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    Home - Recipes - Condiments & Sauces

    Fresh Tomato Sauce

    Sep 17, 2019 · Modified: Aug 11, 2022 by Courtney · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

    232 shares
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    Fresh tomato sauce made from vine ripened tomatoes.  This sauce may take a little bit of your time to make, but the result is delicious! Make and freeze a big batch of this sauce during peak tomato season for fresh sauce for months to come!

    fresh tomato sauce cooking in a pot


    Homemade tomato sauce is one of my favourite pantry staples. I love to have jars on hand for easy pasta nights and I also love to use it as pizza sauce.

    Usually I reach for my go to recipe for basic tomato sauce when I want to make a batch of sauce, but at the end of summer when fresh tomatoes are abundant I love making fresh tomato sauce from garden ripe tomatoes.

    The thought of making your own fresh tomato sauce might feel intimidating at first thinking that it takes a lot of time and work to do it but it really is not that difficult and the taste of sauce from fresh tomatoes is just so much better than canned!

    How to make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes

    Start by boiling a large pot of water for blanching and peeling your tomatoes and setting up a bowl of cold water with ice to cool them in.

    You CAN make tomato sauce without removing the peels first, but if you want a smooth sauce that doesn't contain any bitterness from the peel then I would take the 20 minutes or so to blanch and peel the tomatoes first.

    Once you get going on this task it really doesn't take that much time especially if you work it like a little assembly line.

    First, you slice a little 'x' onto the bottom of each tomato.  This 'x' gives you an easy place to work from when peeling, and when blanched the peel should come off easily in 4 quarters.

    Next, drop about a quarter of the tomatoes into the pot of boiling water and allow the tomatoes to blanch for about 60 seconds.  You don't want to completely cook the tomato, just cook the exterior enough that the skin is easy to peel off.

    Drop the blanched tomatoes into the bowl of ice water and let them cool until they are easy to touch then remove the peels starting with the bottom 'x' on the tomato.

    Complete these steps until all the tomatoes are blanched and peeled.

    a photo collage of how to peel skins off tomatoes

    To begin cooking the sauce, either give the tomatoes a light chop on large cutting board before placing them into a large pot, or place the whole tomatoes directly into the pot and crush them up a bit.

    lightly diced tomatoes in a pot

    Cook the crushed tomatoes for about 20 minutes.  At this point, the tomatoes should be completely soft and cooked and you can blend them with either an immersion blender or a stand blender.  If using the stand blender you will have to do this step in batches.

    After the sauce has been blended, add the crushed garlic and chopped fresh basil to the pot and season generously with sea salt and ground pepper.

    Cook for another 10-15 minutes, then allow the sauce to cool in preparation for storing it.

    fresh tomato sauce in a mason jar surrounded by tomatoes, basil and garlic

    Storing fresh tomato sauce

    I like to put this sauce straight into the freezer after cooking it.  It will hold up well in the fridge in an airtight container for at least 5 days, but with almost 8 cups of sauce in a batch you will likely need to freeze some.

    I freeze tomato sauce in a couple of different ways: plastic freezer bag, reuseable plastic container, or mason jar.

    Freezer bags work best in situations where you don't have a lot of freezer space.  You can ladle portions into the bags, remove the excess air and seal, then lay the bag flat down to freeze.  This method takes up the least amount of space in your freezer, and the bags are easy to label and stack on each other for organization.

    Reusable plastic containers or mason jars are what I use most of the time.  They take up more space but I have an upright deep freezer so space isn't something I worry about.  One note on using mason jars though - I have had a jar crack once.  To minimize this from happening, make sure that you cool the sauce in the fridge completely before putting it away in the freezer. When you want to thaw it let it thaw in the fridge for a day or two before use.  The glass is more likely to crack when it moves between extreme temperatures.

    Dietary Considerations and Accommodations

    This recipe for fresh tomato sauce is suitable for the following diets:

    • vegan and vegetarian
    • clean eating and Whole30
    • gluten free
    • dairy free
    • low carb and keto friendly

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    More recipes you’ll love!

    If you like this fresh tomato sauce, you might want to check out some of our other easy homemade sauces and dressings:

    • Basil sauce
    • Buttermilk ranch dressing
    • Basic tomato sauce

    If you have made this recipe we’d love to see it! Tag us on Insta @loveandgoodstuff.
    Loved this? Don’t forget to rate it below!

    fresh tomato sauce in a pot topped with fresh basil.
    Print Recipe
    4.41 from 5 votes

    Fresh tomato sauce

    Homemade tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes
    Prep Time25 mins
    Cook Time35 mins
    Course: Sauce
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 8 cups
    Calories: 73kcal
    Author: Courtney
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    Ingredients:

    • 6 pounds Roma tomatoes
    • 1 cup packed basil leaves
    • 8 cloves garlic
    • sea salt and pepper

    Instructions

    To peel the tomatoes:

    • Boil a large pot of water and slice a small 'x' in the bottom of each tomato.
    • Working in batches, blanch the tomatoes in the pot for about 30 seconds (to loosen the skin place them in a large bowl filled with cold water to cool.
    • when the tomatoes are cool, peel the skins from the tomatoes. They should peel off easily in quarters from where you made the x.

    To cook the sauce:

    • Chop the tomatoes lightly and place them into a large pot. Bring the tomatoes to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
    • Simmer the tomatoes for about 30 minutes then puree with an immersion blender. If you are using a stand blender, you will need to do this step in batches.
    • Add the crushed garlic and basil leaves to the pot and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

    Notes

    • calorie information is per cup of sauce

    Nutrition

    Calories: 73kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 19mgPotassium: 906mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 4394IUVitamin C: 53mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 2mg

    * nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @loveandgoodstuff or tag #loveandgoodstuff!
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    About Courtney

    I'm Courtney and I love great food!

    Creating delicious meals, photographing them, and sharing them with friends and family are some of my favourite joys ❤️
    More about Love & Good Stuff

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Toni Dash says

      September 04, 2020 at 3:04 pm

      This is such an amazing tomato sauce recipe! A new staple at my kitchen!

      Reply
      • Courtney says

        September 04, 2020 at 7:41 pm

        Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    2. Laura says

      September 04, 2020 at 3:08 pm

      Perfect timing finding this. I have so many tomatoes right now and this sauce is just what I was looking for. The tomatoes shine in this sauce.

      Reply
      • Courtney says

        September 04, 2020 at 7:42 pm

        Yes! It's the perfect season for this sauce right now. I hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    3. Angela says

      September 04, 2020 at 3:54 pm

      The perfect recipe for the end of the summer growing season. Easy to follow with great resuls.

      Reply
    4. Soniya says

      September 04, 2020 at 6:14 pm

      This tomato sauce perfect for allteh tomatoo growing in my garden.. can't wait to try it.

      Reply
    5. Jacque Hastert says

      September 04, 2020 at 9:52 pm

      I know what I am making tomorrow! I have a ton of fresh tomatoes that I need to use up. Thanks for sharing this and I will be back to tell you how it came out.

      Reply
    6. Jeannette says

      October 19, 2020 at 11:09 pm

      I am looking at this recipe at the middle of October when tomatoes are out of season, but I am going to save it and make next year.
      Thank you for your easy-to-follow reactions! I have never made spaghetti sauce before!

      Reply
    7. Jeannette says

      October 19, 2020 at 11:17 pm

      I meant to say easy-to-follow directions!!!!!

      Reply
      • Courtney says

        October 20, 2020 at 3:49 pm

        You're so welcome! I'm really excited for you to try it - fresh spaghetti sauce is great, and so easy once you get the hang of it!

        Reply

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