I know that some of you might find store-bought tomato sauce to be convenient. I’ll admit; I have purchased tomato sauce from a supermarket before. I agree that it is hard to beat the fact that it is such a time-saving shortcut when you need to put dinner on the table on a Tuesday night. However, I think it is also hard to beat the quality of homemade tomato sauce over the supermarket one.
The recipe that I share here is one that I make all the time and keep it in my fridge. In addition to the recipes I mentioned above, I also use it as my go-to Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce when I am in need of a quick, easy, and delicious dinner on a Tuesday night.
There are so many uses for this, but I guess my favorite recipes are Baked Turkey Meatballs, Eggplant Involtini, Baked Parmesan Eggplant, and Baked Chicken Parmesan.
It freezes well so if you want to make a big batch of it and have some of it stocked up in your fridge, feel free to do so.
How To Make Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce VIDEO
My Tips and Tricks for the Best Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce:
The best thing about this sauce is the fact that it is made with only a few ingredients. But as in all simple recipes, the quality and amount of ingredients you use play a big role in the end product. So here are a few of my tips and tricks to help you, as you make your own.
Whole Tomatoes versus Crushed Tomatoes:
Before I start talking about whole versus crushed tomatoes, please know that the recipe below uses canned tomatoes because I wanted it to be one that you can make year around. If you have fresh tomatoes, feel free to use them instead.
The equivalent of two 28-ounce canned whole tomatoes to fresh tomatoes is around 4-4 1/2 pounds. I like my tomatoes peeled, but you can leave the skin on if you like.
If you are using canned tomatoes, I recommend using whole canned tomatoes, as most of the time, the only ingredients in those cans are peeled tomatoes and tomato juice. I agree that crushed canned tomatoes are convenient, but they are also packed with chemicals like citric acid and calcium chloride to help them retain their shape.
When I make a big batch of this sauce, I use my food processor to crush them faster. If you decide to do so I would recommend using the pulse button and just give them a light crush instead of pureeing them. This way you would end up with chunky tomatoes in your sauce. But if you like your sauce pureed (with no chunky tomatoes) then go for a longer pulse.
Additionally, you can chop them up by hand. Some people think that it would be better if you have big chunks of tomatoes in the sauce. I made this sauce both ways and the end product was very good in both times.
Garlic To Tomato Ratio For The Best Basil Tomato Sauce:
I am a huge fan of garlic. I am that person, who uses more garlic than recipes ask for. Throughout the years that I made this sauce, I have doubled (may have even tripled) the amount of garlic used in this sauce. But quite honestly, even though garlic is the main flavoring of this recipe, using more garlic does not give you a tastier sauce. It makes it bitter. So my ratio for two 28-ounce canned tomatoes is to use 5 large cloves of freshly minced garlic. It is more than most similar tomato recipes use so if you prefer yours with less garlicky taste, feel free to use 3 cloves.
During the initial cooking, be sure to keep an eye on the garlic and give it a stir often as garlic cooks quickly and burns easily. With that being said, you do need to cook the garlic for it to release all of its flavors so do not leave site of it while it is cooking.
Fresh Basil Leaves For The Finishing Touch:
The second flavoring agent after garlic in this tomato basil sauce is fresh basil leaves you put in the sauce at the very end. Since basil leaves are very thin they bruise easily. So instead of cutting with a knife, tear them with your hands right before you put them in the sauce. They don’t have to be uniformed in size, as they will melt shortly after you place them in the sauce.
If you are not a fan of basil or want to try variations of this sauce, you can swap basil with cilantro, Italian parsley, or oregano.
How To Store Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce in the Fridge?
You can store this sauce in the fridge in an airtight container up to a week.
Does This Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce Freeze Well?
Absolutely. If it is stored properly, it will maintain its freshness up to 4 months.
What Is The Best Way to Store Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce?
