If you haven’t made this recipe yet, get ready for a game changer for your fav comfort foods. This homemade tomato sauce was inspired by one of my most popular recipes: my summery tomato basil soup, and it is the perfect staple recipe to have on hand (and to share with friends & family!)
This sauce is full of flavor thanks to fresh tomatoes & herbs and comes together in about an hour. In this step-by-step tutorial for making basic pasta sauce, I’ve included options for adding a rich creaminess, a kick of heat, meat and more. It’s so versatile that you’ll want to skip the canned stuff for good!
If you haven’t had a big old pasta dinner in a while, here is your sign. Family dinner made extra delicious!
Welcome to the AK Summer Series
For the rest of the summer, we’ll be dedicating each week to select summer produce! Week 5 is HERE and we’re celebrating gorgeous tomatoes by continuing with the best-ever homemade tomato sauce recipe. Stay tuned on the blog and on Instagram for each week’s produce highlight, fun videos, and more.
The difference between marinara sauce & tomato sauce
- Marinara sauce actually originated as a tomato-based sauce used for seafood. It’s typically made with plum tomatoes or canned ones like San Marzano tomatoes, plus garlic, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. It’s thinner and lighter in flavor than tomato sauce and is often used on pasta and pizzas.
- Traditional tomato sauce is thicker and richer and is typically made with meat like salt pork or bacon, veggies like onion and carrot, fresh tomatoes, some type of stock, and even some flour and butter to thicken it up.
What makes this homemade tomato sauce truly AMAZING
The AK homemade tomato sauce is closer to a thick marinara sauce with some special ingredients, techniques, and optional add-ins that make it truly incredible. It has a natural sweetness from ripe fresh tomatoes and caramelized onions instead of any additional sugar. Trust me, you’re going to LOVE this one.
Everything you’ll need to make the best homemade pasta sauce
In this pasta sauce recipe, we’re using fresh tomatoes instead of canned, which gives the sauce a wonderful, rich flavor. Here’s everything you’ll need to make it:
- Tomatoes: I like to use plum or Roma tomatoes because they have the best flavor when roasted. Even better if they’re fresh from your garden.
- Garlic: oh yeah, we’re adding 8 cloves of wonderful garlic to this sauce recipe. And they’ll get roasted to sweet perfection.
- Olive oil: you’ll need some olive oil to roast the tomatoes and garlic, and also to caramelize the onions.
- Onions: speaking of onions, YES we’re caramelizing these babies to give a natural, delicious sweetness to the pasta sauce. WORTH IT.
- Herbs & spices: you’ll also need some fresh basil, dried oregano, and plenty of salt and pepper. Feel free to add a few shakes of red pepper flakes, too, if you like a little spice.
Simple add-ins for rich tomato sauce flavor
Looking to make an even richer tomato sauce? Here are some great add-ins:
- Coconut milk: feel free to add regular or light coconut milk to give the sauce a creamy texture while still keeping it plant-based and vegan.
- Regular milk or cream: adding some whole dairy milk or heavy cream will also make it super creamy. You won’t need much, a 1/4-1/2 cup or so should do the trick.
- Cheese: stir in salty parmesan cheese for a bolder flavor. HELL YES.
- Butter: add a delicious richness with 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Salted butter is my fav.
How to make the best homemade tomato sauce
Learn exactly how to make this easy tomato sauce in a few simple steps!
Step 1: roast your tomatoes & garlic with olive oil, salt & pepper for about 40-45 minutes. No peeling necessary for the tomatoes!
Step 2: caramelize your onions with some more olive oil, stirring occasionally. Check them every 5-10 minutes until they turn nice and golden. This should take about 20 minutes, which can be done while your tomatoes are roasting.
Step 3: let the tomatoes and garlic cool for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a food processor or high-powered blender. Add in the caramelized onions and fresh basil leaves.
Step 4: blend or process the sauce until it’s the consistency you like. Blend it completely for a smooth tomato pasta sauce, or leave it chunkier. We like ours on the chunkier side.
Don’t have a blender or food processor? No problem! Simply add the ingredients to a large pot and use an immersion blender.
Step 5: transfer the sauce to a large pot or dutch oven, turn it on medium low heat to let it simmer, and stir in the dried oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. This is where you can add any milk or cheese.
Step 6: serve with your favorite noodles, top with cheese and fresh basil, and enjoy! Our noodles of choice are spaghetti (best spaghetti sauce EVER), rigatoni, and penne. Or feel free to use it in a lasagna or chicken parmesan recipe.
Can I add meat to this tomato sauce?
Sure! If you want a more bolognese-style tomato sauce, feel free to cook ground beef or even ground turkey in the pot before adding the blended tomato mixture. This will give the pasta sauce a super savory flavor and a boost of protein.
