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Tomato Sauce – plated and served
Basic RecipesPastaPizzaVeganVegetarianItalian

Tomato Sauce

The one sauce that turns into pizza, pasta, lasagna, and casseroles. Four ingredients and no shortcuts when simmering.

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Preparation
10 min
Cook/bake time
45 min
Total
55 min
Difficulty
Easy
Calories
96 kcal
Servings
6
Prep
10 min
Cooking & baking
45 min

The one sauce that turns into pizza, pasta, lasagna, and casseroles. Four ingredients and no shortcuts when simmering. The difference between a flat and a well-rounded tomato sauce is not about secret ingredients, but about time. Forty minutes of uncovered simmering builds a sweetness that half an hour less simply lacks. Sugar only belongs in it if the tomatoes demand it.

Why this works

During a long, uncovered simmer, two things happen simultaneously, and both take time. First, water evaporates, which concentrates the sugar and acidity of the tomato. A thin, sour liquid turns into a dense, well-rounded sauce. Second, at over 100 degrees, Maillard reactions slowly take place between the amino acids and the sugars of the tomato, forming new, deeper flavor compounds. It is exactly this second reaction that cannot be rushed. A sauce that has cooked for twenty minutes is thickened, but not matured. The wide pot is therefore more important than the heat. The evaporation rate depends on the surface area, not the temperature, and in a tall, narrow pot, the same sauce simmers twice as long to reach the same thickness.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Slowly sweat the onion

    Sweat the diced onion in olive oil over low heat for ten minutes until translucent, without browning them. They should become soft and sweet, not roasted. Browned onions give the sauce a dark note that does not suit pizza and pasta. Add the garlic only in the last two minutes, as it burns faster.

  2. Add the tomatoes

    Add the tomatoes and the salt, and roughly crush the pieces with a wooden spoon. Rinse the cans with a small splash of water and pour it in. Otherwise, a noticeable amount of sauce remains in the cans.

  3. Simmer uncovered for forty minutes

    Let the sauce simmer uncovered over low heat for forty minutes, stirring occasionally. It is ready when the spoon leaves a trail that stays for a moment, and when oil separates at the edge of the pot. This escaping oil is the most reliable sign that enough water has evaporated.

  4. Season and add basil

    Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the basil leaves, torn rather than cut. Cut edges oxidize and turn dark. Taste now and only add a pinch of sugar if the sauce tastes sour. Good tomatoes do not need it.

Our best tips

  • Use a wide pot instead of a tall one. Evaporation depends on the surface area. In a narrow pot, the same sauce simmers twice as long to reach the same thickness.
  • Sugar is not a standard ingredient, but a correction. Taste first, then decide. Whoever always adds it also masks good tomatoes.
  • Always cook double the amount. The effort is the same, and frozen in portions, the sauce keeps for three months. That saves forty minutes every time you make pizza and pasta.

Tasty variations

Arrabbiata

Toast two dried peperoncini with the garlic and omit the onion. Significantly more direct and spicy, this is the standard sauce in Rome.

For pizza

Do not cook. Simply purée canned tomatoes with salt, olive oil, and basil. On the pizza base, the sauce reduces in the oven. If pre-cooked, it becomes too dry there.

Nutrition facts

Per serving (1 portion)
Calories96 kcal
Protein2 g
Carbohydrates6 g
– of which sugar5 g
Fat7 g
Fiber2 g

Where the 96 kcal come from

per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it

We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:

  • Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
  • Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
  • Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
  • Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.

A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.

How we calculate nutrition →

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does the tomato sauce have?

Around 95 kcal per portion for six portions. A good three-quarters of this comes from the olive oil. With two instead of four tablespoons, the value drops to about 60 kcal, but the sauce then becomes less well-rounded.

Fresh or canned tomatoes?

Canned tomatoes, except in midsummer with truly ripe outdoor tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are harvested ripe and processed immediately. Supermarket tomatoes in winter have hardly any sugar and result in a thin, sour sauce.

Why does my tomato sauce taste sour?

Usually cooked too short. Forty minutes of uncovered simmering builds the sweetness that a quarter of an hour less simply lacks. If the time is right and it is still sour, a pinch of sugar or a spoonful of grated carrot helps.

How long does it keep?

In the refrigerator for five days, frozen for three months. Filled hot into sterilized jars and sealed, it keeps unopened for several months in the pantry.

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