Simple Homemade Tomato Sauce (small-batch)

A quick and easy homemade tomato sauce recipe! Fairly hands-off, it can be ready to eat in 45 minutes. Let it sit longer to develop deeper, richer flavour.

This is one of those recipes where I was like, “Should I even bother sharing this?” In the end I decided yes, I should share it, because it’s just so darn easy and tastes great. There are three homemade tomato sauce recipes I tend to rotate through, however, this one, without a doubt, appears most often on our kitchen table.

A versatile sauce, I use this recipe for pasta (like this Italian sausage pasta bake), as a pizza base, a dip for snacks like mozza sticks or garlic bread, and as a topping for chicken or eggplant parm. All you really have to do is chop two cloves of garlic and open a can of crushed tomatoes. The rest of the time is spent waiting.

This homemade tomato sauce cooks for 45 minutes, after which time you can go ahead and serve it. That being said, after the sauce has cooked, I prefer to turn the heat off of the burner, and let it sit in the pot for about 4 hours. I find this extra cooling time brings out a deeper, richer, darker flavour that’s lacking at first. I hope you enjoy this super simple recipe as much as my family does!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Notes & Tips
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

Step-By-Step Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a cast iron or heavy bottomed pot over medium to low heat.

While the oil is heating, chop the garlic.

Add the garlic to the olive oil and cook until fragrant and lightly golden, about two to three minutes. The oil should sizzle, however, you don’t want the garlic to turn brown too quickly. If this begins to happen reduce the heat slightly. You basically just want to infuse the olive oil with garlic flavour.

When the garlic begins to turn golden, add the chilli flakes and continue to cook for one minute.

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Open the can of crushed tomatoes and add its contents to the pot.

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Give the sauce a good stir to combine the olive oil, garlic, and chillis with the crushed tomatoes.

Place the lid on the pot and leave it slightly ajar, to allow steam to escape (the lid simply helps reduce splattering on your stove top). When you hear the sauce begin to sputter, set the timer for 45 minutes. Check the sauce, stirring occasionally, to ensure it isn’t burning on the bottom of the pot. If this happens, reduce the heat slightly (I usually set mine around number two on my burner dial).

Once the 45 minutes is over, turn off the heat. You can either serve the homemade tomato sauce immediately or let it sit in the pot for three to four hours to develop deeper darker flavour. Store in the fridge, inside a glass or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, for up to one week.

Notes & Tips

This recipe doubles well.

It doesn’t really matter what brand of crushed tomatoes you use, especially if you let the sauce sit for four hours after cooking. I’ve had great luck with both fancy Italian brands and generic grocery store brands.

Increase the amount of garlic and/or chilli flakes to suit your taste. With a young child, I go easy on both as it sits better in her system, and she doesn’t tolerate much heat yet.

Store homemade tomato sauce in a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid in the fridge for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to three months.

Substitutions

You can use whole or diced canned tomatoes if you don’t have crushed. I always have crushed tomatoes in my pantry because then I don’t have to a) bother puréeing my homemade tomato sauce, or b) wash my immersion stick blender. If using whole or diced tomatoes, follow the recipe in its entirety and purée once cool.

Feel free to add any fresh or dried herbs you like. A handful of fresh chopped basil leaves stirred in would be fantastic!

Recipes To Make With Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ricotta Gnudi Delicate, pillowy dumplings similar to their cousin gnocchi, but made with ricotta cheese instead of cooked potato.

Air Fryer Pizza Rolls A super crispy, fast, and fun snack perfect for game day.

Restaurant-Style Chicken Parm Make this classic comfort food at home, better than any restaurant!

Pull-Apart Garlic Bread A simple recipe using basic bread dough.

Did you make this recipe? If yes, I would love to know how you made out in the comments below! You can also tag me on Instagram @kellyneildotcom or use the hashtag #kellyneil.