by “Sunday Sauce” is a homemade spaghetti sauce that you cook on the stove for most of the day. I think that’s why Glenn’s family always called it “Sunday Sauce”- because it’s something that you really need most of the day to make- it’s not good for a weeknight/workday supper (unless you work from home in order to check on it periodically, of course).
The original version of this sauce requires frying Italian Sausage and homemade Meatballs in the pan before starting your sauce which gives the sauce a really good flavor. However, we’ve found over the years, that making a vegan version is pretty close in flavor to the original.
If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, you can also make chicken or beef roast simmered in the sauce . If you do add those, just sear them in the pan first before making the sauce (don’t cook it- just a quick brown on each side). Remove them to a plate while you put the sauce together, and then add them back in to pot and let it simmer all day (or a few hours, at least).
One important note is that this sauce is best when made on the stovetop. The lid placement during simmering is important. You want to offset the lid while cooking it. If the lid is on all the way (or even covering the pan too much) the sauce will get too watery from the steam. If that happens, just uncover the sauce fully and simmer until it thickens up slightly again.
I’ve simmered this sauce in a crockpot before…but it’s harder to get the texture right in a crockpot. It’s just so much better and easier to make this only on the stovetop.
The original recipe that Dolly gave me was a pinch of this & a palmful of that. However, being a person who needs to actually measure my ingredients, I had to figure out how much to the measurements that worked for us. Feel free to adjust the spicing levels to your own taste! (fair warning- we add a lot of basil to ours…so it might be too much for some tastes).
This recipe is also easy to adjust to smaller or bigger batches. My basic ratio for the spices is: 1 tsp salt, 1 Tablespoon Basil, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for every 28 oz can of tomatoes.
This is also a recipe that does need to be followed in steps. It’s not overly complicated, but it does probably take me about 30 minutes for the prep & initial cooking steps of the sauce. I usually start first by prepping the onions, garlic, and tomatoes so that everything is ready when I need it.
Sunday Sauce (Homemade Spaghetti Sauce)
Ingredients
- 3 28-ounce cans Whole Peeled Tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can Tomato Paste
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 3 Tablespoons Basil
- ¾ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 large Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Instructions
Prep:
- Dice the onion very small (or put them in the food processor & pulse until small).
- Dice the garlic (I usually use the jarred chopped garlic, so I skip this step).
- One can at a time, put whole peeled tomatoes into a blender or food processor, and blend until fairly smooth; you want the tomatoes mostly broken up- but not completely smooth… there should just be a fairly slight bumpy texture to the tomatoes still. Then pour the blended tomatoes back into the original can until you are ready to make the sauce. Repeat this step for each can of sauce.
Make the Sauce:
- In a large saucepot, heat a couple tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium heat. (if you are cooking any meat with the sauce, salt it and sear it now-just to brown each side- then remove it from the pan and set aside)
- Add the diced onion and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes (about 2-3 minutes) until softened and fragrant.
- Add a 6 oz can of tomato paste into the pot.
- Fill the empty tomato paste can with water, and add the water slowly to the saucepot while stirring to combine.
- Cook the tomato paste mixture for about 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly. (I usually cook it closer to 10 minutes). The original instructions from my mother-in-law was to cook it until "browned"…but to me that sounds misleading because it doesn't "brown" in the typical sense… it's more a certain roux-like texture that you want to cook it down to. You want the water to cook off quite a bit, and should be a fairly thickened texture.
- Then stir in the 3 cans of the tomatoes (that have been blended fairly smooth).
- Add in salt, basil, and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine.
- If you are cooking any meat with the sauce, add it back it now.
- Bring the sauce to a boil.
- Add the lid (but slightly offset it so that there is a gap left open at the top). Then lower the temperature to very low to allow the sauce to just simmer.
Allow it to cook all day:
- Go read a book or watch TV- and enjoy some downtime.
- Check on the sauce occasionally, and give it a quick stir.
- If the sauce is getting too watery, move the lid off the pot more. If the sauce is getting too thick, close the gap on the lid more. Continue to simmer at least 4-5 hours.
Serving:
- About 30 minutes before you want to eat, put a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
- Boil Penne Pasta (the "approved" pasta for this sauce, I am told- LOL), spaghetti, or your favorite pasta according to package directions. Drain water.
- Add your pasta to a plate, ladle the sauce over the pasta & enjoy.
Notes
- This sauce also works great to use as a base for lasagna or eggplant parmesan.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. For longer storage, it can be frozen.
- It freezes wonderfully. Allow it to cool completely, and then ladle it into small jars or other freezer safe containers & store in the freezer up to 3 months. I’ve found it’s best to store it in the size of container that fits best what you will need it for. (i.e. For lasagna, I freeze a 32-ounce jar of sauce. But for Pasta Fagioli, I freeze it in an 8-ounce jar, etc.)
- You can easily make smaller batches.
- If I only use two cans of 28-oz tomatoes, I will still usually use the full can of tomato paste (unless I want a couple tablespoons of paste leftover for another recipe that week). However, if I only use one 28-oz can of tomatoes, I will only use about 1/3 to 1/2 the can of tomato paste.
- My basic ratio for the spices is: 1 tsp salt, 1 Tablespoon Basil, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for every 28-oz can of tomatoes.
- If making smaller batches, just use smaller onions. (i.e. use a large onion for 3 cans of tomatoes, a medium onion for 2 cans of tomatoes, or a small onion for 1 can of tomatoes (or 1/2 large onion), etc).
- This sauce is also easy to make for both vegetarians/vegans & meat eaters for the same meal. I will start the sauce as a vegan sauce, and then separate the sauce into 2 separate pots before adding the meat into one.
- Either 28 or 32 ounce cans of tomatoes are okay. My MIL on the East Coast uses 32 ounce cans of tomatoes, but we can only find 28 ounce cans in the West. Either size will work…