Best thing to do is to store them in airtight plastic containers or freezer safe glass jars. Yes, you read it right. I use glass jars to freeze tomato sauce. Quite honestly, I had no idea that I can freeze food in glass jars until I read Rebecca Katz’s cookbook Clean Soups. The following about containers is from her book (page:12):
“If using glass containers be sure they are made of tempered glass that can be frozen. If you are using any type of plastic, be sure it is BPA-free and that the soup (in our case, the sauce) has cooled completely before storing…”
If you decide to use glass jars, leave one to two inches of space at the top of the jar to prevent it from cracking in the freezer. If you are in need of a recommendation, I use these Ball Mason “PINT” Jars or WECK jars to do the job and never had a problem.
Alternatively, you can use heavy duty freezer bags.
How Can I Make This Sauce Thicker and Visa Versa?
The thickness of this sauce depends on the time you cook it. The longer you cook it the thicker it will get. Though I have to caution you on two things here:
- You need to make sure to stir it every 5 minutes or so.
- The cooled down tomato sauce will be thicker than its hot version. I find that 25 minutes is the sweet spot, but you can experiment with the timing to find your favorite texture.
In the same manner, if you want it to be thinner then I recommend cooking it less than 20 – 25 minutes.
Do I Need To Put Sugar in Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce?
Yes, you do unless you want to end up with a bitter tomato sauce. I used organic cane sugar, but in the past I also used honey and maple syrup as well. They all work.
Should I Use Vinegar?
After I first published this post, a few readers reached out and said that they also add a few tablespoons of vinegar (i.e. white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc.) to balance out the flavors. I did try the recipe with a tablespoon of vinegar and I thought it was good, but to be honest I did not feel like it made a huge difference.
More Tomato Recipes You Might Also Like
Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
- 2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes *, crushed in food processor or by hand (read the blog post for details)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon organic cane sugar regular sugar, honey or even maple syrup would also work
- 8-10 leaves of fresh basil roughly torn
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pan in medium heat. Add in the garlic. Cook stirring regularly, until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Do not leave site of it as garlic burns easily.
- Add in the tomato, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Cook in medium heat, stirring every few minutes, until it thickens, 20-25 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped fresh basil and turn the heat off. Let it cool down to room temperature.
- Divide it amongst freezer friendly jars or other airtight containers.
- Feel free to freeze it up to 4 months or keep in the fridge up to a week.
Richard Wallace
Never made this, but it looks pretty good. I would use more basil, a bunch more, and far more crushed red chile flakes, 3-4 times as much. I do not understand adding sugar–adds no value whatsoever and makes the sauce kind of sweet, which is not tasty. Also, I highly recommend San Marzano tomatoes (avoid the fake ones, though some of the San Marzano-style tomatoes are fine) and agree that whole is best. Crush them by hand–avoid the food processor–wash your hands well first, of course, but be careful with soap (no one wants soap-flavored sauce).
Leah
I made this sauce this evening and it was DELICIOUS! I used the Kroger brand San Marzano tomaotes ($1.99/28 oz tin!!) and found that I needed to up the sugar and salt a bit though. I finished half the sauce with heavy cream and served it tonight. I’M NEVER BUYING JARRED SAUCE AGAIN!
Aysegul Sanford
Ha ha.. This is music to my ears Leah. I, too, no longer buy jarred sauce from the store any more. And the addition of heavy cream sounds heavenly.
Thanks for coming back and leaving a review. Cheers!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
I can only hope that my homemade sauce will look this pretty!
Stephanie Manley
I love recipes like this! I can’t wait to give this a try.
Toni | Boulder Locavore
This is amazing! I would love to try!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes
I could eat this sauce every day!
Valerie | Valerie's Kitchen
So many great tips! I need to do this. I cook so much Italian cuisine around here that it would just be so nice to have jars of homemade sauce on hand.
Joanne
This is just as good as the fancy pasta sauces at the store that cost $8/jar…but so much cheaper. Thanks!
Aysegul Sanford
I cannot agree more. Thanks for stopping by Joanne.
Jennifer Farley
Homemade sauce is the best! I love your photos!
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you my friend.
Melissa Sperka
There’s absolutely nothing like homemade. Definitely making this!
Aysegul Sanford
Yay! SO glad you liked it Melissa. Thanks so much for stopping by!
R.J.
Have you tried canning the sauce instead of freezing it?
Aysegul Sanford
Hello R.J.
Sadly, I have not. I have almost no experience with canning. However, I recently bought a book about it and am in the process of learning.
