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Easy Marinara Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes

By Victoria · On: Nov 30, 20 · Last Modified: Feb 24, 23

2.9K shares
  • 36
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Even if you can buy the tomato sauce almost on every corner, I still prefer to make it from scratch for my family. You can have your own tomato sauce in just one hour or so. The best part is that you’ll know what ingredients were used, and you can adjust it to your family’s taste, and needs.

Basic tomato sauce in a big white bowl with pasta on the table.

If you’re usually buying the tomato sauce from a jar, this recipe might help you to save some money and to create your own delicious tomato sauce.

All you will need are just a few simple ingredients and a bit of your time.

It’s not a secret that it depends a lot on what foundation sauce you are using for your dishes like pizza, lasagna, meat, pasta, or fish. Sure, you can use the sauces that you can buy from the supermarkets, but if you want to be sure of the sauce content, I highly encourage you to make the classic tomato sauce that you can use in the future in a lot of your dishes. It is super easy to make.

Quick note: If you plan to make a larger amount of sauce for preservation and to keep it for a few months, boil the sauce for a longer period of time. For about 2-3 hours.

Today, I will go with the basic recipe because I want to make it neutral so I can use it in a lot of dishes.

Basic tomato sauce in a big white bowl with pasta on the table.

This sauce can be an ideal base for various pasta dishes. By adding some basic ingredients, such as anchovies, capers, chili pepper, olives, and parsley, you will obtain the famous Italian dish “spaghetti alla puttanesca”.

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If you add a little dried oregano to it, you will get a perfect base for pizza.

And of course, do not forget that this sauce is the basis for bolognese sauce. If it is interesting to you, let us know in the comments and I will publish how I make the Bolognese pasta.

Making your own tomato sauce isn’t hard at all, but it will take you a little bit of time, so, I recommend preparing this sauce in bigger batches and freezing it or even better preserving it in jars for longer.

Also, this sauce is a perfect way to preserve tomatoes when they are in season.

Here is everything you need to know about how to make easy and delicious basic tomato sauce. So, let’s get started!

Basic tomato sauce in a big white bowl with pasta on the table.
In This Post: show
1 What Ingredients Do You Need for the Basic Tomato Sauce?
2 How to Make the Basic Tomato Sauce?
3 What Tomatoes to Choose for the Basic Tomato Sauce?
4 Answering Your Questions:
5 Recipe Card:
6 How to Make Basic Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes

What Ingredients Do You Need for the Basic Tomato Sauce?

White bowl with fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil & bay laves.
  • 5 Pounds (2.25KG) of Fresh Tomatoes.
  • 3 Garlic Cloves
  • Fresh Basil to taste
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • Black Peppercorns to taste
  • Salt
  • Sugar (Optionally)

How to Make the Basic Tomato Sauce?

First of all, wash well all the tomatoes and remove the tail from them.

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After you have cleaned the fresh tomatoes, blend them near the rest of the ingredients fresh basil leaves, and garlic cloves.

Adding a red tomato over the tomato sauce

After this, pour all the contents into the pan, and add the salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. If the tomatoes aren’t sweet enough, add a tablespoon of sugar. Mix well all the ingredients and leave them on low heat for about an hour or until you will obtain the desired consistency.

Blended basic tomato sauce with a bay leaf into a dark pan

This is how my sauce looked after one hour.

Basic tomato sauce in a multicooker

Did I mention that it is very easy to make? We are done. This was all that we needed to do.

Basic tomato sauce in a big white bowl with pasta on the table.

What Tomatoes to Choose for the Basic Tomato Sauce?

Pick tomatoes that have a rich taste. I used medium to small tomatoes because that is what I received from my mother in her garden. If you’re planning to buy the tomatoes, go with the larger ones because you will have less up-front prep work.

Also, don’t go with expensive tomatoes because this sauce will cost you a lot. Pick something simple, and tasty. You may consider buying the tomatoes in bulk to save on that.

