Life-changing Tomato Sauce
I have called many recipes “the best ______” but that simply wouldn’t be the right title for this tomato sauce. This tomato sauce right here is life-changing.
LIFE-CHANGING!!!
I wish I knew about it earlier.
And now I want as many people to know about it as possible, so they’re not like me, going through many years in life buying expensive tomato sauce because you can’t seem to find any good, cheap ones.
A couple weeks ago I included a link to a tomato sauce recipe that I really wanted to try, and many of you commented and emailed me that it was truly a spectacular sauce. I was skeptical because of how simple it is, but that’s why it’s so life-changing. It’s simple and it’s amazing. End of story.
And now I will stop buying pre-made tomato sauce and make big vats of my own.
This recipe is by Marcella Hazan, a cookbook author who I was actually unfamiliar with until I stumbled across this recipe. From what I’ve read about her, she seems to be the Julia Child equivalent for Italian cooking. Incredibly influential and someone who changed the way Americans cook Italian food. This tomato sauce recipe is truly a revelation, and shows what a big impact time and reduction can have on food. The simmering time reduces the acidic juices down into a more pronounced, deep tomato flavor.
To make the sauce, combine a can of tomatoes, butter, yellow onion, and salt in a saucepan:
Simmer the sauce, uncovered, over medium heat for about 45 minutes, until it looks like this:
Remove all of the onion from the sauce:
And now the sauce is ready! No really, it’s done.
At this point you can add more salt if needed, and you could also puree it to have a thinner consistency, but I found it to be great at this stage. Toss it with pasta, spread it on pizza (in that case, pureeing it is a good idea), make bruschetta with it, make chicken parmesan or eggplant parmesan…the applications for it are endless!
A note on the tomatoes:
A lot of people use San Marzano tomatoes for this, but I actually find it very difficult to get my hands on true San Marzano tomatoes. I made this sauce with Muir Glen Organics Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and the flavor was spectacular. Maybe it’s better with the San Marzanos, but I am more than pleased with Muir Glen, which you can find at any grocery store. Go ahead and use whatever your favorite is.
Enjoy!
Life-changing Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 28 oz can fire roasted diced or crushed tomatoes
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 a softball-sized yellow onion peeled and cut in two pieces
- salt
Instructions
- Combine the tomatoes, butter, and yellow onion in a saucepan, and add a few pinches of salt.
- Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Let this cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, turning down the heat as needed. I have a gas stove that runs pretty hot, so about 15 minutes in I turn it down to medium low, otherwise the sauce sputters too much.
- Remove the onion from the sauce, then make any necessary seasoning adjustments. The sauce is now ready to be used!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
34 Comments on “Life-changing Tomato Sauce”
This was so easy and I loved the flavor
You should used crushed tomatoes, not diced.
Tuttorusso crushed tomatoes are a good alternative to San Marzano and are widely available.
Delicious & so simple!
Making this sauce now. It smells great and i am sure i’ll be making it often. Thank you!
Gave this tomato sauce a try when you first posted it. Love it! Love sauce that has thickness & tastiness but without the red meat that is called for in so many recipes. Just recently found your blog & am really glad I did.
It seriously is the best and easiest sauce to make!!
To good, I am going to make this. I have some tomatoes & going to use here. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Enjoy!
Sometimes all I want is just pasta with good tomato sauce! Thanks for sharing this recipe Joanne, I will make it and will freeze some.
I know this is not your current post, but I want you to know that I LOVE the way you showed how to boil eggs so that they could be easily peeled. I am in my 60’s and have never been able to peel an egg without it taking off lots of the white with the shell. Now it’s so easy!!
Hi Marcia, I’m so happy to hear that!!!!
The trader joes peeled whole tomatoes are also really good, and like half the price of San marzano
That’s good to know. Thanks Anna!
Does anyone put any Italian spices in it or do you just leave it the way it is? I was thinking on using this over spaghetti squash and putting meat in the sauce. My husband loves meat sauce.
I’ve heard of people customizing the sauce in all sorts of ways, and I will definitely be doing this myself. I say go for it!
I have a similar one that I’ve been using for years as well and it is truly divine! Amazing what cooking it low and butter does to the taste and texture. I just buy the huge 102 oz. cans of whole tomatoes at Sam’s Club ($3.28!!!!) and make a huge batch. It’s soooo worth it, isn’t it?!
That is awesome, Tracy!
I LOVE a good tomato sauce, especially if it’s a simple one. I can’t wait to try this!!!
Joanne! This is a great recipe. I’ve done similar things, but tend to use OO instead of butter. I also try to use whole tomatoes; I simply “dice” them in the can with a pair of scissors. Because I’m a crazy person.
Hey Sam, I found this in my Spam! So odd. Anyway, good to know your tweaks for this recipe. I was definitely surprised when I saw she uses butter instead of olive oil. I’m going to try olive oil next time!
And, YES to scissors in the kitchen lol.
Butter is better.
I have been making this sauce for years and have posted about it on my blog more than once!!!! It’s the best – I usually make a double batch and freeze half. I have also done it in the crock pot – throw it in before I leave in the morning, put it on low, come home to fresh sauce!
The crock pot tip is great!
Glad you found this recipe, it has however been around a very long time. You really should use San Marzano tomatoes . I live in rural Delaware and can get them not only at t my grocery store but always at Walmart. Please make the effort.
Hi Judy, good to know! Are the San Marzano tomatoes you find at the grocery true San Marzano tomatoes or are they “San Marzano style?” Because I’ve seen a lot of the latter, but they’re US-grown and I’ve read that it’s not the same. I’m sure I can find true San Marzanos online somewhere.
Always buy the true San Marzano, CENTO a national brand is what I get at Walmart and my super market, Harris Teeter. The front of the can says it is certified San Marzano, they also can one that is not certified. I studied cooking in Italy and France and also taught and believe me there is a difference!
Judy you might want to read this https://www.gustiamo.com/san-marzano-2/
and this from 60 Minutes doesn’t make a person feel very sure of Italian food
products either http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/agromafia/
I can’t believe someone so pretentious would shop at Walmart.
I read a taste test about a year ago that scored all of the San Marzano tomatoes well below organic American tomatoes. I decided to do a taste test using 11 canned tomatoes, either whole or diced. Sure enough all of the San Marzano tomatoes I tried tasted old and had an unappetizing flavor. The top tasting canned tomato in my taste test was Muir Glen organic whole peeled san marzano style tomatoes, the second place canned tomato was greenwise organic diced from publix, third red gold whole peeled tomatoes from wal mart (first place for eating texture), fourth great value organic diced tomatoes from wal mart. Last out of 11 Alessi whole peeled TRUE san marzano with all the stamps and seals, just AWFUL. So that’s just one Italian’s opinion.
Hi May, what a fantastic comment, thanks so much for sharing. I’ve done blind taste tests of various products like almond milk, but not with tomatoes. Thanks for sharing your results. It’s very good to know!