This post was last updated on August 27, 2014 to include new images and a recipe video.
I find that people are often surprised that I make my own tomato sauce. I think they imagine me spending hours and hours over the stove with tons of ingredients.
Truth is: it’s pretty darn easy and only requires a few simple ingredients.
Italian food is one of my many, many, many favorite types of food. Therefore, I make a lot of it.
To make great Italian food, I think it’s pretty important to make your own tomato sauce.
Now, I haven’t always thought this way. In fact, I used to buy pre-made tomato sauces. [Gasp!] It wasn’t until I tried a recipe for Simple Tomato Sauce by Giada De Laurentiis that everything changed…forever. [Insert dramatic pause]
Oh my goodness, this sauce is good. It is delicious in spaghetti, on pizza, baked with chicken parmesan, on meatball subs and smothered on garlic bread.
As its name suggests, this is a simple sauce.
So, once you get comfortable making this recipe, you can customize it however you want, like adding roasted tomatoes and garlic, four cheeses, pesto, etc.
The possibilities are endless…and tasty.
Watch me make this awesome sauce the video below!
Simple Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- 2 cans crushed tomatoes 28-ounce
- 4 to 6 basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-4 tbsp unsalted butter optional
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In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, until sweating.
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Add celery and carrots and season with the salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 8-10 minutes.
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Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
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Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer, covered, on low heat for 1 hour.
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Before blending, remove bay leaves. If using a food processor, add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
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If using an immersion blender (possibly the best device ever!), just blend the sauce right there in the pot.
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Once sauce is completely pureed, return to the pot. Add additional salt or pepper as desired. Add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to round out the flavors. (I usually wind up adding about 2 tablespoons). The butter will cut some of the acidity of the tomatoes.
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If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
Recipe Video
Is this sauce sweet. Irecently had an amazing sauce at a new Italian restaurant in Dysney asprings. I m looking to make a sweet tomato sauce. Any suggestions.
This sauce is amazing!!
Wow so happy I found this recipe! I made it a couple of weekends ago and used the first batch cold for a tomato dip. I frozen the rest and had some with spaghetti yesterday, it was so good! I’ll definitely keep a supply of this in the freezer for easy and quick meals. I hope you don’t mind but I featured you on my blog too 🙂 thanks for sharing. Deb
Hiya Lacey, thanks for the article. Where did you get the images from? Would like to use one of them for my website (different context). Please let me know. Thanks!
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Lacey, I have a question on the wonderful recipe. I see that it freezes well, what about canning it?
Thanks
Karen M
Karen, I’ve actually been meaning to try canning this recipe for years now. I wouldn’t add the butter at the end, but otherwise I think it would be a good candidate for canning. If you try it, please share the results 🙂
hey, i was wondering in the ingredients section if it is two 28-ounce cans of tomatoes or two cans of tomatoes that add up to 28-ounces..help please, i would really like to try this recipe!! =)
Krissy, it’s 2 different 28-oz cans for a total of 56 ounces. Enjoy!
Hi my friend! I want to say that this post is amazing, great written and come with approximately all vital infos. I’d like to look more posts like this .
i am excited to try this tomato sauce recipe with your chicken parm recipe this evening. however, where did you get the sauce recipe from? i was reading it and *thought* i read a sauce recipe a while back that was similar. then i checked.
looks word for word spot on with giada’s from the food network:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/simple-tomato-sauce-recipe/index.html
Hi Kim. Yes, I got this recipe from Giada and I love it 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! The only thing I change is I add about a cup of red wine and reduce it down before adding the tomatoes. This adds that extra flavor I love in spaghetti sauce. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe!
You’re very welcome. I think I’ll try your red wine addition next time for a nice depth of flavor 🙂
This was AMAZING. It complimented the Chicken Parmesan just perfectly. I am so glad I took the time to make it from scratch. Thank you again for your recipes – each one I make is so delicious! I always get compliments from my 6 year old, to my 8 year old, to my 31 year old husband!
Yay!! It really is worth the small effort it takes.
I’m a poor college student, lacking a food processor. Is there any way to do that process (ha) without one? Thank you so much for the recipe, by the way. I’m taking on your lasagna recipe in September. 🙂
Hi Sarah! Been there! 🙂
Do you have a blender? If you do, you could blend it all together in batches (about 2 cups/batch).
Good luck with the lasagna! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
This looks lovely. I like smooth tomato sauces, without chunks. This looks like just the thing!
Thanks, Rivki! 🙂
About how many cups does the recipe make? Thanks!
Hi Laura! Good question. It yields about 6 cups. I like to double the recipe — since I’m buying a bunch of carrots and celery anyway. It freezes very well so you don’t have to worry about not using it.
This tomato sauce is awesome it really takes everything to another level as far as flavor is concerned.
Thanks for sharing, Dustin. I couldn’t agree with you more!
I love your blog and recipes. I am also a personal chef and blogger. I like to consider myself your eastcoast fellow chef/blogger. Keep on doing what you are doing. Cheers!
Thanks, Charlene! Yay, it’s always nice to meet a friend in ‘the business.’ Thanks for finding me. Keep up the hard work!