I will be sure to update the post when I know more.
Thanks.
jeanne roberts
If using canned whole tomatoes should the juice be drained before putting in the food processor?
Aysegul Sanford
Hello Jeanne,
You do not need to drain the juices. The sauce will start thickening as it cooks. In other words, some of those juices will evaporate as it boils so no need to drain them.
Hope this helps. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can answer any other questions.
Best.
Joseph Morello
You lost me when you added the sugar…
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Joseph,
I can understand why you feel that way.
The reason why I added sugar is to balance the three major flavors, savory-acidic and sweet. If I don’t add sugar, the it will only be savory (salty) and acidic. I used cane sugar hear, but you can also use honey or maple syrup.
With that being said, if you are not a fan of sugar you can totally omit it.
I hope this helps.
Lisa J Welch
I don’t use sugar in my sauce, ever. I use a pinch of baking soda to help with the acidity.
Aysegul Sanford
Good to know. Thanks for letting me know Lisa.
Sam R
I made this over 5 times now and it is my new go to tomato sauce recipe. It is so good. I don’t think that I will ever buy jarred tomato sauce from the store anymore.
Thanks for sharing.
Aysegul Sanford
This is so good to hear Sam. Thanks so much for letting me know. Cheers!
Barry J White
I used Hunt’s Crushed tomatoes and added a chopped on in with the garlic. Put some basil in with the tomatoes at the beginning and at the end. What a smooth tasty sauce and so easy.
Aysegul Sanford
So glad to hear that you liked it Barry. There is some cooking on my stovetop as I type this. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know.
Samantha
Made this last night. OMG I am ashamed to admit that I licked my bowl clean!!!
Aysegul Sanford
This is music to my ears Samantha. Thank you so much for letting me know.
Ashley
Hi! I’m using fresh tomatoes as well, how many should I use for this recipe?
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Ashley,
I would use 2 to 2 1/2 pounds tomatoes. Like I mentioned to Pat (in the above comment), the skin of the tomatoes don’t bother me, but if you want to remove the skins, feel free to follow this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdIQnsjOIL0).Hope this helps.
Ellen Norton
You said 4 – 4 1/2 lbs above…Which is what I did. it’s still simmering….
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Ellen.. Not sure what you exactly mean, but if you are referring to the time of the simmering please know that the timing will depend on the juiciness of your tomatoes. Sometimes summer tomatoes are so juicy that it might take longer than canned tomatoes. I would recommend giving it a stir frequently and keeping an eye on it.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can help in any way.
Ellen Norton
Thank you. No I was referring to the amount of tomatoes….above my comment you answered that if you use fresh tomatoes to use 2 – 2 1/2 lbs, but in the recipe, in your comments before the ingredient list, you say 4 – 4 1/2 lbs if you don’t use canned…
Pat
I have a lot of large fresh tomatoes I would like to use , and this tom and basil sauce sounds WONDERFUL. Should I be doing anything differently with fresh toms? Thanks ..pat
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Pat,
Lucky you! 🙂
I think you can follow the recipe with regular tomatoes as well. However, everytime I make a change to a recipe I make sure to give it a taste as I cook along. In this case, the change is not a big one, but it is good to taste it as you go so that you know that it is good.
One other think I can think of is that you will probably have the skin on. As you know, tomatoes in canned tomatoes are skinless. Personally, tomato skins do not bother me. However, if you want the skins off and want to do it quickly, you can use this youtube video as a resource. She is doing exactly what I would do.
I hope this helps. Let me know if I can help further. Thanks for stopping by Pat.
Cheers!
Aysegul
Jennifer Farley
I’ve had homemade tomato sauce on my “to make” list for quite some time. It’s so much better than store bought! We have a pressure canner that we use for stock, and we’re about to make another big batch soon so now is the perfect time.
Aysegul Sanford
Good to hear. Thank you for stopping by my friend 🙂
jess larson | plays well with butter
i love the simplicity of this sauce & would SO love to follow along to a “basics” series of your favorite staple recipes. love, love, love everything you put out!! xx
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you SO much for your kind words Jess. Working on a few other recipes similar to this. 🙂
Love that you are following along.
Cheers!