With just a few pantry staples, you can make this easy pasta sauce with tomato sauce in about 30 minutes. Perfect over pasta, chicken, or as a base for countless meals, it's a simple way to a delicious dinner. Plus, it freezes beautifully-so you'll always have a batch ready for busy weeknights. Skip the jar and make your own-it's fresher, more flavorful, and budget-friendly.
A friend recently commented that the famous Italian restaurant jarred marinara sauce her kids liked was so expensive. I served her some of my homemade pasta sauce with tomato sauce and she loved it. Plus, it can be made for less than half of the cost of the stuff she's been buying. Store bought sauces are fine in a pinch, but skip the jars and make your own marinara sauce for great taste and savings.
↓ Recipe
Why You'll Love Pasta Sauce With Tomato Sauce
- Basic pantry items - Just tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and a few other basics.
- Tasty and easy - Call it spaghetti sauce, pasta sauce, simple tomato sauce, or marinara. A staple in the kitchen.
- Freezes great - Make ahead and freeze it in batches for fast meals.
Ingredients You'll Need
Here are the ingredients for my go-to homemade pasta sauce. See recipe card for all ingredients and quantities.
- Tomato sauce - Use plain canned or jarred tomato sauce. You can also use the boxes of Pomi passata puree or their tomato sauce.
- Crushed tomatoes - Starting with a high-quality crushed tomatoes makes this pasta sauce quick. See my tomato notes below.
- Oil - use extra virgin olive oil to saute the onion and garlic in for great flavor and healthy fat.
- Onion - onion gives flavor depth and a base for the sauce. A foundational ingredient for soups, stews, sauces and many recipes.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is best and a head keeps in a cool pantry for some time. You can use the peeled refrigerated cloves but be sure they are fresh.
- Herbs - Dried herbs makes this easy. Use plain dried basil or a dried Italian seasoning blend. A little fresh basil or oregano in addition to dried herbs for more flavor at the end is niece too, if you have them.
- Spices (optional) - Ground anise seed or ground fennel seed make a terrific and unexpected flavor addition to this pasta sauce recipe. Optional but delicious.
- Wine (optional) - A little dry red or dry white wine amplifies flavors.
Please see the recipe card for measurements, salt, black pepper, and red pepper.
Chef's Tip on tomatoes - Real San Marzano tomatoes are identified by the certified D.O.P. label on the can. They may cost a little more than regular tomatoes, but many cooks believe they're worth it for their balanced, naturally sweet flavor (and no additives, like calcium chloride). My favorite brands are Cento San Marzano (D.O.P.) and Bianco DiNapoli (California-grown). Mutti is also a solid choice, as are Pomi.
Substitutions and Variations
Here's ways to change up homemade pasta sauce:
- Make it a smooth sauce - puree until smooth in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender
- Make it a meat sauce - add a couple of links of pre-cooked sausage ground fine in a food processor or chopped fine with a chef's knife, or use browned ground beef. Cooked ground bison works well too.
- Alcohol-free - leave out the wine.
- Only have whole tomatoes - Strain the liquid from the can and reserve in a bowl. Over the sink or a bowl (it's messy), split the tomatoes with your fingers and remove seeds, then briefly puree with liquid in a blender, food processor, or chop by hand. Don't puree smooth. Leave some texture. This works in place of crushed tomatoes.
How to Make Pasta Sauce with Tomato Sauce
This homemade pasta sauce recipe is simple in both ingredients and instruction. Use a heavy pot like a Dutch oven as they conduct heat evenly and cook over lower temperatures efficiently.
Lastly, taste the sauce. It has too much acidity for you, add a little sugar or neutral flavored sweetener like monk fruit. It's ready to serve, refrigerate and used with 5 days, or cooled and frozen.
Chef's tip on cooking with wine: I use the mini bottles of wine to cook with and save the full-sized bottles for dinner. They are great to keep in the pantry for adding a little to this marinara recipe or for deglazing a pan for a sauce, and they are inexpensive. The cooking rule is use one you would drink, not "cooking wines". Don't add it at the end. It needs to simmer with the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
- Over a big bowl of pasta topped with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese
- For making Chicken Parmesan
- Use it as a dipping sauce
- As a pizza sauce
- Make spicy stovetop shrimp, Italian style
- Simmer Italian meatballs in it
Storing and Freezing Pasta Sauce
The yield for this recipe is about 5 cups of pasta sauce. Homemade sauce keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5 days or freezes for 2-3 months.
Recipe FAQs
Because they have lower acidity (so more sweetness), less seeds, thicker flesh, and terrific taste. They can cost more, so you decide if they are worth it. There are delicious tomatoes from other brands that are not San Marzano. See my Chef's tip in the post.
Start with good-quality tomatoes, then add garlic, olive oil, herbs, and a pinch of salt. A splash of wine, a pat of butter, or a sprinkle of Parmesan at the end adds extra depth.
Classic choices include basil, oregano, parsley, and thyme. You can use one or a mix, depending on the flavor you like
Try sautéed garlic or onion, fresh or dried herbs, red pepper flakes, a splash of wine, or a little butter at the end. Even small additions can make a big difference.
More Tomato Sauce Recipes
Love pasta sauce? Us too. And here are a few more delicious ideas for tomato-based sauces.
⭐️Did You Make This?
If you make pasta sauce with tomato sauce, please comment and let me know, and if you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers and I love hearing from you.
📖 Recipe
Pasta Sauce with Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- Large pot or Dutch Oven 4-5 quarts
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 large garlic cloves minced, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried basil or Italian herb blend
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground anise seed or fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper more or less to your heat preferences
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounces can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup red wine optional, use the airline size bottles
- 1 handful fresh chopped basil leaves optional
Instructions
Cook the onion, garlic, spices, herbs
- Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium low heat and add onion. Cook until onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic, dried herbs, ground anise seed, black pepper, red pepper, salt, and cook another 2 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Add tomatoes and simmer
- Add crushed tomatoes and sauce, and wine if using. Cover and simmer sauce for 20 minutes until flavors are blended. For a smoother sauce, puree briefly in blender if desired. If using fresh chopped basil leaves, stir in at the end.
Notes
Nutrition
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