My family’s beloved San Marzano Tomato Sauce. This luscious red sauce is simmered for several hours to develop the richest taste. It’s filled with fresh herbs, authentic Italian flavors, and the most inviting aroma. Easily the best tomato sauce I’ve ever had! From my family to yours.
This Italian tomato sauce (also known in Italian as “Pomodoro sauce”) is unique from all my other recipes because it was the first recipe my mom ever taught me how to make. It 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.
When you make this homemade pasta sauce, you will find the results are luscious, rich, and developed in flavor. It is the perfect sauce to complement your favorite Italian dishes! Although tomato sauce is quite simple, using quality ingredients matters. And letting your sauce cook low and slow for hours will give you the most beautifully rich and savory sauce you’ve ever had.
The first steps for making this sauce are to put on some Frank Sinatra, grab a glass of vino, and enjoy the sweet aroma of simmering tomatoes & garlic. ‘Cause, that’s Amore!
One reader, Kathryn, made this: “I’m just 2 hours into simmering and my gosh, this sauce is like a warm hug on a cold day.“ ★★★★★
Ingredients Needed
You’ll need just a handful of pantry items and fresh herbs to make this recipe happen. Here’s the full list: canned San Marzano plum tomatoes, garlic cloves, quality tomato paste, olive oil, salt & black pepper, and fresh herbs – basil and oregano.
How to Make San Marzano Tomato Sauce
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1
Sauté the garlic. In a large sauce pot, sauté the minced garlic in oil for about 30-60 seconds (stir constantly to avoid burning the garlic).
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2
Add the tomatoes and simmer low and slow. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the canned tomatoes with the paste and salt, then partially cover the pot with a lid. Let the sauce cook on the lowest setting for 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent any burning.
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3
Add the herbs last. When the sauce is finished cooking, add the chopped basil and oregano. Taste, season with any additional salt if needed, then serve!
Tips for Success
- Use quality San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes: to make a perfect tomato sauce you need San Marzano. These tomatoes give your sauce a thicker consistency and are sweeter, richer, and less acidic in flavor. I grew up with my mom always using Cento, but I also love using D.O.P-certified brands and preferably organic tomatoes. Be sure that whatever tomato you do use, is a product of Italy to ensure its top quality!
- Use Amore Sun-Dried Tomato Paste: Rather than using regular tomato paste as a thickener, my family loves to use this sun-dried tomato paste for a richer taste. If you do not have this available to you, no problem, swap it for regular tomato paste!
- The best herbs for tomato sauce – traditional Italian tomato sauce always calls for fresh basil or oregano – or a combination of both! Sometimes you’ll see thyme thrown into red sauces too. Using fresh herbs is key for authentic flavor. I do not recommend using dried herbs in a lot of my recipes, especially when it comes to homemade tomato sauce.
- Add a Parmesan cheese rind: When you purchase a block of Parmesan cheese – save/freeze your cheese rind for recipes like this! It’s a unique ingredient that instantly adds 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. Add the rind during the simmering time of the sauce, then use a utensil to carefully remove it before serving.
- Achieve rich flavor by using lots of garlic! As a born and raised garlic lover, I encourage you not to shy away from the number of garlic cloves listed. So much flavor in red sauces comes from the aromatics (garlic, onions, etc.). We use lots of garlic in this sauce to create a complex flavor! It will not taste “garlic-y”- but wonderfully balanced and rich.
One reader, Mark, made this his go-to: “I made this about 5 times now and it is definitely going to be it for me going forward. No more store sauces.“ ★★★★★
How to Avoid an Acidic Sauce
Add a carrot to simmer in the sauce: my mom always did this when she made sauce, and it’s a little-known secret many Italians use to balance the acidity of sauces. The sweetness of the carrot releases its flavor and naturally absorbs any acidic flavors from the tomatoes. How to: Remove the stem, peel the carrot skin off, and place the whole carrot into the sauce to simmer. Then, remove and discard the carrot once the sauce is finished.
Use a stainless steel pot: When making tomato sauce, choosing the right pot is essential. My top recommendation for sauce is stainless steel. Other pots, such as non-stick or cast iron can cause the acid in the tomatoes to mix with the metal and result in an unpleasant metallic taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course! We love cooking our Italian meatballs with this sauce. If the meatballs are about 2 inches in size, after being browned in a pan or baked, you can add them to the sauce to cook for the last 60-30 minutes. If they’re much bigger, let them simmer in the sauce for 2 hours. Stir the sauce gently to prevent breaking the meatballs, and ensure you use a large enough pot!
