Tomato Sauce for Pasta
A good tomato sauce is three ingredients and time. Out of season, fresh tomatoes are watery and sharp, so whole tinned tomatoes in their juice almost always give the better result. The 40 minutes on low heat are not about thickness — they are what drives off the raw acidity and brings out that deep brick colour.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 180 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: about 600 ml
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
-
Step 1: Crush the tomatoes by hand
Tip them into a bowl and squash them between your fingers into rough pieces. A blender whips air into the purée, leaving the sauce pale and foamy.
-
Step 2: Warm the garlic
Cook the garlic in the oil over low heat for 2 minutes, until fragrant but not coloured. Scorched garlic leaves a bitterness nothing later can fix.
-
Step 3: Soften the onion
Add the onion and cook for 6–8 minutes until translucent. You want its sweetness, not browning.
-
Step 4: Add the tomatoes
Pour in the tomatoes and their juice, season with salt and bring to a lazy bubble. Leave the pan uncovered so the sauce can reduce.
-
Step 5: Simmer 30–40 minutes
Keep the heat as low as it will go and stir every 10 minutes. The sauce turns from bright red to dark brick and the oil starts beading on the surface — that is the sign it is done.
-
Step 6: Balance the acidity
Taste it. If the tomatoes are sharp, add a pinch of sugar; it should not sweeten the sauce, only take the edge off.
-
Step 7: Finish with basil
Off the heat, drop in the basil leaves and cover for 5 minutes. In a boiling sauce basil loses its perfume within a minute.
-
Step 8: Toss with the pasta
Move the drained pasta into the pan with the sauce, add 2–3 spoonfuls of the cooking water and toss over heat for a minute. The starch binds oil and tomato so the sauce clings instead of sitting on top.
Tips & variations
-
Tip
The variety matters: elongated San Marzano-type tomatoes carry less water and fewer seeds, so the sauce thickens faster.
-
Swap
In season use 1.2 kg of ripe meaty tomatoes: score a cross in each, 30 seconds in boiling water, slip the skins off and continue as written.
-
Variation
For arrabbiata, skip the basil and add a dried chilli to the hot oil with the garlic at the very start.
-
Storage
Five days in the fridge, up to 3 months frozen. Freeze it in 200 ml portions — exactly enough for two plates of pasta.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 180 kcal | 720 kcal |
| Protein | 3 g | 12 g |
| Fat | 14 g | 56 g |
| Carbohydrates | 11 g | 44 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
Cooked it? Rate the recipe
No ratings yet — yours will be the first.
