Homemade Tomato Sauce
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Based on Marcella Hazan’s famous recipe, this simple and rich homemade tomato sauce is a summer essential.
I’ve got a confession: there’s a whole shelf in my pantry reserved for my favorite jarred tomato sauce — perfect for those hectic nights. But when tomatoes are in season and I’ve got some time on my hands, there’s nothing like making tomato sauce from scratch. It’s so delicious and makes me wonder how I can ever settle for that run-of-the-mill jarred stuff! My go-to recipe is based on cookbook author Marcella Hazan’s famously simple tomato butter sauce, although I’ve tweaked it over the years to make it my own. It’s such a rich and flavorful sauce, it doesn’t even need Parmesan cheese when tossed with pasta. If fresh tomatoes aren’t in season or you’re in a time crunch, feel free to use canned whole peeled tomatoes (select the San Marzano variety for the best results). Just steer clear of canned diced tomatoes; they’ve got a chemical in them that prevents them from fully breaking down.
What you’ll need to make Homemade tomato sauce
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by scoring the tomatoes with an X on one end. Don’t cut too deep – about 1/4 inch is good.
Place the tomatoes in boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the skins start to peel back. Be careful not to cook too long, or the tomatoes will become soft and difficult to handle.
Plunge the tomatoes into an ice-cold water bath to stop the cooking process.
Transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and peel the skins off.
Cut the tomatoes into 1/2-inch chunks.
Place the chopped tomatoes, along with all of their seeds and juices, into a large Dutch oven or saucepan, along with the butter, olive oil, onions, garlic, salt and sugar.
Bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, until the sauce is no longer watery.
Remove the onion and discard. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to smash any large chunks of tomatoes or garlic to make a slightly chunky and thick sauce.
Before serving, stir in the basil.
The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days, or can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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Homemade Tomato Sauce
Based on Marcella Hazan’s famous recipe, this simple and rich homemade tomato sauce is a summer essential.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds plum tomatoes (or two 28-ounce cans whole peeled plum tomatoes)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut in half
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- If using fresh tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl halfway-full with ice cubes and cold water. Using a sharp knife, cut a ¼-inch deep X on one end of each tomato. Place the scored tomatoes into the boiling water and cook until you see the skin starting to wrinkle and split, 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to cook too long, or the tomatoes will become soft and difficult to handle). Using a slotted spoon, lift the tomatoes out of the pot and plunge them into the ice-cold water bath. Let sit for a few minutes to cool, then transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and, using your hands, peel off their skins. Cut the tomatoes into ½-inch chunks (discard the cores at this point) and transfer them, along with all of their juices, into a Dutch oven or saucepan.
- To the chopped tomatoes, add the butter, olive oil, onions, garlic, salt, and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1½ to 2½ hours, stirring occasionally and mashing the tomatoes, until the sauce is no longer watery. Remove and discard the onions. Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, mash any large chunks of tomatoes and garlic to make a slightly chunky and thick sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Before serving, stir in the basil.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 256
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 503 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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can I process the onion or can I use the onion on another recipe? I feel bad to discard them.
Sure, Barbara, either is fine!
Made this sauce yesterday. Best and easiest I’ve ever made. Delicious.
Made this today with my sister, 4X, recipe. Fresh local tomatoes. Simmered 2.5 hours. Onions were difficult to remove as they broke down and came apart. Took considerable time to get onions out, and I did not get all for sure. Sauce is very sweet/orange looking. Taste is maybe for sausage I don’t think I’d like it on pasta.
Any thoughts? Or what did we do wrong?
Hi Diane, sorry that this didn’t come out quite right for you. The onions do break down a bit while cooking particularly if you cook the sauce for the full 2 1/2 hours. (It’s not a problem to actually leave them in there if you have a hard time getting them out.) There’s not a lot of sugar in this so the only conclusion I can come to is that you may have had very sweet tomatoes. Regarding the color, the butter does mellow the color – I find that it’s a lighter shade of red. Hope that helps at least a bit!
I love this sauce. I can’t eat plum tomatoes because of the acidity levels. I have been making it with low acid tomatoes both heirloom from the local farmer’s market and out of my own garden. They come in yellow, and pinkish red. This Recipe works and is just excellent. I do add a bit of tomato pasta that I make from the low acid tomatoes to thicken the sauce. The low acid tomatoes have less pulp and more liquid than plum tomatoes. I suppose you could use cornstarch or flour as thickening agent. Being gluten sensitive I try to not to use flour thickeners.
My friends love this sauce. They ask for the sauce as a 2nd helping with no pasta!
