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Homemade Tomato Sauce

November 3, 2020

The only red sauce recipe that you’ll ever need…

Jarred tomato sauce is the most used pantry item in my cooking. I use it in soups, stews, braises, ect. It’s a great shortcut for creating a dish that is really flavorful in a short amount of time. However, my favorite brand of jarred sauce, Rao’s, can cost you upwards of $10 a can in some stores. I try to stock up at Costco when I can but I run through it so quickly, I realized that I needed a more cost effective solution.

Which inspired me to develop this copy cat Rao’s recipe. During the development process I was shocked at how simple it was to create a delicious tomato sauce. I feel like I was brainwashed to believe it would be very difficult and take hours of standing over the stove to complete. The sauce simmers for only 45 minutes

I found that the largest contributor to my success with this recipe was starting with a really great can of tomatoes. My favorite brand is Bianco Di’Napoli tomatoes. They are grown in California and taste fantastic right out of the can. If you can’t find those, go for San Marzano tomatoes.

When preparing your tomatoes, there are 2 avenues you can go: either you can crush the whole peeled tomatoes by hand, or break them up using an immersion blender. I prefer a chunkier sauce so I crush them by hand. I understand that this can get messy, so make sure you’re not wearing white.

The most important lesson that I learned in my tomato sauce journey was to resist the urge to over complicate things. I found myself adding all of these unnecessary ingredients like tomato paste, carrots, celery, chicken stock, dried herbs, granulated garlic, ect. I thought these would enhance the flavor of the sauce, but it only deterred from the clean tomato flavor. So I challenge you to stick to this recipe and avoid free styling with random additions. When it comes to tomatoes, simple really is best.

welcome to wishbone

I believe in happy & whole food that’s equally as fun to make as it is to eat.

Wishbone Kitchen

Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce

Total Time:1 hr 30 mins
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Ingredients

  • 4 28oz cans whole tomatoes
  • 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
  • 2 heads of garlic or 15-20 cloves, peeled
  • 1 bunch fresh basil
  • 1 tbsp dried Italian oregano
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • 1 parmesan rind optional

Instructions

Roasted Garlic Paste
  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
  2. Take half of your peeled garlic cloves and place them in a small sauce pan or an oven safe ramekin and submerge them in olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cloves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
  3. Once the cloves are cooled, remove them from the oil and set the oil aside for later. Roughly chop the cloves, then use the flat side of your knife, or a fork, to smash it into a paste.
  4. Take the remaining cloves of raw garlic and finely chop them.
Make the Sauce
  1. Strain the canned tomatoes but save the liquid. Carefully crush the tomatoes by hand into a large bowl, being careful of splatter.
  2. Place a heavy bottomed sauce pot over medium low heat. Add 1/2 a cup of the garlic infused olive oil from earlier to the pot, along with the finely chopped onion, raw garlic, roasted garlic paste and a large pinch of salt. Cook until onions begin to soften and become translucent.
  3. Add all of your hand crushed tomatoes and the liquid from the cans to the pot. Stir. Bring the sauce to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. An optional step is to throw in a parmesan rind while the sauce simmers. I save all of mine parm rinds in the freezer, but you can also purchase them at the cheese counter in some grocery stores.
  5. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Stir in a handful of fresh basil and a pinch of dried Italian oregano and simmer for one additional minute.
  6. Serve immediately or allow the sauce to cool before transferring to separate containers. The sauce can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or in a freezer safe container for 6+ months.
  7. For an extra unctuous sauce, add butter!

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What do you think of this recipe?

I’ve made this sauce several times and it is absolutely divine. I love how easy it is, and that it makes a large batch. I’ve got several cans of this sauce now stored in my freezer for easy dinners. Thank you!