Quick Fresh Tomato Sauce

By David Tanis

Updated July 2, 2024

Quick Fresh Tomato Sauce
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(4,638)
Comments
Read comments

When tomatoes are at their ripest, make a batch of fresh tomato sauce. At the market, look for the cracked, slightly bruised tomatoes sold at a discount. The flesh of the tomato should be dense, sweet and blood red. This makes a very fresh- and bright-tasting sauce in a manageable small batch. Take advantage of good tasty tomatoes and fill a few zip-top bags for the freezer.

Featured in: The Time Is Right to Make Tomato Sauce

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Ingredients

Yield:About 2½ cups
  • 5pounds tomatoes
  • ¾teaspoon salt
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 1tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1garlic clove, halved
  • 1basil sprig
  • 1bay leaf
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (5 servings)

133 calories; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 398 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

  1. Step 1

    Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Squeeze out the seeds and discard, if you wish. Press the cut side of tomato against the large holes of a box grater and grate tomato flesh into a bowl. Discard skins. You should have about 4 cups.

  2. Step 2

    Put tomato pulp in a low wide saucepan over high heat. Add salt, olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, basil and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a brisk simmer.

  3. Step 3

    Reduce the sauce by almost half, stirring occasionally, to produce about 2½ cups medium-thick sauce, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. It will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator or may be frozen.

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5 out of 5
4,638 user ratings
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Comments

Todd

Rather than grate the tomatoes, immerse them for three to five minutes in a very hot bath and then watch the skins glide away from the tomatoes. Probably a lot cleaner and there's less waste.

Rami

I buy 60-80 plum tomatoes. Quarter, salt, lots of olive oil. Roast at 400 degrees for 2.5 hours, moving the tomatoes around. Using immersion blender or potato masher soften the mix and return to oven at 350 for another hour. Remove, mash some more. I store in 2 cup boxes (yield is about 5)in the freezer. Tweak the sauce depending on dish: ginger, onion, garlic and garam masala for indian dishes, sumac for a med touch, garlic for pasta sauce and eggplant Melanzane and many others.

mdurphy

Sorry Mr Tanis, but we all think we know the best way for this recipe, and I think it is a rustic, quick, fresh sauce: no tomato paste or long simmering please. Use very ripe heirloom/beefsteak tomatoes, chunk them into 1/2" or bigger pieces (the skins add flavor, nutrition and texture); briefly saute 1 clove garlic (at least)/2 pounds tomatoes in EVOO; add tomatoes and turn up the heat to high to reduce rapidly to half: 10 min max. Salt to taste. Basil is optional.

Gayle Murry

Don't sauté or boil the ripe tomatoes. Slice top from about 5 tomatoes, then squeeze to remove seeds. Dice tomatoes, add minced garlic, salt to taste and enough olive oil to just cover the tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature. Serve over your choice of pasta and top with Parmesan cheese. Absolutely delicious fresh taste.

-Susan K-

I made it with Tuttoroso crushed tomatoes and a small can of Tuttoroso tomato paste. Plus seasonings. It was so fresh! And quick.

Richard X

A can of tomato paste does not make a "fresh" sauce!

Kathleen

Delicious! Added 2 tablespoons butter and Italian seasoning. Simmered for about an hour.

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