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    Home » Food » Soups, Stocks, and Sauces

    From Scratch Homemade Tomato Sauce

    Published on March 1, 2017 ᛫ Updated on February 9, 2022 by Chef Markus Mueller

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    When it comes to upping your cooking skills at home there are a few basic skills that everyone should have. In French Cuisine and in pretty well every culinary school in North America, cooks are taught the basic leading sauces, also known as the five mother sauces.

    Jump to Recipe

    The five basic sauces are: Velouté, Espagnole (or Brown Sauce), Tomato, Béchamel, and Hollandaise. In the next few weeks/posts, I'll be covering these five sauces which form the basis of many modern day dishes and sauces. Today I'll teach you how to make a basic homemade tomato sauce.

    A good homemade tomato sauce recipe is key to making great spaghetti and lasagna!

    Some of the links in this post lead to affiliate sites through which Earth, Food, and Fire may earn a small commission (at no increased cost to you) should you make a purchase. This allows us to stay online and keep creating awesome content! For more info check the Affiliate Disclaimer.

    Why You Should Make Your Own Tomato Sauce

    Tomato sauce is one of my all time favorites. With a good homemade tomato sauce recipe, many basic dishes can be created like spaghetti, lasagna, and pizza. The benefit of making your own sauce at home is that you avoid many of the preservatives that are found in commercial products.

    In many cases, homemade tomato sauce is more nutrient dense and richer in vitamins and minerals as well. Sean from Diversivore does a great job explaining some of the differences between using homemade and store bought sauces in his Sausage and Eggplant Bucatini recipe.

    If you grow your own herbs and tomatoes at home, you have the benefit of making large batches of fresh tomato sauce with varying flavors such as basil and tomato or a garlicky marinara style sauce. These homemade sauces can be frozen or canned and stored for future use.

    I tend to make a big batch of sauce around the end of the summer. This is great for the winter months when the price of tomatoes usually goes up.  If you have never grown your own tomatoes you can always start saving tomato seeds and growing them yourself. It's a surprisingly easy and fun project to take up.

    A Simple Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe Using Fresh Tomatos

    The key to a good quality and versatile tomato sauce is to keep the recipe fairly simple.

    You will need:

    • 3 cups chopped onions
    • 3 cups chopped celery
    • 4 cups fresh diced tomatoes or 2 cans diced tomatoes
    • 3 cloves of garlic
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 2 cups chicken stock or water
    • 4 tablespoon tomato paste
    • Fresh herbs such as basil and thyme
    • 2 tablespoon clarified butter or oil
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • Bayleaf
    Vegetables for my homemade tomato sauce recipe.

    Instructions


    Start by sautéing the onion, celery, and garlic cloves in the oil. Cook the vegetables over a medium heat until the onions start to turn translucent. Avoid browning the vegetables at this point if you can. This is called sweating the vegetables and releases some moisture before adding the tomatoes.

    Cook the tomato sauce over medium low heat to let it simmer without scorching.

    Add the diced or canned tomatoes, herbs, spices and chicken stock. Bring the pot to boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Cover the pot and let the tomato sauce cook for an hour. Periodically check the sauce and stir it to prevent any tomato pulp sticking to the bottom of the pot and scorching.

    Once the tomato sauce has simmered for about an hour, all the vegetables should be nice and soft. Use an immersion blender (affiliate link) or something like a Vitamix or Nutribullet to purée the sauce. If you have a food mill, you can also use that.

    Pureed tomato sauce bubbling in a pot as it simmers on low

    If the tomato sauce is very runny, and watery after puréeing, keep simmering the sauce to reduce it and cook off some water. As it cooks it will naturally thicken. The kind of tomatoes used, the freshness, and the quality all play a role in how watery the tomato sauce may turn out.

    Related:  Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (Eggs Royale)

    You can always adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding some tomato paste, or some more diced fresh or canned tomatoes. If you do add more tomato to the sauce, you will have to cook it longer, and then purée it again.

