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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 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.
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. 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
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.
Thank you for the recipe! I will make it today.
If you add ground beef, would you brown it along with the garlic and onions or brown it separately and then add along with the tomatoes?
Hi Kathy – My husband Jack and I just talked over your question…our recommendation would be to brown the ground beef first – before you do anything – and drain most of the fat that renders from the beef (you can leave a few tablespoons of the drippings for flavor but since there is already a fair amount of olive oil in the sauce, you don’t want the beef to add too much fat to the sauce). Then follow the directions as written – and add the cooked beef with the tomatoes. Hope that helps! And we hope you enjoy the sauce!
Thank you Martha!
This was the best sauce I’ve ever made! I browned the ground beef first and then removed it and just about all the oil fromthe pan. Before browning it, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, oregano, basil and Italian seasoning. I only added the beef in the last 30 minutes.
It made a very thick, beefy sauce. A little too beefy for me so I will make another batch of sauce and combine them. I think that will make it just about perfect with plenty for the freezer.
Thank you for positing the recipe!
Kathy
So glad you enjoyed the sauce Kathy – and thanks for taking the time to write back to us about adding the ground beef!
I cannot thank you enough for this recipe. I have tried so many, but this is the absolute BEST ONE EVER!!!. Thank you so much. My search is over.
Wow Angie – Thank you! We’re so glad you like the sauce!
with a sharp knife, I cut the stem end off and only a very thin slice off of the opposite end of each of our home grown, water washed clean, Roma tomatoes, then place them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, to make it easier to remove the tom. skin, then, after removing the tom. skins, place the skinned tom. into the largest s.s. pot with: EVOO, sliced garlic, dried/or fresh Basil, and dried/or fresh leaves of mint. reduce the skinned tom. over low heat to a desired thickness, and then hot pack the sauce into clean, sterilized quart jars. note: add one tbl of white wine vinegar to each jar of tom. sauce, fill jar with reduced tom. sauce to within 1/2 inch of the jar rim this is our traditional Italian family way of making our kitchen/table sauce, partially developed over the years, with the help of our Grandma . hope you try and eat it with your favorite pasta. josef
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Thank you!
different grandma’s tell different stories, ours would take the end of the year garlic, place the skinned garlic in a small chafing dish along with olive oil, a sprinkle of dried Oregano and then place the chafing dish inside of our old stove, and leave it until the olive oil would just start to bubble (low simmer ?). it is still a favorite part of an antipasta that is regularly requested and which we serve….different tastes ?? josef
Sounds good Josef. 🙂
I have always been told that if you heat garlic too fast in the oil…or get it too hot…it will turn bitter. At least that is what my italian grandmother told me when teaching me to cook. Just for your information.
Thanks Kitty! Your grandmother is absolutely correct!
This has become my all-time favorite tomato sauce! It turns out absolutely PERFECT every single time I make it. I typically make up a very large batch & share with relatives who rave about it. I also use it as a base for making enchilada sauce and marinara for pizza and breadsticks. The slow heat up method really does make a big difference too. I’ve opted to add bay leaves which adds a nice touch. My family and I absolutely LOVE IT! Thank you so much Martha & Jack for sharing this truly fabulous recipe!
Thank you – we’re glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Dear Martha and Jack,
First of all, thank you for taking the time to write down a recipe that took so long. I am often unwilling to give away my recipes, but I would rather make better cooks than keep them in the dark.
Anyway, my question to you two is this; other than water, what would you suggest to help thin this sauce out just a wee bit?
Thank you for your time,
Jon
Hi Jon – Thank YOU for your very nice comment! If you need to thin the sauce a bit after it is cooked, we’d recommend a mild white or red wine, or beef stock. But try adding as little as possible – wine or stock will definitely change the flavor profile of the sauce if you add too much! I hope that helps! Martha
I was this think about adding some sausage to this sauce ? What u guys think?
Absolutely Anna! Sausage would be delicious as well as meatballs, etc.
I have a gas stove…I just grab one of the grates off another burner and use that.
Great idea Florence!
This is a recipe my Nonna would be proud of! The last time I made this I used your basic sauce pot on a flat top electric stove without a diffuser because I don’t have one. I’d like to cook this in my Dutch Oven and now have a coil electric stove. I saw above about using cans. Will that work with this kind of stove? Also do I flatten the can from top to bottom or just squeeze the heck out of it? Better yet can I not use them and not worry about burning it in a Dutch Oven?
Thanks Nikki! Even with the Dutch oven, we’d still recommend using a diffuser or crushed cans on your electric stove top to avoid any chance of sticking and burning. Just remove the top and bottom of the can and then flatten it sideways. Please let us know if you have any other questions! Martha
Very very good. Thank you!
Thanks Jeannette!