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Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

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This homemade tomato sauce is a classic tomato sauce with distinct Italian flavors! It’s made with tomatoes (canned or fresh) and everyday pantry ingredients. Use it for pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, and ALL things Italian! This tomato sauce recipe includes Crockpot instructions too!

close up of red homemade tomato sauce on serving spoon over pot of sauce

Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

Classic tomato sauce is America’s favorite kitchen staple for getting a quick dinner on the table.

We know how easy it is to buy packaged tomato sauce, and I always have some on hand for hangry emergencies.

But, have you ever made your own tomato sauce? It’s so easy and puts you in control of your ingredients, like salt and sugar. Nuff said! Let’s DO this!

How to make basic tomato sauce

Step 1: saute garlic and onion in a saucepot on medium-high heat

Step 2: add tomatoes (canned or fresh), tomato paste, and seasonings.

Step 3: adjust heat to high long enough to bring to boil

Step 4: reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring as needed.

* See the full recipe below

pot of red homemade tomato sauce

How to make tomato sauce in the crockpot

Step 1: saute garlic and onion in a saucepot on medium high heat

Step 2: transfer to a crockpot

Step 3: add tomatoes (canned or fresh), tomato paste, and seasonings.

Step 4: set crockpot on high for 2 hours or low for 4-6 hours and let it do the magic, stirring as needed.

* See the full recipe below

close up of red homemade tomato sauce on serving spoon over pot of sauce

Benefits of making homemade tomato sauce

  • No added sugar and no salt overkill. YOU control the ingredients.
  • It’s vegan AND gluten-free for the win!
  • Tastes better than anything you’ve had in a jar…promise!
  • Meal prep and freeze it for tons of convenience.
  • Save money! This recipe costs .09¢/oz, while retail tomato sauce averages .29¢/oz. WOW!
  • The crockpot version cooks itself and doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen (great during summer!)
  • Use it for pasta, pizza, lasagna, and meatball sliders…so versatile!

Speaking of meatball sliders, we first tested this very recipe on 25 people after a local, holiday parade.

We put 75 cooked, meatballs and 4 quarts of my cooked marinara sauce in a big Crockpot, turned it on LOW for several hours, went to the parade, and returned to a self-serve, meatball-slider extravaganza.

Everyone loved the sauce and it couldn’t have been any easier.

Tomato Sauce Recipe Ingredients

  • extra virgin olive oil
  • fresh garlic
  • onion
  • canned tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes)
  • tomato paste
  • oregano
  • crushed red chili pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper
  • ground fennel
  • bay leaf

Tools I use for this recipe:

Want more freezer friendly recipes?

Hidden Veggie Marinara Sauce

Fall Apart Chicken Vegetable Crockpot Soup is the one where the chicken doesn’t get dried out after cooking all day. Winning!

Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is everyone’s favorite Southwest chili!

(top) close up of red homemade tomato sauce on serving spoon over pot of sauce (center) title text (bottom) pot of red homemade tomato sauce

close up of red homemade tomato sauce on serving spoon over pot of sauce
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5 from 14 votes

Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

This homemade tomato sauce is a classic tomato sauce with distinct Italian flavors! It's made with tomatoes (canned or fresh) and everyday pantry ingredients. Use it for pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, and ALL things Italian! This tomato sauce recipe includes Crockpot instructions too!
Course Main Course, Meal Prep
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8 1-cup servings
Calories 41kcal
Author Traci Antonovich

Ingredients

Instructions

Tomato Sauce (stove instructions)

  • In a 3-quart sauce pot, heat OLIVE OIL on medium heat until shimmering (about 2 minutes).
  • Add ONION and GARLIC; sauté until slightly tender; stir as needed (3-5 min).
  • Add TOMATOES, TOMATO PASTE, OREGANO, CHILI PEPPER, SALT, and PEPPER; stir in sautéed onions and garlic.
  • Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about an hour, stirring as needed.

Tomato Sauce (crockpot instructions)

  • In a 10" skillet, heat OLIVE OIL on medium heat until shimmering (about 2 minutes).
  • Add ONION and GARLIC; sauté until slightly tender; stir as needed (3-5 min).
  • Meanwhile, to a 3+ quart slow-cooker, add TOMATOES, TOMATO PASTE, OREGANO, CHILI PEPPER, SALT, and PEPPER; stir in sautéed onions and garlic.
  • Cover and turn heat to HIGH (2 hours) or LOW (4-6 hours).

Serving and Storage instructions

  • Sauce will be thick and chunky, feel free to puree using a stick blender if needed.
  • If freezing, allow to cool completely, package into freezer bags or containers, and freeze.

RECIPE NOTES

Yield: 2 quarts (8 cups)
Serving size: 1 cup
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are estimates based on unbranded ingredients acquired from a nutrition database. For accurate calculations, please refer to brand packaging information and consult your nutritionist.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 cup)
Calories 41 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 189mg8%
Potassium 34mg1%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 85IU2%
Vitamin C 1.3mg2%
Calcium 17mg2%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe? Tag me!Mention @thekitchengirl or tag #thekitchengirl

(top) close up of red homemade tomato sauce on serving spoon over pot of sauce (bottom) title text

Traci Antonovich
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Traci Antonovich

Recipe author and food photographer at The Kitchen Girl
I'm on a mission to help you eat healthy AND save money through simple, everyday recipes, product reviews, and budget-friendly kitchen tips.
Traci Antonovich
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Comments

  2. liz says

    08/28/2019 at 6:25 am

    5 stars
    Nothing I love more than a homemade tomato sauce! I love that you can make it so quickly if your in a time crunch or you can let it simmer for hours!

    Reply

  4. Sues says

    08/28/2019 at 6:08 am

    5 stars
    There’s nothing quite like homemade tomato sauce and this looks like a recipe I could enjoy all year round! Love the bright vibrant color of the sauce 🙂

    Reply

  5. Gloria | Homemade & Yummy says

    08/28/2019 at 5:45 am

    5 stars
    This is the perfect time of year for making homemade tomato sauce. The markets are overflowing with fresh tomatoes. So much better than store bought.

    Reply

  6. Sallie Graham Needham says

    07/16/2019 at 6:00 pm

    This is still too high content sodium for hubby. Thought I’d try same thing with fresh toms but don’t know how much it would take of fresh tomato. Love your site!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      07/17/2019 at 7:16 am

      Hi Sallie, thanks for the compliment 🙂 The recipe ingredient list includes fresh tomato substitution amount next to the canned tomatoes. In this case, 4 large tomatoes. As for nutrition values, I do encourage readers to seek the most accurate numbers from a nutrition specialist as mine are compiled from a standard database. Hope this helps 😉

  8. Dawn - Girl Heart Food says

    03/15/2018 at 9:18 am

    5 stars
    This is the kind of stuff I love to have on hand for busy days! I could seriously think of so many uses for this from pasta to over meatball sandwiches to pizza. I would definitely put the chili in there cause I loves me some spice 😉

    Reply

  11. Ann says

    03/15/2018 at 7:50 am

    5 stars
    What an amazing idea to make up a batch of all-purpose marinara to keep in the freezer! This would save me so many nights of trying to come up with a last minute meal! The recipe sounds delicious 🙂

    Reply

  12. Anna says

    03/15/2018 at 7:36 am

    5 stars
    Such a great and versatile recipe! And we always freeze the homemade sauces, such a time saver in a long run! thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

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