    Tomato Sauce Variations

    This simple homemade tomato sauce recipe can be modified to suit your own tastes. By adding more vegetables to it you can create a Primavera style pasta sauce,  basil and garlic can be added, and even chillis for a spicy version. As the cook in the kitchen, you have the ultimate say in what flavor profile you wish to create.

    homemade tomato sauce in a glass jar

    Note that homemade tomato sauce is usually more orange-y in color than store bought sauce, and that is normal. You can increase the red factor by adding more tomato paste or other tomato concentrate.

    Stay tuned next week for the next recipe in this collection of Basic (or Leading) Sauces! In case you missed the first recipe of this series make sure to read up on Hollandaise!

    Have you ever made your own tomato sauce?? Comment & let me know what you thought of this recipe below, then take a picture and tag me on Facebook & Instagram: @earthfoodandfire . For more from scratch recipes follow me on Instagram & Pinterest

    homemade tomato sauce in a glass jar

    Homemade Tomato Sauce From Scratch

    Chef Markus Mueller
    A good homemade tomato sauce recipe is a must in any cooks repertoire. One of the five mother sauces, tomato sauce provides a great way to preserve fresh produce and eat healthier.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
    Course Sauce
    Cuisine French
    Servings 2 liters
    Calories 1049.7 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 cups onions chopped
    • 3 cups celery chopped
    • 4 cups fresh tomatoes diced or 2 cans diced tomatoes
    • 3 cloves of garlic
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 2 cups chicken stock or water
    • 4 tablespoon Tomato paste
    • Fresh herbs such as basil and thyme
    • 2 tablespoon clarified butter or oil
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • Bayleaf

    Instructions
     

    • Chop all the vegetables, and gather the rest of the ingredients.
    • Saute the onions, celery and garlic, until the onions turn translucent.
    • Add the tomatoes, spices, herbs and stock. Simmer the tomato sauce for atleast an hour on medium low.
    • Puree the sauce completely using an immersion blender or other mixer. If the sauce is to thin at this point, keep simmering until the tomato sauce thickens.
    • Season the tomato sauce with salt pepper and a dash of sugar if needed to cut the acid.

    Notes

    Homemade Tomato Sauce is generally more orange in color then store bought sauce. Add more tomato paste or use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh for a redder color.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 1049.7kcal

    Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

    Keyword how long do you cook fresh tomato sauce?, what are the ingredients pf tomato sauce?
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Some of the links in this post lead to affiliate sites through which Earth, Food, and Fire may earn a small commission (at no increased cost to you) should you make a purchase. This allows us to stay online and keep creating awesome content! For more info check the Affiliate Disclaimer.  All recipes, and opinions are 100% my own.


    More Soups, Stocks, and Sauces

    • Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
    • Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
    • Homemade Lobster Stock
    • Oxtail Soup Recipe (German Style)
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Malcolm Turner

      July 18, 2019 at 2:23 am

      I don't have a garden, so I plant tomato seeds in shopping bags or small wooden crates lined with plastic. I take seeds from tasty tomatoes, put them in water for three days and no longer, changing the water each day, dry nd store till ready to plant.

      Reply
      • Chef Markus Mueller

        August 07, 2019 at 7:07 am

        That's awesome Malcolm! I also love saving my own seeds, it's a foolproof way to ensure I always have fresh seeds!

        Reply
    2. Malcolm Turner

      July 16, 2019 at 3:30 pm

      5 stars
      I don't have a garden, so I plant tomato seeds in shopping bags or small wooden crates lined with plastic. I take seeds from tasty tomatoes, put them in water for three days and no longer, changing the water each day, dry and store till ready to plant.

      Reply
    3. Aleta

      August 21, 2018 at 11:35 pm

      5 stars
      This is an excellent post, thanks so much for sharing this recipe, everyone should know how to make a tomato sauce!

      Reply
    4. abra

      March 13, 2017 at 11:16 am

      Ok, I'm trying to make heads or tails of this. So this would be considered a traditional french tomato sauce, not necessarily an Italian tomato sauce to be used for pasta? I can't imagine celery and chicken stock in my tomato sauce, but I'm an Italian purest when it comes to tomato sauce. What would you use this tomato sauce for? Maybe as a sauce for veggies?

