San Marzano Tomato Sauce {Family Recipe}
A famous family recipe – San Marzano Tomato Sauce. Savory, Italian flavors, simmered for several hours developing a rich and hearty tomato sauce. Easily the best tomato sauce I’ve ever had!
This San Marzano Tomato Sauce is quite special. It was the very first recipe my mom ever taught me and was the very beginning of my love for food. For years this sauce has brought my loud, bold, and very loving family together and has been a part of many memorable family dinners.
This sauce is thick, developed in flavor, and is the perfect sauce to top your favorite pasta with or layer in a lasagna. Although tomato sauce is quite simple, using quality ingredients matters, and letting your sauce sit low and slow for hours will give you the most thick and savory sauce you’ve ever had
First steps for making this sauce – put some Frank Sinatra on, grab a glass of vino, and enjoy the cozy aroma of simmering garlic & tomatoes and the authentic flavors of this incredible Italian tomato sauce. From my family to yours..
Why are San Marzano tomatoes the best?
San Marzano tomatoes are not just a staple in my family’s famous recipe, but are considered to be the best tomatoes in the world to use in sauces. These tomatoes are set apart from others because of their rich flavor and low acidity. They are also known to have a thicker consistency compared to other canned plum tomatoes.
How to Make San Marzano Tomato Sauce
- Saute garlic in olive oil: Saute your minced garlic for 30 to 60 seconds on medium heat – constantly stirring. Using tons of garlic in this recipe will give your tomato sauce the foundation of it’s flavor.
- Add Tomatoes – cook low and slow: The key to a good tomato sauce is cooking it for up to 4-6 hours. This allows the sauce to thicken, flavors to richen and develop, and acidity to balance.
- Add herbs at very end: Cooking herbs in the sauce for hours can actually result in bitter flavor. For a fresh, vibrant herb flavor add at the very end when sauce is finished for best results.
Special Tips for Making San Marzano Tomato Sauce
- Use San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes: to make a perfect tomato sauce you need San Marzanos. These tomatoes give your sauce a thicker consistency, and are sweeter, richer, and less acidic in flavor.
- Use Amore Sun-Dried Tomato Paste: Rather than using normal tomato paste, my family loves to use this sun-dried tomato paste for it’s thickening factor and extra added depth of flavor.
- Add a Parmesan cheese rind to your sauce while it simmers. This will instantly add flavor. The rind won’t melt (though it will get soft); it will just sit in your sauce or soup and infuse it with extra umami and savor.
What to Serve with San Marzano Tomato Sauce:
- Any type of pasta – spaghetti, rigatoni, orecchiette, or penne.
- Stuffed shells, eggplant parmesan, or lasagna.
- Zucchini pasta or spaghetti squash.
- I also use this recipe in some of my favorite recipes – Authentic Italian Chicken Parmigiana and Italian Sausage Lasagna.
I hope you love this San Marzano Tomato Sauce – it is dear to my heart and to this day haven’t tasted an Italian tomato sauce like it.
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San Marzano Tomato Sauce
A famous family recipe - savory Italian flavors, vibrant herbs, simmered for several hours to develop the perfect hearty tomato sauce. Easily the best tomato sauce I've ever had!
Ingredients
- 8 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 28oz cans San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes
- 2 tbsp amore sun-dried tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp (each) salt & black pepper
- 3 Tbsp fresh basil (for dried basil - 1 Tbsp)
- 2 Tbsp fresh oregano (for dried oregano - 2 tsp)
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme (for dried thyme - 1 tsp)
Instructions
In a large pot on medium heat saute garlic in olive oil for 30-60 seconds - constantly stir. Garlic can burn very easily in this process.
Add San Marzano tomatoes to garlic. Add tomato paste, salt & pepper. Mix, and cover on low heat for 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
The whole tomatoes will break down as they cook and result in a thicker, chunkier sauce. If you prefer a smooth sauce you can use a hand-puree tool or transfer to a high-powdered blender.
When sauce is finished mix in fresh herbs. Serve with your favorite pasta, lasagna, or chicken parmesan.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I cannot wait to try this!
This was absolutely delicious!! Served with pasta. Will make again for sure!
so glad you enjoyed it! <3
This is such a gorgeous sauce! Definitely pinning and will try.
I love San Marzano tomatoes and this recipe is perfect for them….an awesome, robust flavor is revealed via longer cooking time. Thanks for sharing recipe!
