Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

tomato sauce from scratch

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Carolyn Haas
Whitewater, WI

I had some Roma tomatoes that needed to be used. I am a fan of adding extra veggies to everything, so tried this! I'm still in the process of tweaking the seasonings, so don't forget to taste, taste, taste!

(1 rating)
yield 4 -6
prep time 20 Min
cook time 2 Hr 15 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For tomato sauce from scratch

  • 1 1/2 lb
    roma tomatoes
  • 1-2 Tbsp
    olive oil
  • 1 sm
    onion, chopped
  • 1 md
    carrot, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 lg
    green pepper, cut up
  • 1 stalk
    celery, cut up
  • 2 clove
    garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp
    italian seasoning
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 2
    bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp
    red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 c
    wine (whatever is open)
  • 1/4 c
    water (more if needed)
  • 1/2 tsp
    chicken bouillon
  • 1 Tbsp
    fresh oregano leaves (1/2 tsp dried)
  • 2 Tbsp
    fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)
  • 1 Tbsp
    fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
  • 2 Tbsp
    tomato paste, or more to thicken

How To Make tomato sauce from scratch

  • 1
    Wash tomatoes, cut X in bottom, put into boiling water for 1 minute. Plunge into ice water until cooled. Peel and chop.
  • 2
    While tomatoes are cooling, heat oil in large pot, add chopped onion, carrot, pepper and celery. Saute until onion starts to caramelize, add garlic. Sauté another minute, add tomatoes, wine, water, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and boullion .
  • 3
    Simmer together for about 2 hours. Taste. If too acidic, add some sugar or sweetener. When veggies are all softened, add herbs, remove bay leaf, turn off heat for a minute and whizz everything together with an immersion blender. (Or puree with a blender or food processor if that's what you've got.) Add the tomato paste. Return to heat and continue cooking until reduced to an acceptable consistency.
  • 4
    At this point, you can save the rest until you're ready to use it. I added frozen meatballs, cooked until everything was hot and served over pasta. Make sure to adjust seasoning to taste.
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