Tomato Sauce
Updated Jan. 8, 2025
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 5cups diced yellow onions, red onions or shallots
- Fine sea salt
- 1(28-ounce) can whole peeled, diced, crushed or puréed tomatoes
- 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
- 4 to 5basil stems (optional)
- ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (9 servings)
134 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 447 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Set a medium Dutch oven or similar pot over medium heat, and add 4 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add onions and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring regularly, until onions are lightly golden and tender, 16 to 18 minutes.
- Step 2
In the meantime, pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and use hands to crush, if using whole tomatoes. Pour about 1½ cups water into the can and swirl to rinse any remaining purée off the sides. Add the water to tomatoes in bowl and set aside.
- Step 3
Once onions are soft and golden, add garlic and cook, stirring, until it threatens to turn golden, about 90 seconds. Add tomato paste, if using, and cook until color deepens, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt. If using, add basil stems and red-pepper flakes. Stirring regularly, allow sauce to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until sauce tastes savory and all raw tomato flavor is gone, about 45 minutes.
- Step 4
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Use a hand blender to purée, pass through a food mill or let cool, then purée using a blender or food processor. Tomato sauce can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated or frozen up to 3 months.
Private Notes
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Comments
Trained professional chef who has worked in some of the best kitchens in the world, written massively influential book on cooking, and has cooked literally thousands and thousands of professional meals VS opinion of anonymous person online who declares 5C of onions is too much. Come on! Just trust and try the recipe as the pro suggests, and then evaluate it relative to your tastes and preferences. Who knows, you might learn something new.
I find it amusing that people scoff at the onions but insist on adding sugar or honey. If you cook the onions long enough, they'll add plenty of sweetness and more depth of flavor than sugar or honey. Thank you Samin!
Lovely sauce! I used 2 large yellow onions, subbed 1/2c red wine for 1/2c of the water and doubled the red pepper. Super flavorful and delicious.
Cooked exactly as written, including tomato paste, basil, and red pepper flakes. As others note, the onions really do introduce sweetness. Recipe makes a lot of sauce (way too much for a pound of pasta; use half and freeze the remainder). I found the sauce otherwise bland, and not as good as any of Marcella Hazan's recipes, which are easier and with more personality.
I made it AS-IS. Excellent, basic and versatile tomato sauce. Reminds me of Marcella Hazan's tomato butter sauce, with olive oil instead of butter. The blended onion and water adds quite a bit of volume! I had about 6 cups after all done. I'm going to use this for chicken parmesan tonight and probably another dinner, Penne all'arrabbiata with a bit more chile.
I had a surplus of late summer tomatoes so I made this for Samin's "The Big Lasagna." I added a chopped anchovy filet and 1/2 C cabernet. Will be doing that again! Yummy!!!