Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe

Name: Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; ¼ cup tomato paste; ¼ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning; ¼ teaspoon dried basil; 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes, crushed with hands; salt and pepper

January 11, 2021 by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN

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No matter what you call tomato sauce — marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce, pasta sauce, etc. — there’s nothing better than the real thing. If you don’t know how to make homemade pasta sauce, you’ve come to the right place.

That’s a good thing, considering pasta is a go-to meal for many families, and luckily, it’s no longer the nutrition bomb it once was. While white pasta is still on the naughty list, healthier options like whole-wheat, brown rice and gluten-free pasta mean that noodles can be part of a balanced diet.

For pasta sauces, just make sure you skip the jarred ones. They’re often packed with loads of sugar and preservatives — plus, the price can quickly add up.

Instead, make your own homemade pasta sauce in minutes. Make one batch, or double it and freeze extras to always have some on hand.

This tomato sauce recipe tastes great and is so simple to make that you’ll never waste money on those store-bought jars again!

Key Ingredients

There’s nothing complicated about this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe. In addition to seasoning, it contains just a few main ingredients, including:

Tomatoes: Low in calories and high in vitamins C and K, tomatoes pack quite the punch, particularly when you consider their antioxidant content. For instance, lycopene is one fo the best antioxidants when it comes to immunity, and tomato can support the heart, eyes, skin and bones as well.
Olive oil: There’s no need to worry about what type of cooking oil to use when it comes to this recipe. Olive oil is the best option, both due to its traditional use in Italian cuisine and its remarkable health properties. Olive oil is as healthy as it gets, protecting the heart, weight, brain, blood sugar and more.
Garlic: What’s pasta sauce without garlic? That’s a good thing, considering the many health benefits garlic provides. A true super-herb, garlic is an immune-boosting, heart-healthy spice that can support brain and hair health as well.
Basil: It may get overlooked often, but basil is also high in antioxidants and helps combat inflammation and disease.
Onion: Finally, onions are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese, folate, potassium and phosphorus. As such, they help combat disease and support heart, bone, respiratory and brain health.

Homemade pasta sauce ingredients - Dr. Axe

How to Make Homemade Pasta Sauce

Let’s start by heating up the olive oil and adding your chopped nutritious onions. Roughly chopped or finely minced doesn’t matter.

Add the onion, and stir until it softens up. Then add the minced garlic. You’ll want to keep your eye on this one, so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Add the tomato paste, Italian seasoning and basil to the mix, then season with salt and pepper. If you like a bit of heat in your homemade pasta sauce, now’s a good time to add cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.

Be sure to taste while you season, and err on the side of caution. Remember, you can always add more seasoning, but you can’t take any away!

Next, toss in your hand-crushed tomatoes. If you have a thriving tomato plant, you could also use fresh tomatoes in this step to make homemade pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes.

Stir the tomatoes to combine them with all the good ingredients already in the pot, and then bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and let the flavors meld together for 20 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, you can cook the pasta and assemble a side salad. Once the 20 minutes are up, your sauce is ready!

Top your favorite noodles with it and enjoy.

This made-from-scratch, easy homemade pasta sauce recipe takes just half hour from start to finish. If you choose to freeze some, be sure to use within three months.

Pro tip: Freeze the sauce flat in a zip bag. It’ll make thawing a breeze.

Just add it to a sink of warm water, and then continue heating in a sauce pan. No muss, no fuss.

Similar Recipes

Looking for some variations of pasta sauce to try as well? Here are a few to get you started: