Basic Tomato Sauce for Pasta
The basic sauce is four ingredients: peeled tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil. The secret is simmering it gently for 40 minutes until the oil floats to the surface — the sign that the water has cooked off and the flavour has concentrated.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Calories
- 95
Photo: Dennis Klein klein2 — CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
This sauce underpins half of Italian cooking: pizza, lasagne, any pasta. The usual mistake is simmering it for ten minutes and calling it done, which leaves it sharp and watery. The long, gentle cook is the whole difference.
Method
-
1
Soften the onion and garlic
Heat the olive oil over medium heat and soften the onion for five minutes without colouring it, then the garlic for one minute only — burnt garlic turns the sauce bitter.
⏱ 7 min -
2
The tomatoes
Crush the tomatoes by hand and add them with half a cup of water (used to rinse out the tin). Add the salt and sugar.
⏱ 3 min -
3
The slow cook
Half-cover and simmer gently for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring now and then. You'll see the colour deepen and the oil rise to the surface — that's the sign it's done.
⏱ 40 min -
4
The basil
Off the heat, add the fresh basil leaves. The residual heat is enough to release the aroma without blackening them.
-
5
Texture
For a smooth sauce, give it two pulses with a stick blender. For pasta, it's better left slightly coarse.
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Tips that actually matter
- Tinned peeled tomatoes beat fresh ones here — they're picked ripe and give more colour and flavour.
- The oil floating on top isn't a fault — it's the sign of a finished sauce, and it emulsifies back in when you stir.
- It freezes beautifully for up to three months. Make a big batch and portion it into bags.
- A parmesan rind, if you have one: drop it in while the sauce simmers and fish it out at the end — it adds remarkable depth.
People also ask
Why is my sauce sharp?
It didn't cook long enough. Acidity mellows with a long simmer. Half a teaspoon of sugar helps, but it's no substitute for the 40 minutes.
Can I add mince?
Yes — that makes it a bolognese. Brown 300g of minced beef before the tomatoes and carry on as normal, but extend the cooking to an hour.
Fresh or tinned tomatoes?
Tinned are better and more consistent. If you use fresh, pick very ripe ones, blanch for a minute and peel them.
Cook mode
Basic Tomato Sauce for Pasta
-
1
Soften the onion and garlic
Heat the olive oil over medium heat and soften the onion for five minutes without colouring it, then the garlic for one minute only — burnt garlic turns the sauce bitter.
-
2
The tomatoes
Crush the tomatoes by hand and add them with half a cup of water (used to rinse out the tin). Add the salt and sugar.
-
3
The slow cook
Half-cover and simmer gently for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring now and then. You'll see the colour deepen and the oil rise to the surface — that's the sign it's done.
-
4
The basil
Off the heat, add the fresh basil leaves. The residual heat is enough to release the aroma without blackening them.
-
5
Texture
For a smooth sauce, give it two pulses with a stick blender. For pasta, it's better left slightly coarse.
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