Whip up a batch of fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce from scratch. It’s easier than you might think, with only 15 minutes prep time. Serve over pasta as-is, or use as a base for other sauces, toppings or even slathered over your next homemade pizza.
Why We Love This
When you get given a box of tomatoes, why not make your own batch of pasta sauce? There’s something so rewarding about using your homemade sauce in anything from pasta, pizza or even a tasty Greek Moussaka.
As it makes quite a big batch, the ability to keep the sauce ready to go in the fridge, or frozen in the freezer, means you can create an extra delicious dinner without the effort.
What is Tomato Pasta Sauce?
This tomato sauce is made up of fresh tomatoes with garlic, onion, bay leaves and spices that are simmered down until you reduce the pot of tomato goodness into glorious saucy heaven. Once the sauce has reduced you’re pretty well set for some pasta awesomeness like our Smoky Beef & Bacon Bolognese.
This pasta sauce recipe was inspired by our Italian Mama in Naples, Italy. The one who taught us the traditional recipe for Napoli style pizza dough. Oh Rita, how we miss you!
If you’re not feeling like pasta for dinner, this delicious sauce also magically transforms into homemade pizza sauce for recipes such as Italian Fried Pizza.
What You’ll Need
Grab that box of tomatoes and get ready to cook! Simple base ingredients for this dish with a few added spices. We like spicy around here, so the hot paprika came out for our version. Feel free to throw in or throw out depending on how you like it!
If you prefer not to cook with wine, you can substitute with red or white wine vinegar, cranberry juice or a bit of chicken stock in a pinch.
How to make Recipe:
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add tomatoes and ensure they are covered by the water. Quickly bring back to the boil, then remove from heat and drain.
Allow tomatoes to cool so you can handle them. Peel the skin and dice into small pieces. Discard stems and set aside.
Heat the oil in the same large pot. Add garlic and brown onion and saute until translucent.
Add the tomatoes, red wine, bay leaves, basil, hot paprika, smoked paprika and mace. Stir well and bring to the boil once more, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for around 2 hours until sauce has thickened and reduced. Remove from the heat.
Carefully transfer sauce into airtight containers.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Wear an apron while chopping the boiled tomato, as this step can get a little messy!
- The riper the tomato, the better it is flavour-wise for this dish.
- For best flavour, do not serve on the same day. Store in refrigerator for a day or two to allow the flavours to fully develop.
FAQs
Roma tomatoes are the most popular, as they can pack quite a lot of flavour than other varieties. Otherwise, use any fresh tomatoes you can source. You can even use cherry tomatoes, which would yield a sweeter sauce.
Basil and oregano pair nicely cooked in with the tomatoes. You can also garnish with fresh parsley or basil.
Your fresh sauce should be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for around a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
Variations & Substitutes
- You can omit the paprika and mace and use more traditional spices here such as nutmeg and cinnamon.
- You can leave the sauce chunky, or blend it for a nice smooth passata style sauce.
Want more Italian ideas? These are some of our favourites:
- Italian Dry Roasted Chicken
- Italian Tiramisu made with Vietnamese Iced Coffee
- Lingue Di Gatto – Italian Butter Biscuits
- Fennel & Orange Salad
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment & star rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg tomatoes ripe, washed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 8-10 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 onion finely ficed
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 handful basil leaves
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground mace
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add tomatoes and ensure they are covered by the water. Quickly bring back to the boil, then remove from heat and drain.1 kg tomatoes
- Allow tomatoes to cool so you can handle them. Drain, then discard the stems, peel the skin and dice into small pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in the same large pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté until translucent.1/3 cup olive oil, 8-10 cloves garlic, 1 onion
- Add the diced tomatoes, red wine, bay leaves, basil, hot paprika, smoked paprika and mace. Stir well and bring to the boil once more, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for around 2 hours until sauce has thickened and reduced. Remove from the heat.1/4 cup red wine, 4 bay leaves, 1 handful basil leaves, 1 tsp hot paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground mace
- Carefully transfer sauce into airtight containers. For bests flavour, do not serve on the same day. Store in refrigerator for a day or two to allow the flavours to fully develop.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Wear an apron while chopping the boiled tomato, as this step can get a little messy!
- The riper the tomato, the better it is flavour-wise for this dish.
- For best flavour, do not serve on the same day. Store in refrigerator for a day or two to allow the flavours to fully develop.
- What are the best tomatoes to use for tomato pasta sauce? Roma tomatoes are the most popular, as they can pack quite a lot of flavour than other varieties. Otherwise, use any fresh tomatoes you can source. You can even use cherry tomatoes, which would yield a sweeter sauce.
- What are the best herbs to pop in your homemade pasta sauce? Basil and oregano pair nicely cooked in with the tomatoes. You can also garnish with fresh parsley or basil.
- What’s the best way to store your tomato pasta sauce? Your fresh sauce should be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for around a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
- You can omit the paprika and mace and use more traditional spices here such as nutmeg and cinnamon.
- You can leave the sauce chunky, or blend it for a nice smooth passata style sauce.
Nutrition
12 Comments
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
18/04/2016 at 10:38 pmPasta sauce from scratch is awesome…especially during market season when those tomatoes are so nice and fresh.
Wandercooks
19/04/2016 at 12:42 pmThey’re irresistible aren’t they! Gotta love markets and fresh, seasonal produce.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
18/04/2016 at 8:34 pmYou can’t beat homemade tomato sauce. It makes the kitchen smell amazing too!
Wandercooks
18/04/2016 at 10:12 pmYes! Totally. A good perfume for a Sunday afternoon 😛
Sarah
18/04/2016 at 8:03 pmThere is seriously nothing better than fresh tomato sauce…thanks so much for this recipe!! Day. Made.
Wandercooks
18/04/2016 at 8:23 pmNo worries Sarah. Hope you have a ball in the kitchen when you give it a go! Do it on a Sunday afternoon when you have a bit of time, so therapeutic haha
Razena | Tantalisemytastebuds.com
18/04/2016 at 6:32 pmI love fresh ripe tomatoes in pasta sauce as it doesn’t have that tinny flavor of canned tomatoes. This looks very lush and I can imagine using it for a nice warming pasta dish with lamb.
Wandercooks
18/04/2016 at 8:21 pmWow, pairing that with lamb would be delicious! Thanks for the great idea Razena!
Just Jo
18/04/2016 at 5:23 pmOh my look at the colour of that sauce – utterly beautiful 😀
Wandercooks
18/04/2016 at 8:21 pmThanks Jo, it does have such a rich colour to it. Nothing beats homemade!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
14/04/2016 at 8:27 pmWhen it comes to tomato based food I’m a magnet — yep I HAVE to wear an apron and even then I’m not immune from having red spots on my person. Your sauce sounds delicious. I think I’ll start purchasing red aprons — I have two already 🙂
Wandercooks
15/04/2016 at 6:02 pmThanks Marisa! And haha I hear you about the aprons, normally I’m a magnet for EVERYTHING when it comes to cooking, but for this batch I managed not to spill a drop (on me that is, the kitchen bench, tea towels, and floor on the other hand weren’t so lucky!). 😛