Delicious! It’s the butter! This is my second time making it. I forgot to leave the onions in halves and chopping them finely this time so we’ll have to see if we see the difference.
I made this yesterday using a mix of fresh tomatoes from our garden. It was so easy, and yet it resulted in a sauce that tastes anything but “simple.” Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing it.
What would be the best substitute for the butter? I cannot have dairy.
Hi Susan, you can use more olive oil in place of the butter. 🙂
You mentioned freezing this, but I would like to can these in jars and store up to a year. Do you think that would work? I’ve got so many nice ripe tomatoes now and haven’t found a good recipe for salsa so I’m looking forward to trying this sauce!
Hi Nancy, I didn’t develop this recipe with canning in mind so I’m not sure it would be safe — sorry! I do have a salsa recipe that’s quite popular in case you want to give it a try. 🙂
If using the canned San Marzano tomatoes what size and how much should I use. Want to make this next week for hubs birthday dinner.
Thanks
`Dorothea
Hi Dorthea, You’ll need two 28-ounce cans. Hope your husband enjoys!
I noticed you used roma tomatoes. Will any tomato variety due or are romas preferred?
Hi Dave, any variety will do. Hope you enjoy the sauce!
Can’t wait to try this! I used your pickle recipe it was amazing! Question is I accidentally bought salted butter instead of the unsalted butter and I really don’t want to go back to the store! Haha. Can I use this? And maybe just reduce the amount of salt in the recipe?
Glad you liked the pickles! And no need to go back to the grocery store for unsalted butter. While it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can use the salted butter and reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope that helps!
Just made this recipe with the fresh tomatoes from my CSA.. UNREAL! This sauce is so so delicious. I’m not sure if it is the tomatoes that were so good, the recipe, or a combination of both but I am definitely going to be making this again!
One thought/question: any ideas on ways to use the onions after you remove them? I thought about chopping them up and adding them to the sauce but I was also wondering if others have used them another way (soup, sauce, etc)?
Hi Lucy, Glad you liked it! You could dice the onions and add them to soups, stews or even scrambled eggs (or for next time, just leave them in the sauce).
Hi Jen. We have someone in our household who has an allergy to milk. Do you think it would be worth it to try substituting a vegan butter, say, for the regular butter? And thanks for any thoughts – I love your recipes.
Sure, Katherine, that should be fine. Enjoy!
This is the easiest, most delicious tomato sauce! I don’t feel right if I don’t have at least a quart of this in my freezer at all times. I use the canned San Marzano tomatoes for a deeper tomato flavor (also quicker to make).
Roughly how many plum tomatoes is in 4 lbs?
Hi Jane, It’s hard to say for sure as it depends on size, but I’d guesstimate you’ll need 18 – 20. (Feel free to use the scale in the produce section of the grocery store to be sure.) Enjoy!
Can this recipe be canned?
I didn’t develop this recipe for canning so I can’t say for sure that it would be safe. Sorry!
I have to disagree with all the 5 star ratings. This was good but it has too much oil in it. I’d scale back if I made it again.
Absolutely a hit!!! Taste the same as the authentic sauce we have tasted in a favorite Italian restaurant. What a difference from the bottle jars of sauce one can by. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!! It has become one of my favorite recipes to make and store as well.
I made this with fresh plum tomatoes from my garden. It was delicious!
Made this with fresh tomatoes and it was very liquidy. What do you recommend so that this doesn’t happen?
Hi Kate, I’d just simmer it on the stove a little longer until it thickens to your liking. Hope that helps!
My husband has a green thumb and I didn’t know what to do with all the tomatoes he grew this year. I looked at so many sauce recipes and picked this one based on the reviews and simplicity.
OMG, I am so thrilled to have found this! I made it EXACTLY as posted and it is truly the very best sauce we have ever had. Don’t tell my Italian grandma…!
Thank you, thank you for this delicious and amazing recipe.
would love to try this recipe, is thier anything i could substitute for butter?
Hi Danielle, Butter adds nice flavor here, but you can replace it with olive oil. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Can I use this recipe to make chili?
Hi Lila, I wouldn’t recommend it — sorry!
Delicious 5 star recipe. One to keep in the rotation!
Made it with home grown tomatoes. Loved it and made it two more times next week.
Simple and very tasty. Added mushroom and peppers to one batch. That turned out good too
Stupid question – if i’m forced to use the canned tomatoes, do I leave them whole when adding to the pot with the rest of the ingredients? Or do I cut them into half-inch pieces like you instruct for the fresh ones?