How to store homemade tomato sauce
- In the refrigerator: store any leftover tomato sauce in a jar or airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Reheat it back on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- In the freezer: add the leftover sauce to a freezer-friendly, airtight container and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the sauce thaw in the fridge before heating it through on the stovetop or in the microwave.
More of our fav ways to use this pasta sauce
- Add it to our Juicy Turkey Meatballs with Burrata
- Enjoy the perfect Zucchini Lasagna or add it to our most popular Turkey Lasagna
- Looking for something unique? Try our White Bean, Spinach & Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers!
Recommended tools
Get all of our favorite kitchen tools here!
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- How to Freeze Fresh Herbs
- How to Cut a Watermelon (3 different ways!)
- How to Grill Delicious Vegetables (4 different ways!)
- The Easiest Way to Cut an Avocado
- How to Cook the Best Fluffy Quinoa (plus recipes!)
Check out all of our how-to guides here!
I hope you loved this simple tutorial for making homemade tomato sauce! If you try it, leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Our Favorite Homemade Tomato Sauce (using fresh tomatoes!)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the caramelized onions:
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- Additions:
- ½ cup packed basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional add ins:
- Light/regular coconut milk for a creamy vegan sauce
- Whole dairy milk/heavy cream for a creamy texture
- Parmesan cheese
- A tablespoon or two of butter, for richer flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place halved tomatoes and garlic cloves on the baking sheet and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Generously season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
- While the tomatoes are roasting, you can make the caramelized onions: Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to a large pot and place over medium heat. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally. Check onions every 5-10 minutes until they have completely caramelized and turned golden in color. This usually takes 20 minutes.
- Once tomatoes and garlic are done roasting, allow them to cool for 10 minutes, then add them to a food processor with caramelized onions and basil or high powered blender and process for a chunkier sauce or blend completely for a smooth tomato pasta sauce. Alternatively you can add the tomatoes to the large pot and use an immersion blender. It's really just about what you have available to you!
- After blending, transfer back to the pot, turn to medium low heat and add in oregano and salt and pepper to taste. From there you can add in any additional add-ons you want (as listed in the ingredients). Serve with your favorite pasta! Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on July 11th, 2021, republished on August 15th, 2022, and republished on August 9th, 2023.
48 comments
Hi there, quick question, do you notice any of the tomato skin after the sauce is blended?? Usually I take the skin off the tomatoes when making sauce but heck, if I’m able to skip that step then that’s fine with me! My son has a condition that affects his esophagus so he’s super sensitive to veggie skin. Thanks!
Hi, Lola! I haven’t noticed the texture of the skin at all, since it gets softer when roasting and blends right up. You could try to blend just a small amount first and taste it to see if he might be able to tolerate it!
I made this amazing tomato sauce tonight and my family absolutely loved it. It was so easy. I used about 12 Roma tomatoes which seemed to be the perfect amount. It’s so easy to throw everything into the food processor and then put it on the stove to heat it through. The caramelized onions really gave the sauce a creamy appearance and the garlic taste was amazing. This will definitely be a go to recipe for our family!
I’m SO thrilled that you and your fam loved it, Jill! Yay!
sorry just saw this now will be making this soon will use light coconut milk instead as am a vegan i never made homemade tomato sauce before perfect for my pizza and pasta will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Excited for you to try it!!
For next back to basic can you teach sauté. Often times I’ll see sauté carrots 2 mins each side. When I try this I burn the carrots on the outside and they are hard as rocks on the inside. So I end coking then in medium low for 20 minutes. In fact, I struggle to cook most things on high or even medium high. Is it my pan? Is it me? Thank you for your help!
Hi, Sarah! It definitely depends on the temperature of your pan, and sometimes on the type of pan you’re using. I’d recommend watching some youtube videos on how to saute vegetables!
So easy to make and so delicious!
So happy you loved it, Theresa!
This sauce is so delicious, I have even cheated and skipped caramelising the onions when I have been in a rush and just placed all the ingredients in the roasting pan and it still turned out amazing.So tasty!
Oh awesome, glad that still worked well!!
My new go to sauce! Easy veg option… perfect in the zucchini lasagna!💓
A relative gave us 6 pounds of home grown tomatoes so I doubled and it’s almost done. Tastes so good! . How long should I keep it on the stove for the last step? Just until heated through or until it reduces somewhat? Everything else had approximate timing except that. LOL I’m a good direction follower, but not a good decision maker. HA!
Hi, Pamela! Such a great way to use up summer tomatoes–so fun! Glad that you loved it. And great question, sorry if that was unclear. Just until it’s heated through 🙂
I made this today with a mix of early girls and heirloom tomatoes. It turned out delightful. I did however add a shredded carrot to the onions and a tbsp of sugar to the sauce once blended. I also added a bay leaf while I simmered it. Really tasty/
Nice! Those are all great additions, I’m so happy to hear you loved it! Thanks so much for the review, Nathan 🙂
It was a good sauce for the first time making it. But for some reason, when I added it to the pasta, the sauce became flavorless. I’m not sure why but please if you have any idea, let me know!
