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An authentic and delicious Italian Tomato Sauce that has been passed down through generations.
This recipe for Italian Tomato Sauce is a recipe that my husband Jack spent years perfecting. For Jack, knowing how to make a great Italian Tomato Sauce is a very personal thing – and it brings back fond memories of his childhood.
To this day, Jack clearly remembers the amazing smells coming from a pot of tomato sauce that was always simmering away on the stove anytime he visited his Italian grandparents. He worked hard to recreate that wonderful recipe in our own kitchen – and this is it!
In fact, ever since posting this Italian Tomato Sauce recipe here on A Family Feast back in 2013, we’ve had so many readers write to us to tell us how much they love this sauce. And, many of our readers have told us that they now consider this their ‘go-to’ Italian tomato sauce recipe. (Note: We haven’t made any changes to the recipe over the years, we just included some updated photos today!)
There are so many different ways to make an Italian Tomato Sauce and depending on whom you ask – and where their family originally came from – you will find many different family recipes. Some use different types of tomatoes, some with or without meat, some cooked for a long time giving the sauce a deep, rich taste and others cooked for just a short time for a light fresh taste. Some families even refer to their Italian tomato sauce as Sunday Gravy or Marinara. (Click on those links – we have our own version of those recipes too!)
What’s the difference between Italian Tomato Sauce, Sunday Gravy, Marinara Sauce and other kinds of sauces?
- For Jack, an Italian Tomato Sauce is a tomato-based sauce that simmers for a long time on the stove so that the flavors really deepen and develop. (This recipe is a delicious example!)
- A Sunday Gravy recipe is a tomato sauce cooked along with a variety of meats including meatballs, spare ribs, sausage, and pork chops, so the sauce picks up additional flavor from the meat.
- Finally, Marinara is also a tomato-based sauce, but it’s a quickly-cooked sauce, yielding a bright, fresh tomato flavor.
- And – since we’re talking about all types of tomato sauces – we also have a Roasted Tomato Pizza Sauce recipe AND an Easy No-Cook Pizza Sauce recipe you might be interested in checking out too. Pizza sauces typically have a bold flavor that is meant to both complement and shine through the flavors of the dough, cheese and toppings on a pizza.
- We also have recipes for Bolognese (a meat sauce that is cooked low and slow with milk), a more traditional Italian Meat Sauce (made with ground beef and Italian sausage), and finally an Italian Meat Ragu (made with shredded beef and other ingredients).
Today’s recipe is originally inspired by a version of Italian Tomato Sauce that Jack grew up with, and he credits his Aunt Mary for this recipe, plus some additional influences from the sauce that Jack’s father (aka Grampa) used to make. If you happen to be growing San Marzano Pomodoro tomatoes in your garden – definitely use those! However, if fresh tomatoes aren’t available, we think some of the best San Marzano Pomodoro canned tomatoes are made by Cento and Pastene – and both brands are readily available at most local grocery stores.
Mangia!
P.S. We freeze our Italian Tomato Sauce in gallon zipper seal bags for long-term storage, laying the bags flat after filling and squeezing out any excess air. Freeze the bags flat on a sheet pan, then once frozen you can fit them more easily in your freezer. For information on how to can a high-acid food like tomato sauce, we suggest that you visit the Ball Canning website here. Here is another interesting link about canning tomato sauce which suggests that the pressure method should be used to ensure safe canning of any homemade tomato sauce.
You may also like these other Italian family classics:
- Marinara Sauce
- Nanny’s Italian Stuffed Peppers
- Classic Lasagna
- Sunday Gravy
- Grandma Gennaco’s Beef Braciole
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Italian Tomato Sauce
An authentic and delicious Italian Tomato Sauce that has been passed down through generations.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 4 crushed garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano, divided, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, divided, or 1/2 tablespoon dried
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped mint, divided
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 28–ounce cans of whole tomatoes or two quarts of freshly canned garden tomatoes
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesano Reggiano cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Before you begin, pour your two cans of tomatoes into a bowl and crush with your hand. Don’t break them up too small, you want large chunks.
- In a large heavy bottomed pot with a lid, on a burner with no flame, pour in olive oil and add red pepper flakes, garlic, onion, most of the oregano, basil and mint (save a little bit of each for the end), sugar salt and pepper. Turn on the burner and slowly bring up to hot. (See Notes below.) When the onions and garlic start to cook, stir and heat for five minutes.