Hi Helen, You do need to chop them. I would use kitchen shears to chop them directly in the can or dump the entire contents of the can into a resealable freezer bag, seal the bag, and crush with your hands. Hope that helps!
Copy that! Thanks a bunch, Jenn! 🙂
I made this tomato sauce last night with the glut of tomatoes from my greenhouse. I cheated. I blitzed the tomatoes in the food processor first rather than remove the skins.
Anyway, I used it tonight on a homemade spinach & ricotta cannelloni. It was absolutely delicious!
Thank you Jenn 😊
Hi! Can’t wait to try this with my farmers market tomato purchase! Family does not like garlic, any replacement suggestion or should I just delete? Thanks!
Hi Dawn, Totally fine to just omit the garlic. Hope your family enjoys!
Hi – I’m excited to try this! Can I make this with cherry tomatoes, and perhaps strain to remove the skins after? (I have a bounty of cherry tomatoes from our garden this year and would love to use them for this!)
Hi Nadine, I haven’t made this with cherry tomatoes but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out!
If you slice your cherry tomatoes in half and then place them in a deep glass dish with some olive oil and roast at around 350 until you see the tomatoes break down or the edges start to color, you can simply use an immersion blender to remove the need to try and strain/deseed them. I generally add a chopped onion, chopped garlic, and a chopped red bell pepper to the glass dish when I use cherry tomatoes in a sauce recipe. Cooked in this way, the tomatoes get sweeter and there is no issue with the seeds/peels. You can even throw some spices in the dish so they cook up together or wait and season as Jenn describes. Roasting tomatoes in the off season may also help to give the tomatoes a deeper taste, although I haven’t tried it with the tomatoes from the grocery store. I used to give my cherry tomatoes away because I could only make so much salsa with them. I don’t do that anymore since finding out a superb way of using them in a sauce with very little work!!
Can you water bath this recipe for canning on shelf??
Tracy W
Hi, I didn’t develop this recipe for canning so I can’t say for sure that it would be safe. Sorry!
Came here for the same question! If you’d tried it, please let me know how it turned out! Thanks!
Recipes for canning safely have very specific requirements. This recipe has dairy, which is not considered safe for home canning. You’d be better off canning your tomatoes, then using them to complete the recipe.
I made this sauce yesterday from my vine ripened tomatoes from my garden. It was delicious! I left the onions and garlic in the sauce and puréed it with my immersion blender. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes😊
Can you can this sauce in a Ball jar?
Hi Keith, This recipe wasn’t designed for canning, so I’m not sure it’s safe — I’m sorry!
I freeze mine!
Hi Jenn,
Made this before and loved the taste! I am now wondering if I can double this recipe. Found a deal on fresh tomatoes that I couldn’t resist. 🙂
Yes, you can definitely double it (and glad you like it)!
Thank you for this recipe! I made it as directed with fresh tomatoes from our garden. Yummy! I put that batch in the freezer. Tomorrow, I will be making another batch for dinner!
I made this sauce yesterday, it was delicious!! I’ve tried making sauce with fresh tomatoes but never did very well with it. This recipe was easy and delicious. A must make and will share with my friends and family.
I thought I’d test out half a recipe before using my garden Romas, which will ripen in a few weeks. So I used a can of Italian plum tomatoes. The sauce is surprisingly piquant and tasty. As others have said, must be the butter. And it could hardly be easier to make. Took about 1.5 hours to reach the proper consistency. Next time I might mash up the onions and leave them in – they looked so good I hated to discard them. I’m going to serve the sauce with meatballs and a small side of pasta.
Can this recipe be preserved in a canner
Hi Judith, Unfortunately, I don’t think this recipe is safe for canning. Sorry!
this sauce was delicious! I have never made pasta sauce with butter like this before. I used fresh tomatoes and freeze dried basil. I thought it was great! The flavor was just right and, in my opinion, the butter mellowed the flavor in best way.
Hi Jenn, I make the sauce the same way with some small changes. I leave the salt and sugar, other spices out till I use it. I also roast my tomato’s whole in the oven (broiler) first which adds a depth of flavor and after 20 minutes under the broiler the tomato’s loss 90% of their liquid so they cook down to a rich sauce very quickly. I make around 50 quarts each year packing the sauce in air tight bags and enjoy the flavor of fresh tomato sauce till the next harvest in early June. Not to mention all the fresh salsa I make and freeze.
Do you peel them before broiling them?
Can you use tree vine size tomatoes and if so, how many to use?
Hi Renee, It’s fine to use another type of tomatoes, but it’s really hard to say how many you’ll need since size can vary by a lot and I measure by weight here. I typically use 16 to 20 plum tomatoes to get 4 pounds if that helps to compare.