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 13, 2017 at 11:56 am

        This recipe is considered a basic or leading tomato sauce in French Cuisime. Various regions in the world have their own variations on tomato sauce depending on ingredients avaliable culture etc. These 5 mother sauces I am covering stem from French Cuisine and are ment to be used as a base for other dishes. You could very easily use this sauce as a base for other pasta sauces (though I can see how an Italan may disagree!) from which you can create other flavour combos. I've used this sauce in Spanish recipes, and even German dishes that call for tomato sauce. It is not bu any means an Italian sauce though. Hope this helps!

        Reply
    5. Christine

      March 13, 2017 at 5:56 am

      I need an immersion blender so I can make this tomato sauce!

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 22, 2017 at 3:38 pm

        Haha, while in immersion blender works great, any kind of blender will do. I have even used a nutri-bullet and pureed the sauce in batches! You only need to watch out, pureeing hot liquids causes them to expand. Don't want the blender to explode!

        Reply
    6. Sasha @ Eat Love Eat

      March 12, 2017 at 3:50 pm

      I love making recipes from scratch using ingredients grown in my own garden! It's such a wonderful feeling. This tomato sauce looks delicious!

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 22, 2017 at 3:40 pm

        Thanks Sasha!I am so looking forward to getting my garden up and running so I can stock the freezer for next winter!

        Reply
    7. Erin

      March 11, 2017 at 9:23 pm

      I'm always looking for a great sauce recipe. And tomatoes are actually something I can grow!

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 12, 2017 at 1:07 pm

        Awesome! This recipe is a great way to preserve your tomato harvest!

        Reply
    8. Dana

      March 06, 2017 at 11:00 am

      I just left you a super lengthy comment on your FB post about this, but I felt like dropping a comment here too! Great post. I truly can't wait to move to a house with a yard one day (we live in a condo unit right now and have a yard, technically, but not much space). Breaking the ground and growing a vegetable garden is my dream, and to be able to use the fruit of your labor in your food must be the greatest feeling. No matter what though, I always have to add a bit of baking soda to reduce the acidity. I love a smooth sauce, and it's funny because I used to always ask Italians I knew how they reduced acidity, and they'd suggest adding sugar, or cooking a carrot in the sauce. None of those things *ever* worked for me. Finally, I added baking soda one day (because SCIENCE!) and it worked like a charm. The bonus: you get to watch your sauce fizz and foam for a few moments while the acidity is pulled out. Haha.

      Anyway, super excited about this series. Can't wait to see more!

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 07, 2017 at 9:23 am

        Baking Soda eh?! That's genius! As a cook, I was always taught to add sugar to the sauce (like you mentioned), but you're right it doesn't actually neutralize the acid, just masks it. I would have never thought of it, I'll be giving it a shot for sure, since my wife has issues with the acid in tomatos. I'll let you know how it goes, thanks for the tip!

        Reply
        • Dana

          March 10, 2017 at 6:21 pm

          Definitely let me know! I hope it works out. I usually add a tsp, let it do it's fizzy thing, and taste it about 20 mins later. If it still needs a bit of tonight down, I add another tsp. Don't bother tasting it right after adding the baking soda though — it tastes weird. It needs to settle 🙂 Keep me posted!

          Reply
    9. Annika

      March 03, 2017 at 11:58 pm

      Nice recipe, Markus. Do you add the tomato paste to thicken it up? And BTW, I can't live without my immersion blender!

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 04, 2017 at 9:34 am

        I generally add the tomato paste at the start of the cooking process to add some tomato flavour. Towards the end of cooking you could add some tomato paste to help thicken it though you would probably need quite abit. Yoy may be better of reducing the sauce by simmering go thicken it. Alternativly you could thicken the sauce with a roux. I'll be covering roux in next weeka recipe!

        Reply
    10. Charlotte

      March 01, 2017 at 1:12 pm

      I love homemade tomato sauce, especially the versatile kind. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Markus Mueller

        March 01, 2017 at 11:09 pm

        It's great! I love making a garlic and chilli variation!

        Reply

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