Yes! We love to make tomato sauce with fresh garden tomatoes. Use our fresh tomato sauce recipe for this process! This recipe will take less time, but the flavor is equally as delicious.
Of course! I recommend first sautéing the garlic in a pan. Then add the garlic to a slow cooker with the rest of the sauce ingredients, and set it on LOW for 5 hours. Stir a few times throughout the cooking process. Add the herbs at the end.
This was the way my mom taught me how to make tomato sauce, just with garlic as the aromatic. Many traditional tomato sauce recipes only call for garlic, so it’s common to see onions not included. But we have tried it with onion, and it’s delicious too! If you want to add onion, dice it small and saute the onion (before the garlic) for about 3 minutes. Then add the garlic!
Only if you want the sauce to be very smooth, with no texture/chunks of tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are so tender that they will naturally break down as they cook, especially in this recipe since it calls for a longer simmering time. So no, they do not need to be chopped before cooking!
Yes, homemade sauce like this recipe can definitely be canned. Although I’ve never canned this recipe, we’ve had many readers have great success with it!
Tips for Storing Leftovers & Freezing
Store & keep fresh: Let sauce cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container or glass jars. Chill in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
How to freeze: First, let the sauce cool to room temperature – then store it in an airtight container or freezer-friendly ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Our Favorite Ways to Serve it Up
The best way to serve this tomato sauce is with your favorite Italian dishes! Some of our favorites are…
Lasagna. We love layering this sauce in our vegetable lasagna, spinach lasagna roll-ups, and Italian sausage lasagna! For a healthier take on lasagna, we also love making our zucchini lasagna or eggplant lasagna too.
Baked pasta. This sauce is always the perfect addition to our baked ziti or baked rigatoni! And we can’t forget our baked cauliflower ziti too.
Meatballs. Make my family’s Italian meatballs with this sauce, or try it with our vegetarian zucchini meatballs or eggplant meatballs – so yummy!
Eggplant & Chicken Parmesan. My mom has always made this sauce with her famous chicken parmesan. And I love to serve it with this classic eggplant parmesan!
Rollatini. We love making zucchini rollatini or eggplant rollatini with this sauce as well.
Pasta noodles. You can also keep it simple, and serve this red sauce with your favorite Italian noodles such as penne, rigatoni, fusilli, spaghetti, or shells! And whatever you serve this sauce with, don’t forget to add crusty rosemary garlic bread on the side for dipping.
I hope you love this homemade tomato sauce as much as we do! It’s a staple for complimenting my favorite Italian recipes – especially around the holidays.
One reader, Joe G, made this: “This is the real deal. I followed it exactly. Simmered for hours. With the chicken parm recipe this was the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve been to Rao’s!“ ★★★★★
More Tomato Sauce Recipes
If you love this sauce, you might also like our fresh tomato sauce, Italian meat sauce, authentic Italian Bolognese Sauce, or spicy arrabbiata sauce!
San Marzano Tomato Sauce
Video Tutorial
Ingredients
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4-5 28oz cans San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes (with juices)
- 2-3 Tablespoon amore sun-dried tomato paste (or use regular tomato paste)
- 1/2 teaspoons (each) salt & black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons fresh basil (for dried basil – 1 Tbsp)
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano *optional
Instructions
- Cook garlic: In a large stainless steel pot on LOW-MEDIUM heat sauté garlic in olive oil for 30-60 seconds. Stir constantly to keep garlic from burning.
- Add tomatoes and simmer: pour canned tomatoes with juices in with the garlic. Add tomato paste, salt, and black pepper. Mix ingredients together, partially cover with lid – but not completely, and simmer on LOW heat for 3+ hours. Stir every so often to avoid burning. Note: if using a parmesan rind, add it in this step and let it simmer with sauce until finished. Remove and discard rind when ready to serve.
- For smooth sauce: when sauce is finished cooking, use a hand immersion-blender to puree. Note: If you prefer a chunkier/thicker sauce (like I do), you can skip this step as the San Marzanos naturally break down while cooking.
