauce (without the bag) in a sauce pan on the stove on medium heat.
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, connect with me on Instagram @sipbitego to learn about new delicious recipes coming to Sip Bite Go. To make more restaurant style meals at home, see my full recipe collection.
Recipes to make with fresh pasta sauce
- Homemade pizza
- Baked chicken parmesan
- Ravioli pizza
- Crispy Italian chicken
- Meatballs with cauliflower rice
- Baked rigatoni
- Homemade pasta
Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe With Crushed Tomatoes (Sip Bite Go)
Ingredients
- 28 ounces tomatoes crushed, San Marzano
- 1 tbsp garlic diced
- ½ medium yellow onion diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp oregano dried
- ½ tsp parsley dried
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf optional
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp basil fresh chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Add most pasta sauce ingredients to a large pot. Place a large and deep pot on a stove burner and set the temperature to medium-high heat. Add all the homemade pasta sauce ingredients, except the fresh basil, to the pot. So in to the pot goes the crusted tomatoes, garlic, yellow onion, olive oil, dried oregano, dried parsley, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Simmer sauce. Once the pasta sauce begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low. Whichever setting on your burner will reduce the boil to a simmer. Simmer pasta sauce without a lid on the stove for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (every few minutes).
- Finish pasta sauce with seasonings and serve. Turn off the burner, remove the bay leaf, and taste test the sauce. Add a little salt and pepper if desired. Cover the sauce with a lid to keep it warm for up to a half hour before serving with fresh basil.
Elizabeth O says
I love creating sauces with tomatoes as a base and I use all kinds of tomatoes for my dishes. Since part of my upbringing was in West Africa, I learned how to make traditional stews and they are made with fresh ingredients and are delicious.