Go Back

Sunday Sauce (Homemade Spaghetti Sauce)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

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...