Thanks so much! That longer cooking time is key for sure 😊 glad you enjoyed it.
Recipe says 5 cans San Marzanos. Does this mean five 28 oz cans?
Yes! Sorry I didn’t add that detail. 28 oz cans! You can also do just 3 cans if you want to do a smaller batch. 🙂 hope you enjoy it!
I enjoyed reading your recipe. Would to learn more. My question is I don’t feel 2 tablespoon s of olive oil is enough for all those tomatoes is enough. Help me to understand I’m always willing to mzke a better saue.
Hi Rose,
the 2 tbsp of olive oil is just to saute the garlic. So you don’t need a ton of olive oil for that 🙂
This sauce looks amazing. Will have to try.
Let me know how you like it, Linda!
I made your family’s sauce and it was wonderful! Everyone loved it. We used it on homemade pizzas, tortellini, Italian sausage. I’m going to make another batch and jar them. I’m even thinking what a nice Xmas present it would make with some spaghetti and a bottle of wine. Thank you for sharing it.
So glad to hear, Laura! Means so much to her you all enjoyed it. 🙂 And you’re right – It’s a great recipe to jar and give as a gift!!
Could you use a slow cooker instead of stovetop?
Hi Cathy, I’ve never used a slow cooker for this recipe. But I don’t see why it couldn’t work. You would need to saute the garlic then add that to the slow cooker, but I believe you could use it in a slow cooker. Let me know if you try it!
Delicious!! Cooked for 4 hours and the flavor was amazing!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂 Thanks, Gabby!
Would love to make this recipe but would like to use the San marzanos from my garden. Is there a recipe for this using fresh tomatoes? Or do I just peel and cook down and then use this recipe?
I haven’t used fresh tomatoes. But I’d recommend cooking them with maybe 1-2 additional tbsp of tomato paste to really help them thicken. Make sure to let it cook for the 3-5 hours. Let me know if that works!
love this sauce – 🙂
If I wanted to transfer to a blender to make a thinner sauce, do I transfer it before it starts cooking or after while the garlic is mixed in.
So you aren’t dealing with blending hot tomato sauce, it would be better to blend the tomatoes before you cook them in the pot. So after you saute your garlic you can add the blended tomatoes!
Delicious! I made this for my grandma’s birthday and she loved it. San marzano are known for not causing heart burn as well. Do you think this would be a good base for Bolognese?
Thanks Matthew! So glad you liked it. 🙂 I didn’t know that about San Marzano’s so that’s great! And absolutely! I’ve used it many times for a Bolognese.
Hi,
If I use dried thyme and oregano about how many teaspoons should I put?
Hi Chris, For fresh herbs I measure in tablespoons rather than tsp. So for dried herbs – 1 tsp of thyme, 2 tsp of oregano. Thanks for asking!
I made a batch this past weekend and used some tonight for spaghetti. I added in ground beef and mushrooms. It was wonderful!!! My family loved it, there was barely any left in the bottom of the pot. I’m also hoping that it doesn’t give my husband heartburn. So far, so good! He hasn’t complained yet, in fact he went back for seconds, which he normally doesn’t do with red sauces. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Yay! Thank you, Kalley! So happy to hear this. The great thing about San Marzano’s is they’re lower in acidity so that should help people who struggle with heartburn. 🙂
I’m interested to try this! How much does this recipe make?
It’s about 12-14 cups of sauce. This is a big batch (5 cans) if I want to do a small batch I do 3 cans of tomatoes.
I’m excited to try this sauce based on all the comments below. If I don’t want chunks of tomatoes in my sauce can I use crushed tomatoes instead? Or should I just mash the whole tomatoes?
I would recommend using the san marzano’s and then pureeing with a hand blender or just transferring the sauce to a blender. 🙂 I’ve had this sauce using crushed tomatoes and it just isn’t the same.
Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try this! Just a quick question, if I use dried herbs should I add them earlier on in the recipe or would they still go in at the end?
Dried or fresh, I always add at the end to avoid a bitterness that sometimes happens when herbs are cooked the whole time. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
its true i made the sauce with san marzano tomaoes and found it to be the most tamatoe sauce ever its worth the little extra cost
I agree! You can see and taste the difference when you don’t use San Marzano’s. Other brands are less expensive than Cento too. 🙂