How to make homemade pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes, vegetables, and herbs. Perfect for serving with spaghetti and other hearty pastas.
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This post was all about how to make homemade pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes.
One of the best things about summer is eating fresh food from the garden, like homegrown tomatoes, peppers, squash, and fresh herbs. Summer is also a great time to look for locally grown, seasonal produce at the farmer’s market or grocery store.
If you are lucky enough to have so many fruits and vegetables that you are wondering what to do with them, here is a recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce made using fresh tomatoes and other fresh produce and herbs.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is easy to make using fresh ingredients from the garden, farmer’s market, or your CSA box. Look for heirloom tomatoes or locally grown tomatoes at your supermarket—the best flavors can be found when tomatoes are in season in your area.
What You’ll Need to Make Homemade Pasta Sauce
Stock Pot.
A stock pot is great for making homemade pasta sauce, soups, and more.
Large Spoon.
Use a large spoon to stir ingredients as the homemade spaghetti sauce is cooking.
Meat Masher.
A meat masher is a tool that can be used to break up ground meat as it cooks. The meat masher can also be used to mash the tomatoes as they cook in the pot.
Tomatoes + Fresh Vegetables.
Fresh tomatoes are the main ingredient in this pasta sauce recipe, but other fresh vegetables, like eggplant, yellow squash, and zucchini, can be added to bulk up the pasta sauce.
The best tomatoes to make homemade spaghetti sauce include San Marzano tomatoes, roma tomatoes and other types of paste tomatoes, like Amish Paste tomatoes, and Opalka tomatoes. Costoluto Fiorentino and Pantano Romanesco tomatoes are also good for making sauce, as are Costoluto Genovese tomatoes.
Fresh Herbs.
Fresh herbs from the farmer’s market or garden are great for seasoning pasta sauce. Use herbs like basil, oregano, parsley, and rosemary.
Italian Seasoning.
Dried Italian seasoning blend is a must have for seasoning Italian style recipes.
Ladle.
Use a ladle to spoon pasta sauce over freshly cooked pasta or noodles.
Pasta Server.
A pasta server or spaghetti fork makes it easier to serve cooked pasta. The center hole helps you measure out one serving of dry spaghetti pasta.
Pasta Bowls.
Pasta bowls have the perfect shape for serving spaghetti and other types of pasta–not too shallow, not too tall, and just the right width for displaying your favorite pasta creations.
Tips on Using Fresh Tomatoes to Make Pasta Sauce
Homegrown tomatoes or locally grown tomatoes shine in this recipe. If you don’t have a garden, visit a farmer’s market or grocery store to look for heirloom tomatoes or Italian or paste-type tomato varieties.
Paste tomatoes—like roma and San Marzano tomatoes or Amish Paste, Jersey Giant, Opalka, and SuperSauce Hybrid tomatoes—have a meaty texture that lends itself well to making pasta sauce. These tomatoes tend to have less water and seeds, making them easier to slice and prepare for making homemade pasta sauce.
Other types of tomatoes can be used to make pasta sauce and add good flavor to the sauce. These include Italian heirloom tomatoes like Costoluto Fiorentino, Cour di Bue, or Pantano Romanesco tomatoes.
If heirloom or Italian-style tomatoes aren’t available, use whatever good flavored tomatoes you can get. Look for fruit with firm flesh and taut, unblemished skin. Slice the tomatoes and remove the seeds, before chopping the remaining tomato flesh and adding it to the sauce to cook.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce—Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
Sometimes fresh ingredients, like tomatoes, vegetables, or herbs, are not available. Here are some tips on substitutions for this recipe.
Tomatoes.
Substitute 2 (28-oz.) cans of canned whole tomatoes for fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes should break down as they cook. For a chunkier sauce leave bite-sized chunks of tomato in the sauce. For a smoother sauce, purée the tomatoes before adding them to the pot to cook.
