How to Make Homemade Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes my Family’s Recipe

This is an authentic Italian homemade tomato sauce recipe that is over 50 years old! Learn how to make homemade tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes with this step by step tutorial. Freeze your leftovers to enjoy on pizza or pasta for the taste of summer all year long.

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Summer Harvest

We usually grow tomatoes in the summertime, but this year we just planted them too late. Luckily the local farm stand down the road had a huge harvest.

We grabbed all the tomatoes we could for this recipe because I wanted to make enough sauce to freeze for later. You know those cold winter days where you’ve just had enough of the cold and you start thinking about spring or summer?

Usually around February I start really missing the heat around here. Sometimes John and I will go on a weekender to somewhere sunny like California or maybe even Hawaii. But if not, it’s nice to have something stored in the freezer that we can pull out and think of summer. That’s what this tomato sauce does for me!

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Authentic and Homemade

When I first met my husband, John, he said that his family was Italian. I later learned that his mom’s side of the family came here from Italy over 50 years ago. Then I met his grandfather, who had this thick, rich, Italian accent. Even to this day I have to have John with me when I talk to him, so he can help me understand his english.

The first time I had this pasta sauce would have been Christmas 2015, when I went to John’s grandparents house for a Christmas dinner. We arrived and could immediately smell the tomatoes simmering on the stove.

I could smell the herbs of basil and parsley, and the garlic and onion was thick in the air. That’s how you know it’s going to be a great dinner.

Everyone was in the kitchen and had their hands in this one big pot on the stove. It was pasta sauce of course. I don’t think there was a single measuring cup or spoon nearby, because “mama” (John’s grandma) knows the recipe by heart. Plus I think everyone was just throwing in whatever they thought would be good in the pot 🙂

So now six years later, after the arrival of our first baby, John’s family came over to help us around the house. I’ve always wanted to get the pasta sauce recipe from his mom, so I thought now was the perfect time to share it!

Thank you to Anna and the family for this amazing 50 year old tomato sauce recipe!

Homemade Tomato Sauce Ingredients

About 15 pounds of seconds tomatoes. Or about 25 to 30 medium sized tomatoes.

bowl of ice cubes & water for an ice bath

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped into small pieces

2 whole heads of garlic, or about 15 cloves, minced

1 carrot, minced

one tablespoon salt

1 tsp pepper

one tablespoon dried basil

1 tsp italian herbs

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Optional add-ins to enhance flavor (I recommend all of them!):

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

How to Make Homemade Tomato Sauce Step by Step

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil on the stove. Fill a separate bowl with ice cubes and water to make an ice bath.

Score your tomatoes by slicing a thin “X” on the bottom of each one with a knife.

Working with about five tomatoes at a time, gently put the tomatoes in the boiling water for about two minutes. Transfer the tomatoes to the ice bath for another two minutes. You want to see the skin of the tomato start to wrinkle when it comes out of the boiling water. If the skin is still tightly on the tomato, leave it in for another 2 minutes. Repeat the process with all the tomatoes.

Dump the boiling water out of the pot, and return it to the stove. Drizzle the olive oil on medium heat and add the onions. Cook for five minutes. Then add the carrots, and cook another 5 minutes.

Turn the stove off and add the garlic. Allow it to cook just slightly.

Meanwhile, remove the skins from the tomatoes. The skin should fall off easily with your fingers. Use a knife to remove the hard interior core of the tomatoes. You may also remove the seeds if you like (we don’t mind leaving them in the sauce). Use a large bowl to collect all the tomato discards, and add them to your garden as nutritious compost.

Add the peeled tomato meat to a large food processor and pulse until blended.

Next add the tomatoes to your large pot with the onions, garlic, and carrot. Turn the heat back on the stove at about medium.

Add the salt, pepper, and herbs. Simmer for about 90 minutes. Combine with an immersion blender if desired. Serve over a bed of pasta or use the sauce in homemade pizza.

Tips for Making Homemade Tomato Sauce

Store in the refrigerator or pour into ziplock bags to freeze for later use. We love pulling this sauce out in the dead of winter to remind us of the sweet tomato flavors of summertime.

Use an immersion blender to combine all the ingredients at the end of the process. This creates a more smooth pasta sauce.

Use a small knife to help core the tomatoes after blanching. You can also remove the seeds if you don’t want them in the sauce. Personally I find that the effort of removing them is not worth not having them in the sauce, so I leave most of them in.

Modify the seasonings to taste. Your tomatoes may taste a little different than ours, so continue to taste the sauce and modify the amount of seasonings to your liking.

Use the tomato sauce on pasta or your favorite homemade pizza recipe.

Have extra tomatoes? Try making homemade tomato soup!

FAQ:

Do you need to peel tomatoes for sauce?

Yes, you want to peel the tomatoes before making the sauce. To do this, boil the tomatoes for two minutes and then place them in an ice bath for another 2 minutes. This process called blanching will loosen the skin so it can peel right off the tomato. Then, cut out the core and seeds from the tomato before chopping it up for the sauce.

What to do with lots of fresh tomatoes?

The best way to use your harvested tomatoes is cook them! Try making tomato sauce, tomato soup, or homemade salsa.

You can make tomato sauce for pizza, pasta, or a delicious topping for meat or fish. Try this homemade tomato sauce recipe on pasta or homemade pizza.

What is the secret ingredient in tomato sauce?

Our secret ingredient is one carrot. The carrot adds some natural sweetener to the sauce so you don’t have to add processed sugar. Also, a great way to use up your carrots!

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