So rich ad flavorful! I use 3/4 Roma and 1/4 various round tomato varieties to add flavor. Increasing the temp slowly and adding tomatoes as I go keeps it from separating (an old crushed tomatoes canning technique) and you don’t need to simmer any longer for the non-paste tomatoes.
Can you used a vegan butter substitute (Miyoko’s) for the real butter?
Sure, that should be fine. Enjoy!
Best sauce! Cannot be any easier to prep/make. My honey can get bad reflux with most tomato sauces, but not this one! I’m looking forward to my garden tomatoes coming in and I will try the fresh version. Thank you for sharing ❤️
Hi Jenn, I love this sauce. It’s so light and flavorful. When I make it, I’m always proud that I made something so good. What would you think about adding some baby spinach to the pot and just wilting it in? I’ll feel better about eating a bowl of pasta if I have some veg in there. I know it’s changing the recipe — but do you think it would taste good? Thank you!
Sure, I think it’s perfectly fine to add some spinach here (and so glad you like it)!
I made this sauce tonight and it turned out so yummy! I didn’t have 4 lbs. of plum tomatoes, so I did a mixture and just simmered it a bit longer to boil off the extra liquid. After pulling out the onions, I used my immersion blender to blend it into a beautiful consistency. I’m planning on freezing this sauce to use in winter. Question – seems like a waste to throw out the onions after simmering in all that great flavor. Ideas on how I could use them?
Hi Jennifer, Glad you liked it! You could dice the onions and add them to soups, stews or even scrambled eggs (or for next time, just leave them in the sauce). Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn – I have been making your recipes now for a couple of years I think. I’ve found you are my “go to” site and everything I’ve made has been amazing. Friends started giving me tomatoes a month or so ago so I started making this sauce. And the first time I had a friend over, and he kept complimenting me on how good it is. So, then he gave me tomatoes and I made more for my freezer (and his fridge). I’m making it for the 3rd time tonight with some friends to go with fresh homemade sausage ravioli. The first couple of times I used random garden tomatoes and tonight I’m using romas from a local farm stand. I don’t think it really matters which tomatoes you use – if you can get garden or farm tomatoes, the sauce will be amazing. For those curious, I never put in the sugar (don’t think it needs it and I try to avoid sugar). Also as a garlic lover, I add extra garlic and rough chop it and leave it in the sauce. Also, I tend to just smash the tomatoes as I’m peeling them (I probably leave them in the water too long so they start to stew), and depending on the tomatoes and the amount of juice, I just let it simmer for as long as it needs (could be 2 hours). The butter makes this so rich and gives it that unexpected flavor. Thank you for another amazing recipe. I have shared so many of your recipes with friends.
I’ve made this twice and both times it comes out very watery. I use fresh tomatoes. Any suggestions on how to thicken it up?
Hi Sara, I would just simmer it a bit longer until it thickens up to your liking. 🙂
Made this for the first time and my family loved it I added some Adobe to give it a kick with olive oil I used canned tomatoes and it was a thumbs up
Hey Jenn still loving all your recipes! Had a great homemade pizza the other night . My friend stated she made her own sauce which lead me to search for one on your site. I’m assuming this can be used for pizza sauce as well? Quick question …any suggestions as to how to use slow cooker with this sauce? Any tips would be appreciated and time saving for me as I’m on the go a good bit!
Thanks, Staci
Hi Staci, So glad you like the recipes! This would work as a pizza sauce but it would be pretty chunky. If you wanted to smooth it out a bit, you could blitz it briefly in a food processor. Another option is the sauce from this pizza recipe. Hope you enjoy whatever you try!
Looks delicious! Do you think it would turn out ok if I subbed olive oil for the butter to make it vegan?
Hi Suzanns, I love the flavor that butter adds here, but yes, it’s fine to use olive oil in place of it. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi, at what point would you add the minced meat if making a bolognese sauce? Or do you need to cook the meat separately?? Thank you.
Hi Jackie, I would use this recipe as a guide for bolognese.
Delicious! I have my own sauce recipe that I’ve been using for years that my family loves, so my teenagers were very skeptical when I said I was trying a new sauce recipe. The reviews of this one prompted me to make it. It must be the butter that makes the difference. Loved it!! Will definitely make again.
Love this recipe! It’s my go-to recipe for any pasta dish!
Thank you, Jennifer for all your wondrous recipes! My better half’s newest request is that I cook every one of your recipes! Thank you, too, for the step by step pictures— most helpful. This dish—like every one I have tried—is exceptional.
So glad you and your better half are enjoying them! 🙂