- Add herbs: when sauce is finished, mix in chopped fresh herbs. Season with additional salt & black pepper if needed and serve!
My pasta sauce came out very dark. Was this because I used SAN MARZANO CANNED TOMATOES? I read that they are a richer tomato.
Hi Margaret, every tomato is different. It could be the brand or variety of tomatoes the brand used! If It tastes good I’m sure it’s fine 🙂
Can you can this recipe? If I added the right amount of lemon juice to it, would it work/ be safe? I want to make and give out as gifts
Hi Nikki, I’ve never personally canned this recipe but it should work completely fine if you take proper steps to preserve it!
Fantastic recipe
Wow! Best red Italian sauce I ever cooked up. The sun-dried tomato paste really makes a difference abd adds depth to the sauce. Decided to sautee two medium sized sweet onions and used home grown garlic and basil. This is a keeper for sure. Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this recipe exactly how you said. It came out absolutely wonderful. Had fresh organic basil and oregano and even bought a thing of Parmesan so I could cut the rind off. I ate the carrots after the sauce was done and it’s just amazing the flavor they add; such a good idea. Used an entire bulb of garlic. I usually buy Rao’s tomato and basil sauce bc it’s been the best to me. This sauce is right there or better. I’m going with better bc I made it. No citric acid or calcium chloride either. Just straight real ingredients.
Thank you so much, Frederick! I always love hearing that people love this sauce. I equally love Rao’s, but homemade sauce is just as delicious when made right. Thanks for sharing your kind words! 🙂
Looks very good next time i make sauce it’s your recipe Thanks
I love this recipe and make it all the time. I like to dice some onion and add it before the garlic and some spinach with the tomatoes. The peeled carrot brings it to another level as well.
Thanks so much, Gabe! So glad you love the recipe 🙂
Thank you, Bethany, for your generosity in sharing this recipe and your infinite patience in the comments 😉 My mom would start her sauce early on Sunday mornings and it would simmer all day until we ate late afternoon. That is, indeed, the greatest ‘secret’ to a decent sauce. And we were lucky to live in New York where the finest ingredients could be found. We always used whole canned tomatoes and they break down beautifully, no help needed. She used to splash some water in each can to get every drop of tomato into the pot, and then used a little more paste. We also loved when she’d add bracciole or braised pork bones. Gosh I’m salivating as I write this. I’m on hour two of smelling your recipe simmer. I’m trying it without the onions we always added to see how I like it without. I added some crushed red pepper along with black pepper and will likely add a little fresh thyme because I happen to have it. I have recently discovered thyme and tomatoes as a wonderful pairing. I also usually add a tiny bit of rosemary(crushed). This is the first time I’m waiting to add the spices at the end and I’m very interested to see how that is! Thanks again.
Hi Raina! That is so lovely to hear. I love to hear when people have made their sauce a similar way! And onion is always welcome! We just never made it with onion, only lots of garlic. Would love to hear how you enjoy this sauce! Thanks so much for sharing.
Raina,
It was the longest 3 hours of my life waiting to add the herbs to this incredibly smelling sauce. Lol
I make almost the exact same recipe. I use an instant pot on slow cook high setting.
I also brown sausage in a cast iron pan, set it aside. Saute a small diced onion, in the sausage grease. Add the onion to the sauce before blending. Add the sausage after blending. Add meatball (browned home made or frozen) a ew hours before serving.
Store unused sauce in the instant pot , pot, coverwith a glass lid, or saran wrap in the refri. To reheat put the pot back in the instant pot and reheat.
No more fuss & only one pot to clean when you run out of sauce.
I think I’ve been looking for this recipe for years. I’ll be trying it this weekend.i will let you know how it works. Gratzie. Also, other brands of San marzano or not?
Cento is great, but you can use any canned tomato that is a product of Italy or DOP certified (should say on the can). Hope you enjoy it!
Came out fantastic, a worthy recipe to pass down
Thanks so much, Kris!!
I grew San Marzano tomatoes in our garden this summer. I ran them through the sauce master fresh from the garden and frozen the resulting sauce/juice. Could I use that to make this sauce. Do I simply use the same number ounces of my sauce/juice that you had of canned San Marzano?
Hi Hope, yes that should work perfectly fine! I would get the measurement as close as you can to the tomato can. I’m sure it’ll taste even more delicious using fresh tomatoes!