Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe (2024)

I find it amusing that people scoff at the onions but insist on adding sugar or honey. If you cook the onions long enough, they'll add plenty of sweetness and more depth of flavor than sugar or honey. Thank you Samin!

Lovely sauce! I used 2 large yellow onions, subbed 1/2c red wine for 1/2c of the water and doubled the red pepper. Super flavorful and delicious.

Trained professional chef who has worked in some of the best kitchens in the world, written massively influential book on cooking, and has cooked literally thousands and thousands of professional meals VS opinion of anonymous person online who declares 5C of onions is too much. Come on! Just trust and try the recipe as the pro suggests, and then evaluate it relative to your tastes and preferences. Who knows, you might learn something new.

I love anything that starts with lots of cooked onions and garlic, so 5 cups is fine by me!

sounds like a lot, but 2 good sized onions equal about 5 cups. It's just more precise than saying "dice 2 onions. . "Lovely sauce! I used 2 large yellow onions, subbed 1/2c red wine for 1/2c of the water and doubled the red pepper. Super flavorful and delicious.

from Samin’s Salt Fat Acid Heat: “Ever since that sauce-making competition at Chez Panisse, I’ve learned dozens and dozens of different methods for making basic tomato sauce, but the truth of the matter is that all of the variations—using onion or not, adding basil or oregano, puréeing or milling—offer little more than personal flourish. You can do it however you like; most important is to use the best-tasting tomatoes and olive oil you can find, and to get the salt right.

For the basil stems, is that just the stem with no basil «leaves» attached? And we take it out before blending or leave in?

Is that just the stems from a basil plant or the stems with leaves?

5 cups of onions may seem a lot, but it is not. Cooked long and slow with salt, the onions will melt and disintegrate in the sauce giving loads of sweetness, and a depth of flavor that can not be matched with less.This sauce reminds me of "Elena's Peasant Sauce" from Sara Leah Chase's Open House Nantucket cookbook, which also calls for 5 cups of onion. I've made it often, and always people love it and ask for the recipe.But, 1 1/2 cup H2O worries me. I may start with less. Samin is the best!

Our mom's, grandma's and nana's have all been making sauce for years. My sauce is also different. But the point is to try something new and expanding your horizons. And this recipe is as simple as it gets.

I say never question Samin. She is so generous with her recipes. She gives you the freedom to adjust to what you have or your personal tastes. Most chefs do not do that. I'm all about the onions. Sauce is simmering away right now.

A delicious and entertaining recipe! (I loved the drama of threatening garlic.) Added an extra garlic clove and only 1 cup of water. The full 5 cups of diced onions (I used 1 red, 1.5 yellow) took a bit longer before they became golden, but the wait produced a remarkably sweet sauce without any added sugar. I used whole peeled tomatoes; heeding Samin’s instructions, I broke them down with my hands. While we often crave convenience in the kitchen, this visceral act was incredibly rewarding.

Made exactly as written except the basil, used most for Samin's Nosrat's "The Big Lasagna". The key is to use a dutch oven (so the onions/garlic don't burn), use a FULL 5 cups (this was approximately 15 small onions for me) and salt appropriately. Doing this led to the MOST delicious sauce I've ever had (and I've made the famous Marcella Hazan 3-ingredient sauce). I could eat a bowl of this like soup. Note - I let it cool for about 15 minutes and then blended with a regular blender.

For one 28 oz can of tomatoes how about 5 tablespoons of onions.

onion seems a bit too much and i never like mixing onion and garlic otherwise good recipe

I was skeptical about the quantity of onions but so happy with the results!!!Low effort, big reward :)

Thank you, Samin. I only wanted to note that for the simmer portion of the recipe I opted to throw the Dutch oven into my oven rather than cook on the stovetop. It’s a nice option, and it’s harder to accidentally burn the sauce on the bottom of the pan.

I bought way too many tomatoes so I’m wondering if I can use fresh ones instead of canned ones. Has anyone tried?

Excellent sauce! I made it as written for the most part -- just let it stay on warm/low longer because I needed more time. Also, I like the small chunks of tomato so I did not blend or puree the sauce. My Dutch oven may be my most valued piece of cookware, and it really does the trick for sauces every time.

The yellow onions (5 cups) were too strong. Maybe sweet onions instead.

Made as written and it’s delicious. Used as a base for minestrone and for a vegetarian lasagna. Have a batch on the stove as I write.

My go to recipe for tomato soup and sauce. Simple, easy and delicious. The only difference between the soup and sauce is obviously the consistency plus I add a very small amount of heavy cream or sour cream to the soup.

Made this according to the directions. It was delicious however I found it bordered on being closer to a tomato soup in taste, as opposed to sauce, due to the amount of onion.

So good and so easy! So much better than sauce from a jar! I added some dried basil because It was unclear to me what a stem of Basil meant. It was a big hit!

OK .Made this tonight when summer tomatoes are abundant in CT. However, went with canned San Marzano. But not just any canned San Marzano. Have used Cento brand for decades, but after reading deeply into this, seems they are as improperly labelled as the longstanding Italian Olive oil scam. Splurged on those sold by Gustiamo online, maybe double the price/28oz can. Best simple red sauce I've ever had. Did not cook down for time suggested. Don't like my sauces thick. Otherwise, by the book.

Sorry, not quite by the book. Left out tomato paste

1 cup onion = around 120g

for lentils add extra 1 1/2 cups water

Loved this recipe, I only had leftovers to cook with and this turned out lovely, even scaled down to a third of the original portion. Even though i didn't follow all the measurements to the T this is a helpful guide for the basics of an easy tomato sauce.

In fairness this recipe does not claim to be Italian (although suggested for use on pasta, pizza, etc.)--a good thing as it would not be recognized in Italy. It's also not so "simple," with dicing 5 cups of onions, then using a blender. Here in Italy, simple means putting a whole garlic clove (or half an onion but not both) in a pan with canned tomatoes or purée, olive oil and basil, cooking for half an hour, then removing the garlic/onion before adding the cooked pasta and serving. Simple.