Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

Realizing that my store-bought jarred spaghetti sauce has a lot of sodium, way more than I should be eating as a staple.

I have no desire to spend hours making gourmet sauce, but I should probably start looking into how to convert fresh tomatoes into something better for me.

Ideas? Again, not a labor of love....just reluctant necessity. Shortcuts that don't add more salt or preservatives are heartily welcomed.

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

:cup

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

When I make spaghetti sauce I just use a large can of crushed tomatoes and then season it with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. I've made my own sauce from fresh tomatoes but they take forever to cook down.

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

Same here.I use a large can of crushd tomatoes and 1 can of tomato paste if you like a thicker sauce and you can thin with some water. Then garlic,oregano,basil,parsley, olive oil, SEAsalt

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

Honestly, tomato sauce doesn't have to be a long drawn-out process! (Those long-simmered sauces are a Southern Italian staple. In other regions of Italy they make completely different pasta sauces.) You can make fresh sauces in 10-15 minutes. The key is really just to have good ingredients. A decent olive oil makes a huge difference.


If you have cherry/grape/small tomatoes:

In a large saute pan saute a small diced onion and a clove or two of minced garlic in olive oil over med high heat.

Add a pint of cherry tomatoes, a few leaves of ripped basil, and a sprinkle of salt.

Cook until the tomatoes start to pop. Serve!

I do the same thing with fresh chopped tomatoes, but you have to keep your eye on it. You don't want to overcook the tomatoes. (And don't skimp on the EVOO. :shifty)

If you don't like chunky sauce you're better off using canned (or Box like Pomi) tomatoes if you don't want to simmer for a long time. One of the reasons those sauces are so time-consuming is because of the tomato skins. DH's Nonna used to grind her fresh tomatoes in her food grinder (old-fashioned hand crank thing she brought with her from Italy!) three times before she bottled them to use through the winter. You could peel the tomatoes - cut an X in the bottom, dunk in boiling water for a minute and peel off with a knife - but that takes forever as well. (BTDT) A food mill works nicely if you have one.

Two large cans of crushed tomatoes to 1 medium can of diced tomatoes is my standard batch. Start with one med onion, a carrot, a rib of celery and 2-3 cloves of garlic all diced fine, sauteed in olive oil, then add the tomatoes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and thyme. (Or you could use Italian seasoning plus some extra basil. Be careful of the blends with marjoram; they can taste soapy if you use too much.) Let it simmer on the back of the stove for about 20-30 minutes. You can let it go longer if you want.

Marinara sauces (all veggies) are the fast sauces to make. It's the sauces with meat - Bolognese, or Sunday Gravy - that take hours to simmer.

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

so, I take a bunch of fresh garden tomatos and add a little bit of water...about a 1/4 Cup...throw in the Vitamix and blend. Add seasoning and then serve.

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

Roasted tomato sauce is super easy as well.

Cut tomatoes in half and place on an oiled sheet pan. Toss in some peeled garlic cloves, a sprig or two of thyme, salt, and pepper and roast until soft and juicy. Run that through the blender, adjust the seasonings and serve.

Tomato sauce freezes quite well, so I usually make extra. My definition of "fast food." :)

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

Yum!!!! My mom swears by this when her tomato plants are going crazy and I've been meaning to try it.

My SIL buys a big can (from Sam's Club) of crushed tomatoes, seasons it and lets it cook down for a while. It just requires stirring now and then.

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

When we have tons of green tomatoes at the end of the season DH's family makes picalilly. My dh hates it, though! He prefers my fried green tomatoes, but those are time consuming and I can only take so much standing in front of a hot stove. This year I want to try making a roasted green tomato sauce. Not sure how it would turn out :shrug3 If I make it, I'll let you know how it turned out!

Re: Easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce?
 

If you have an Instant Pot, that's the way to go if you are using fresh tomatoes. I made it that way one time (I really don't make a lot of homemade sauce, I just had some tomatoes to use up that had been given to me from MIL's garden). I basically quartered the tomatoes, poured one cup of water over the top, and added some seasonings, then cooked on high pressure for probably around 10 minutes. Then I took a hand blender and blended it up that way. It turned out great, without a whole lot of extra work or time involved :mrgreen