Ok, we are giving up our best pasta sauce recipe. Simply Awesome Pasta Sauce. I have nothing against jarred pasta sauce; I love fast as much as the next person. But it is so easy to make your own basic tomato sauce that can be used with pasta, as a marinara, or on pizza.
Yes, this easy and flavorful tomato sauce is one of my all-time favorite go-to recipes.
You are going to love our Best Pasta Sauce Recipe
Our family uses it to dip cheese sticks in. I also use it for chicken parmesan, lasagna and manicotti. Boil up your favorite pasta and boom, there's lunch. You can add meat to it, you can simmer fresh veggies in it.
It is excellent with zucchini, on cauliflower crust pizza, on French bread pizzas. We also use it in our Spaghetti Casserole. YUMMY!
Some of you may want to turn it up and drink it.
When we make it, I usually double the recipe, so I have enough to store in a mason jar in the fridge or the freezer.
Ingredients Needed to Make a Simple Pasta Sauce:
- Crushed tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Minced garlic
- Dried Italian herbs or a combination of basil, oregano, parsley
- A bit of sugar or honey
- Salt + black pepper
Oh, and it is very inexpensive to make. When I find crushed tomatoes on sale, I buy a bunch.
Love pasta, don't you? Here are some of my personal favorite pasta and sauce recipes:
Pumpkin Pasta
Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce
Bucatini Pasta in Chianti Sauce
Fire Roasted Tomato Orzo Pasta
Feel free to experiment with your own spices, although I've found the combination in this recipe is just perfect.
You control the sugar and the sodium. Less is more. If you use fresh herbs, add them closer to the end.
If you like your simply awesome pasta sauce "simply spicy", no problem. Add in some hot peppers or red pepper flakes.
Want it with garden vegetables? Just chop some up and let them simmer in the sauce until tender.
How to Make a Simple Tomato Pasta Sauce:
- In a skillet, heat minced garlic in oil over medium heat. When you can smell the aroma of garlic cooking and it just starts to turn golden, add the crushed tomatoes.
- Next, stir in the remaining ingredients, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Yep. That's it. So easy and delicious.
I have also made this pasta sauce recipe completely from scratch using fresh tomatoes from our summer garden. We will post that method here another day. Very time consuming, but totally worth it. Nothing like a homemade pasta sauce from garden tomatoes that you grew yourself.
Tips + Ideas:
- When crushed tomatoes are on sale, stock up.
- Garlic lovers, you can go nuts with this one. Add as much garlic as you like to your taste.
- Pick a good quality extra virgin olive oil to make this pasta sauce. You can tell the difference.
- Use this sauce for dipping breadsticks. So good!
- This recipe is good for making french bread pizzas, too.
- Add cooked ground beef or Italian sausage.
- This sauce can be frozen in appropriate containers (freezer bags, containers, jars). To thaw, leave in fridge.
Enjoy!
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📖 Recipe
Simply Awesome Tomato Sauce - The Best Pasta Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or a combination of basil, oregano, parsley
- ½ teaspoon sugar or honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a skillet, heat minced garlic in oil over medium heat. When you can smell the aroma of garlic cooking and it just starts to turn golden, add the crushed tomatoes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Yep. That's it. So easy and delicious.
Olena
This is exactly what i was looking for. How many cups will this recipe make?
Teri
It makes about 3.5 cups. I usually double it so I've got one for what I'm making and another on stand by. I use it for everything. As a matter of fact, I made some tonight to use in calzones.