- Remove the pot from the burner and place a heat diffuser over the burner. Place the pot over the heat diffuser and add the tomatoes. Turn burner to medium high and stir until they start to boil. Then reduce to simmer, partially cover and simmer 90 minutes.
- After 90 minutes, remove from heat and add the reserved herbs and Parmesan cheese. Add the butter to round out the flavors. Stir again and serve.
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Notes
An important first step to note when making this sauce is to bring the olive oil up to temperature very slowly with the garlic, herbs, and spices, and cook for about five minutes to brown the garlic. This is a step that Jack has seen referenced in a number of great Italian cookbooks and although not clearly stated why, we believe this slow heat-up process allows the oil to be infused with the seasonings providing a really delicious base to your sauce.
The old saying about the sauce tasting better the next day reheated is true. It gives the flavors a chance to blend and mellow out.
If I want to use fresh tomatoes, how manynpoundsvshould i use? Any particular type tomato?
Hi Liz – You can use fresh plum tomatoes (or San Marazanos if you can find them) for this sauce. You would need to remove the skin first. Here’s how:
Bring some water to a boil; then cut an X in the bottom of each tomato before putting it into the boiling water. Leave in boiling water until the skin starts to peel (just a minute or so). With a slotted spoon, remove them to an ice water bath to cool quickly. Once cool enough to handle, remove to a sheet tray. Skin will peel right off. Pinch green stem and twist and pull. What is left will all be usable for the sauce. Plum tomatoes have few seeds so don’t worry about trying to seed them.
You would use the equivalent weight of fresh as the canned in the recipe (so about 3-1/2 to 4 pounds of fresh) – just note that depending on the water content of your fresh tomatoes, the simmering time may vary to reach the sauce consistency you want, and you might also consider adding some tomato paste help with flavor, thickness and overall richness of the sauce.
First time on your site. I made the Italian tomato sauce this morning and am very happy with it. due to sodium restrictions, I had to tweak it just a little. I am used to that and am OK with it. I also replaced the sugar with ground star anise just because I like how it works with tomatoes. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Peter!
I started making Italian tomato sauce back in my forties and thanks to people like you, I have finally perfected it. I’m in my sixties now. The only other secret I had was a 91 year old Italian lady gave up her recipe to me and told me that her secret was cooking the onions very slowly. But I think it was identical to this as the taste was absolutely fabulous!!!
Thank you,
Greg
You’re very welcome Greg! We’re so glad you enjoyed the sauce!
This recipe is delicious ! Highly recommended
Thanks Heather!
Still making this wonderful sauce, using cor butter for Vegan Option and no cheese. Still tastes good.
Any suggestions for substitute cheese for Vegans (my son is Vegan)
Hi Philomena – While we haven’t tried it ourselves, you might try some nutritional yeast in place of the Parmesan. I’d start with a lesser amount and add more if you enjoy the taste!
What if you don’t have a heat diffuser?
Hi Patricia – Just be sure not to have the flame/heat too high under your pot and stir frequently to avoid scorching the sauce.
Hi can you use fresh tomato’s for this recipe it looks amazing 👍
Yes you can – you may want to add some tomato sauce to thicken and enhance the flavor, depending on the type of tomatoes you use.
I’ve never made tomato sauce before. I’m just trying to figure out how you get the seeds out of it? It doesn’t look like there are any seeds in your pictures. Thanks!
Hi Haryn – We made this particular sauce with canned tomatoes. You can also make it with fresh, but you will need to remove the skin and seeds. After peeling, we cut the tomatoes and manually remove most of the seeds, then run the pulp through a food mill. We strain the milled pulp to remove any remaining seeds. Hope that helps!
can i freeze this sauce with parmesan and butter in it?
Hi Jane – Yes, we freeze this sauce all the time ourselves and it’s fine.
Hi Martha can I can this recipe with the in it?
Hi Jacques – Here is what we note right in the post:
We freeze our Italian Tomato Sauce in gallon zipper seal bags for long-term storage, laying the bags flat after filling and squeezing out any excess air. Freeze the bags flat on a sheet pan, then once frozen you can fit them more easily in your freezer. For information on how to can a high-acid food like tomato sauce, we suggest that you visit the Ball Canning website here. Here is another interesting link about canning tomato sauce which suggests that the pressure method should be used to ensure safe canning of any homemade tomato sauce: https://foodinjars.com/blog/canning-101-why-you-cant-can-your-familys-tomato-sauce/