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!
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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.
These tomatoes are not just a staple in my family’s recipes, but are considered to be the best tomatoes in the world to use in sauces!
San Marzano tomatoes are grown in Southern Italy, between the cities of Naples and Salerno. The one key factor contributing to San Marzano tomatoes famous taste is the potassium-rich volcanic soil they’re grown in.
When it comes to the taste, these tomatoes are set apart from others because of their rich, sweet flavor and lower acidity. There is no need for adding sugar to your sauce if you use these tomatoes! They also have a thicker consistency than other canned plum tomatoes, and you’ll find they have less seeds too (making it ideal for cooking).
Pro tip: to know you are using certified San Marzano tomatoes, the can should say “Pomodoro San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese Necorino D.O.P.” This ensures the tomatoes are grown in the authentic region.
Brands we like to use that are authentic and D.O.P. certified: Sclafani, Rega, La Fede, and Strianese. Your local grocery store also might have some other great options!
Brands we like to use that are quality but not D.O.P.-certified: If you do not care about using a D.O.P.-certified brand of tomatoes, I recommend at least using a tomato that is a product of Italy! The brands we like are Cento, Bella Terra, and Delallo (they have D.O.P and non-certified tomatoes). Just to name a few, there are many more quality tomato brands you can use!
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.
Make Your Sauce Smooth in Seconds
Our favorite hand-held blender
I love a sauce with texture – but if you prefer a smooth sauce consistency we love using this hand-held immersion blender to make this happen in seconds! It's much safer than transferring hot sauce to a blender and is the easiest tool to use. The blender is one of my moms favorite kitchen tools! It's great for creaming sauces, soups, and hot drinks.
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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.
Can I add meatballs to cook with the sauce? 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!
Can this sauce be made with fresh tomatoes? 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.
Can I make this in a slow cooker? Of course! I recommend first sauteing 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.
Why does this recipe call for no onions? 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!
Do I need to chop the tomatoes before adding them to the sauce? 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!
Can this sauce be canned? 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.
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!
Got Pinterest? Pin this recipe to your Pinterest boards!
San Marzano Tomato Sauce
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 (for dried oregano – 1 tsp)
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!
Video
Making the sauce now. May I ask why you wouldn’t add the herbs while it simmers?
Hi Roxanne, if you would like, you can add the herbs while the sauce cooks! I was always taught to add them at the end so they add bright & fresh flavor. Since the sauce cooks for so long it will remove a lot of that freshness, and at times cooking them so long could result in a bitter sauce – but I find that true only if using dried herbs. Which I don’t recommend. 🙂 Hope this helps! And hope you enjoy the sauce!
This sauce is amazing, the best I have ever made. I added a little chilli as we quite like a punch. I served it over fried panko covered chicken fillets and my husband really enjoyed it. Looking forward to using the rest of the sauce to make your Eggplant Parmesan. Think you for sharing
So happy to hear that, Jane! Thank you for the kind words:) I hope you enjoy it with the eggplant parm – it’s a delicious combo!
Thank you for the advice, I did just that and I followed everything by the letter. My sauce was just OK, I’m sorry,It was very bland i know i must’ve done something wrong but can’t figure out what, I truly just am trying to figure out What went wrong. Although I’ve never made sauce before I do know my way around the kitchen, I just am trying to figure this out so I can join in on the rave reviews. I’m going to try again and hope for better results. I know it was me!
Hi Kelli, I’m sorry to hear it was just okay. It shouldn’t be bland at all. With cooking, my best advice for anything that is coming off bland is to stir in a pinch of salt, taste, then add more if the flavor still needs to come out. Salt is key for flavors of all ingredients to actually come to life. You can also add a pinch of sugar if you feel lit’s tasting acidic and tomato-y. I hope those little tips help for future recipes! 🙂 I appreciate your feedback!
Literally making this today , I’ve never made sauce in my life so this will be a first for me. As such, am I putting this on Low setting on my stove or a low simmer which will be like the 3 setting? Just want to make sure I don’t mess that up. Thanks in advance
Hi Kelli, oh how exciting!! A rule of thumb with any sauce is cooking it on a gentle, low simmer. Seems like 3 would be a good level, but every stove/range is different. If it bubbles too much, you can lower it – or bump it up if it’s tooooo gentle haha. Hope you enjoy the sauce! 🙂 Honored you chose my recipe for your first time!
Bethany, I made your eggplant parmesan and it was better than my marinara sauce that I have used for my gourmet lasagna for over 50 years. I could not find the certified DOP certified tomatoes and used Cento. I have just ordered Sciafani brand tomatoes and the Amore sun-dried tomato paste. I loved the tips you gave regarding the parmesan rind and the carrot. I may add onions as I liked it in my other sauce. I am planning to make your Italian Meat Balls and I have already made your homemade breadcrumbs. This is the first time I have ever left a review…..I am looking forward to more of your recipes.
Jimmie, your review means so so much! I’m thrilled that the sauce was such a success, I hope the DOP tomatoes and the paste make it even better. I would love to hear how you enjoyed the meatballs when you make them! 🙂
Hi! I absolutely love experimenting with different sauce recipes and yours seems to be quite a hit! I am going to try it this weekend with our homemade pasta and I am so excited! I noticed you don’t add onion, but stated that it is an addition you wouldn’t object to. I am having a hard time not adding it (as I love both onion and garlic!). If I did add it, how much onion would you recommend for your recipe?? Thank you for sharing!!
Hi Yas, great question! I would use one small onion or half of a large one. And I would recommend chopping it small so it blends in seamlessly. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it, would love to hear what you think of it once you try it!
Great recipe for San Marzano tomato sauce! I loved how simple it was to follow and how tasty the sauce turned out. Thank you for sharing!
So thrilled to hear it! And glad it was easy to follow:) Thank you for sharing!
I had made prior sauces but specifically wanted to find a San Marzano recipe. This recipe blew my old one out of the water. Very simple but using good ingredients and using the sun dried tomato paste versus regular tomato paste as well as adding the Parmesian rind and adding the carrot to help offset the acidity made this a velvety great sauce. Do tase to season as I did add a little more salt. Thank you for this recipe. This will be my goto recipe for red sauce.
That means so much, thank you Kyle! I’m so glad this recipe is a new go to for you!! 🙂
4-5 28oz. cans of tomatoes sounds like a lot. Is this amount of tomatoes correct?
it is! You can always freeze leftovers or cut the recipe in half 🙂
My mother-in-law, who was a caterer for most of her life, used the same ingredients, but sometimes she started out with paste or purée all the other ingredients, but she also told me to add a large onion peeled to throw in the sauce, and she also added the carrots delicious
Would this recipe be good to use on home made pizza crust? Thanks.
Hi Donna, I’ve had a number of readers say they have used this for pizza. It’s not an official pizza sauce, but it definitely can be used for pizza! 🙂
Can’t wait to make this sauce. I just returned from Sorrento, where I had such incredible food. I’m inspired to cook more delicious Italian food from scratch. One question – do you chop the San Marzano tomatoes before adding them to the pot? If not, do they naturally break down during the cook? Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Darren, how exciting to hear you just returned from Italy! I’m sure it has filled you with inspiration:) A lot of Italians like to use their hands to break down the tomatoes, but I find when using authentic San Marzano’s they do not need to be broken into pieces because they naturally break down in the sauce. They are very delicate. I also like a textured/chunky sauce, if you prefer it to be smoother you can change the recipe accordingly. Hope you enjoy it!
Can this recipe be canned?
Yes, I’ve had a lot of readers can this recipe!