Hmmm that’s so strange, I’ve had it on pasta and it tasted amazing! Did you follow the instructions closely, including caramelizing the onions until golden and roasting the tomatoes and garlic?
I was so excited to try this recipe! Mine turned out less of a red color and more light orange and tasted more like tomato soup rather than pasta sauce. I’m not sure why as I followed the instructions very closely- any ideas for me for next time?
Hi, Katie! Mine turns out more orange sometimes, too 🙂 And you’re right, it does taste like tomato soup! I love the flavor, so not sure what I’d recommend changing… If it’s feeling too thin in texture, you’re welcome to boil it down after blending it to let the water evaporate and sauce thicken.
Do not change anything. This is so awesomely the best tomato sauce. Had a load of tomatoes from the garden and came across this recipe. Simple to do and oh so good. It was the best pot of spaghetti I think I have ever served. Don’t think I will ever want to go back to a jar of tomato sauce again. Thank-you!
Absolutely outstanding. Easy to prepare, and the results are exactly what I was looking for. I added a little bit of sugar just to break down the acidity of the tomatoes. Serving this on Thanksgiving with some quinoa meatballs as some of our guests are vegan. Thanks for a great recipe.
AMAZING!So simple, clean and delicious. I used just about 2 pounds of tomatoes and 6 cloves of garlic. The sauce came out great. Will be saving for the future!
YAY!! I’m so happy you tried and loved this recipe, Brooke — thank you! ❤️
Can I can this recipe?
HUGE hit in our house. So simple, clean and easy. We did add ground turkey to ours, and it was excellent.
I loved this recipe so much, I rated it TWICE LOL. So yeah, we’re obsessed!
Hahaha I love it!! Thanks so much for the reviews 🥰 Love the idea of adding ground turkey!
Love the flavors! How do I prevent my sauce from turning orange when using an immersion blender or food processor. The taste isn’t any different but red sauce is definitely more appetizing
Hmmm I’m not sure! Your tomatoes were red to begin with, right? Personally I don’t mind the color and I wouldn’t recommend adding anything else.
Ready to try this with all the tomatoes I’ve gotten from our garden, but can I then can this recipe?
Hi! I haven’t tried canning it but I assume so! Excited for you to try it 🙂
Hey Monique,
I want to try this sauce with some spaghetti, About how much storebought spaghetti should I cook to go along with this? I don’t want my spaghetti to be too dry! Thank you!
Hi Tana – I typically use 1 box of spaghetti, but if you want extra sauce, I would either double the sauce or only use 1/2 the box of pasta. Let me know how it turns out, enjoy!
I made it with home grown Roma tomatoes following the recipe as written. We had it last night with home grown spaghetti squash and baby eggplant. It was wonderful
Can you use regular size tomatoes?
Sure! Enjoy 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! It’s very unique because tomatoes are roasted which brings out their best flavor! I had many plum tomatoes from the garden and most recipes I searched used simmered tomatoes on stove and would totally miss the goodness . It’s a big hit with everyone and I’m so grateful you shared it . You are so creative.
Aw of course! I am so glad to hear that you are loving this recipe and it turned out great for you!
Every summer I make big batches of sauce from the garden to freeze for winter use. I made a combo of this recipe and another and it was delicious. I followed all the steps on this one but then when I cooked it down and added the basil I also threw in a shredded zucchini and a few shredded carrots. Love the depth of flavor the roasted tomato and garlic give it. Toddler approved too!
This is amazing, Danielle. I am so glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you!
This recipe was truly outstanding and deserves every praise.
I used a large sweet onion (and half of a leftover onion), a mix of sliced Roma and whole cherry tomatoes from the garden to fill an entire baking sheet, and lots of fresh basil (probably closer to a loosely packed cup). Once tomatoes/garlic were done roasting, I added everything to the pot of caramelized onions and used an immersion blender to blend into a sauce. The only modification I made was to add about a 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce to help round out the acidity of the tomatoes.
I used the sauce in a baked rigatoni with Italian sausage and mozzarella. We all (including two toddlers) practically licked our plates clean and this will be my go-to homemade sauce recipe from now on.
Thank YOU so much, KC. I am so glad you’re enjoying this recipe and it turned out delicious for you!
This is my favorite homemade pasta recipe! It’s easy to make and absolutely delicious. I add about 1/2 cup whole milk and some fresh basil when I blend everything together. I like to serve it with roasted red pepper and Asiago chicken sausage and burrata.
Delicious! Glad you’re loving this recipe, Amanda 🙂
This is holy shit good. Like omg. Thank you. You want to just eat it and eat it. I sauted mushrooms in butter and wine to add which well, more yum.
Love that!! Glad you enjoyed!