Basic tomato sauce in a big white bowl with pasta on the table.

Answering Your Questions:

How to Thicken Tomato Sauce?

The best and the easiest way to thick the sauce is to let it simmer for some time longer. It’s important to keep the lid off as when it will simmer, the liquid can evaporate.

How to Add Extra Flavor to the Basic Fresh Tomato Sauce?

Think about salt, and pepper as a starting point. Sometimes you may want to add red pepper flakes. Other times you may want to add oregano or garlic. You’re the boss of your kitchen. You can create this sauce as you wish. You can go the extra mile and make the fresh tomato sauce more flavorful. The easiest part is to use onions/ garlic or some aromatic herbs like ground oregano, rosemary, dried basil, and bay leaves.

How to Store and How to Serve the Basic Fresh Tomato Sauce?

If you want to keep the sauce for a while, pour the sauce into sterilized jars and keep them in a dry and cooler place.

Recipe Card:

Basic tomato sauce in a big white bowl with pasta on the table.

How to Make Basic Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes


★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Victoria
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 Minutes
  • Total Time: 60 Minutes
  • Yield: 5 Servings 1x
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Ingredients

  • 5 lbs (2.25 kg) of Fresh Tomatoes.
  • 3 Garlic Cloves
  • Fresh Basil to taste
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • Black Peppercorns to taste
  • Salt
  • Sugar (Optionally)

Instructions

  1. Wash well all the tomatoes and remove the tail from them.
  2. Blend all the ingredients: Tomatoes, fresh basil, and garlic cloves.
  3. Pour all the contents into a pan, add the salt, black pepper, and bay leaf.
  4. Mix well all the ingredients and leave them on low heat for about an hour or until you will obtain the desired consistency.
  5. We are done.

  • Category: Sauces
  • Cuisine: Italian, American

Keywords: tomato, sauce, basic, homemade

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2.9K shares
  • 36
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natascha

    Dec 03, 20 at 12:18 PM

    Woww! Looks so yummy & delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to try it 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Jeannie

    Dec 03, 20 at 12:19 PM

    I love pasta and its best paired with homemade tomato sauce! Thanks for this easy way of making my own sauce that I can stack.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Jules

      Dec 03, 20 at 1:59 PM

      I didn’t know that boiling the sauce for 2-3 hours would help preserve it. There’s always something to learn!

      Reply
  3. Christine

    Dec 03, 20 at 12:34 PM

    I have always bought sauce from a jar so I will need to try this!! Thanks for the step by step directions!

    Reply
  4. Alyssa Hixenbaugg

    Dec 03, 20 at 1:28 PM

    I always make my own tomato sauce because it tastes so much better! I love how simple your recipe is and the addition of fresh garlic.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Allergy Spot

    Dec 03, 20 at 2:30 PM

    Thanks for sharing this – love the fresh taste of a homemade sauce, and it’s perfect for us with allergies!

    Reply
  6. Arica

    Dec 03, 20 at 2:42 PM

    So delicious and easy! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  7. Wypych

    Dec 03, 20 at 5:08 PM

    I printed the recipe and hope to try it. I’ve never made my own sauce before!

    Reply
  8. Sarah Tucker

    Dec 03, 20 at 7:51 PM

    Yummy! I LOVE homemade pasta sauce – its a game changer. Great recipe & I love your photos!!!!

    Reply
  9. Ruth Essy

    Jan 26, 21 at 1:02 PM

    Finally someone who actually makes tomato sauce from scratch instead of grabbing canned tomatoes!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Patricia

    Sep 22, 21 at 3:05 AM

    5 stars
    I do not normally comment on recipes. But I have to tell you this is the best damn tomato sauce I’ve ever made and eaten.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Hey, I'm Victoria, the blogger behind the Go Cook Yummy. I'm running this blog with my husband, Alex, where we share our family recipes that actually work. Read more about us...

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