Homemade Tomato Sauce

This was my first venture into the homemade tomato sauce world, and I’d say it was a success!  Super tasty, a little kick and much healthier than the store-bought versions that have a good bit of sugar in them.  The sauce cooks for three hours, so you’ll want to plan ahead and either make this over the weekend, or make the sauce in advance so it’s ready to go with your pasta.

It has a half a cup of red wine it, which adds a nice flavor.  But if you don’t like to cook with wine you could omit that.  Choose a red wine that you like to drink, because it makes a difference.  And you can enjoy a glass while you cook 🙂

What you’ll need: onion, garlic, olive oil, whole peeled tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, a little white sugar, red wine and red pepper flakes.

As I mentioned, this cooks for three hours on the stove, so I did the first two hours the night before, and finished the last hour of cooking while I prepared the spaghetti and meatballs.

First, you heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion and garlic until they’re soft and the onions become translucent.

Then, add the can of whole tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, oregano, sugar, red wine and red pepper flakes and give it a good stir.  (I like the whole, peeled tomatoes with basil added, but if you can’t find that, regular whole, peeled tomatoes will do just fine.)  Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

After two hours of cooking, you could turn off the heat, cool to room temp and store in the fridge overnight, which is what I did because I cooked the sauce partially a day in advance.  Then I brought the temperature back up while I prepared the spaghetti squash and meatballs the night I planned on serving this dish.

But if you are making this the same day you serve it, it’s time to add the mushrooms, and cook for another hour until the tomatoes have cooked down, flavors have combined and the sauce thickened up a bit.  Season with salt and pepper and taste to see if it needs any more sugar, red pepper flakes or other seasonings to taste and your sauce is ready to go!

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 7 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 28oz can whole, peeled tomatoes with basil
• 1 28oz can tomato puree
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 7 cups water
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• salt and pepper

Steps 

1. In a large saucepan, heat the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft.
2. Stir in the can of whole tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, oregano, sugar, red wine and red pepper flakes.
3. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  (At this point, you could turn off the heat, cool to room temp and store in the fridge overnight.  Then cook the final hour before you’re ready to serve.)
4. Add the cup of mushrooms, and cook for one more hour.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve over your favorite pasta!