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Home » Pasta and pasta sauces

Fresh tomato sauce for pasta (pasta sauce)

26/06/2021 by Judith Leave a Comment

Fresh tomato sauce can be used for many pasta dishes and is easy to make using common kitchen ingredients.

A spoonful of homemade tomato sauce over a pan.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

You can use it to make lasagne, cannelloni or spaghetti bolognaise. It is also great combined with fresh Mediterranean vegetables to make ratatouille.

It can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge. It can also be prepared in bulk and frozen.

Alternatively, you can make your own pasta sauce using tinned tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • 500g fresh tomatoes - any type of tomato can be used so long as they are ripe or slightly overripe.
  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 3 large cloves garlic
  • A small dried chilli - optional
  • 1 tablespoon tomato purée
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil - or homemade seasoning for pasta sauce.
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano - or homemade seasoning for pasta sauce.
  • Dash of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Water
A basket of tomatoes, an onion, bulb of garlic, a chilli and a spoonful of dried herbs.

How to prepare

Finely chop the onions and dried chilli. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves.

Roughly chop the tomatoes. It is not necessary to remove the skins as the sauce will be blended.

Gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli in olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and heat gently for a few minutes.

Add the tomato purée and salt and pepper, stir, and simmer for a few minutes.

A pan containing sauce.

Blend using a hand blender until fairly smooth. The sauce will be quite thick so you will need to add water to bring it to the thickness you want. This will vary depending on your how you plan to use the sauce for example you may want a thinner sauce for lasagne, or a thicker sauce for stirring into pasta.

A pan of tomato sauce.

Tips

  1. If you would like a chunky sauce then there is no need to blend it. A chunky sauce is suitable for dishes such as ratatouille.
  2. The amount of chilli can be varied depending on how spicy you want the sauce to be, or it can be omitted.
  3. Fresh tomato sauce isn't just for serving with pasta, you could also serve it alongside a variety of other dishes such as nut roast or apricot and nut sausages.

Recipes to use with homemade tomato sauce

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  • A close up view of Mediterranean vegetable stew.
    Mediterranean vegetable stew (ratatouille with beans)
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Fresh tomato sauce for pasta

Fresh tomato sauce for pasta

Fresh tomato sauce is perfect for many pasta dishes including lasagne and cannelloni. It is easy to make and can be prepared in bulk for convenience.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Condiment, Main Course
Cuisine European
Servings 3
Calories 96 kcal

Equipment

  • Large saucepan with lid
  • Hand blender

Ingredients
 
 

  • 500 g fresh tomatoes
  • 1 red onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 small dried chilli
  • 1 tablespoon tomato purée
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch pepper
  • Water

Instructions
 

  • Finely chop the onion and dried chilli. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
  • Roughly chop the tomatoes. The skins do not need to be remo ved.
  • Gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli in a little olive oil for a few minutes until soft.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and heat gently for a few minutes.
  • Add the tomato purée and salt and pepper to taste, stir and simmer for a few minutes.
  • Blend using a hand blender until fairly smooth. Add water and stir to make the soup the thickness you require.

Nutrition

Calories: 96kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 25mgPotassium: 505mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1475IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Sauce, Tomatoes
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Welcome to Veggie Ideas! I'm Judith and I created this site out of a love of good food, home cooking and a desire to share recipes so that others can enjoy them too. 

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