Fresh Vegetables.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe uses carrots, onion, celery, and zucchini—about 3 cups of chopped fresh vegetables—as ingredients. Summer squash may be substituted for zucchini.
Fresh Basil.
Substitute 1 tsp of dried basil for each tablespoon of fresh basil.
Fresh Oregano.
Substitute 1 tsp of dried oregano for each tablespoon of fresh oregano.
Fresh Parsley.
Substitute 1 tsp of dried oregano for each tablespoon of fresh parsley.
Fresh Rosemary.
Substitute 1 tsp of dried oregano for each tablespoon of fresh rosemary.
Fresh Bay Leaves.
Substitute 2 dried bay leaves for 1 fresh bay leaf.
Ground Beef. Ground turkey or ground venison can be substituted for ground beef. Make sure the meat is fully cooked before adding the vegetables, herbs, and stock to simmer.
Ground Italian Sausage.
Pork-based ground Italian sausage adds lots of flavor to homemade spaghetti sauce. You can substitute ground turkey Italian sausage, if preferred.
How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Preparing ingredients beforehand makes it easier to make homemade spaghetti sauce. Chop, slice or dice vegetables, mince fresh herbs, and measure out dried herbs and spices before making the sauce.
Mixing bowls and small kitchen bowls are a great way to store prepped ingredients to add to the pot as you go along.
If desired, peel the tomatoes before coring and chopping them to add to the spaghetti sauce. To peel tomatoes, cut an X-shape in the blossom end. Then blanch the tomatoes in simmering water for 2 to 3 minutes.
Place the tomatoes in ice water to cool. Once the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins, slice the tomatoes, remove the seeds, and chop into bite-sized pieces.
To make homemade spaghetti sauce or pasta sauce
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrots to the pot. Cook the vegetables for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start to soften and turn golden brown.
Add ground beef and ground Italian sausage to the pot. Cook the ground meat 10 to 12 minutes, or until the meat is fully cooked. Break the ground meat into small pieces as it cooks, using a meat masher or a large spoon.
Add fresh rosemary, oregano, garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes to the pot. Stir the fresh herbs for 20 to 30 seconds to allow flavors to bloom.
Next, stir in fresh basil leaves and chopped fresh parsley. Tear large basil leaves into halves or smaller pieces before adding to the pot.
Add sugar or honey, ground black pepper, salt, chopped tomatoes, and chicken stock or water to the pot. Stir to combine the ingredients.
Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer the ingredients for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are tender. Use a meat masher to crush the tomatoes as they cook if you desire smaller tomato pieces in your sauce.
Serve homemade spaghetti sauce over cooked spaghetti pasta or other types of cooked hearty pasta shapes.
What to Serve with Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Our favorite way to eat homemade spaghetti sauce is to ladle over spaghetti pasta in pasta bowls. But the sauce also tastes great over other types of cooked pasta, like penne rigate and ziti pastas.
You can even use homemade spaghetti sauce to add to layers between lasagna noodles. Just don’t forget to add the cheese.
Great side dishes for homemade spaghetti sauce and cooked pasta include sautéed green beans, and warm bread rolls or garlic bread.
Refrigerate leftover homemade spaghetti sauce in an food storage container for up to 3 days. Spaghetti sauce can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
How to Freeze Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
One of the best things about making homemade spaghetti sauce is having leftovers for later meals. Spaghetti sauce is easy to freeze in a few steps.
First, allow the homemade spaghetti sauce to cool. Transfer the cooled spaghetti sauce to heavy duty freezer bags (quart size bags work for storing 2 to 3 servings), being careful not to spill the sauce.
Or transfer the homemade spaghetti sauce to freezer storage containers. Freezer storage containers are great for storing runny or liquid-y foods, like sauce and soup, in the freezer.
Freezing spaghetti sauce in 2 to 4-cup portions makes it easy to store and reheat small amounts of sauce at a time.
Leave some space for the spaghetti sauce to expand in the freezer—about 1 inch headspace is a common rule of thumb for storing. Food tends to expand as it freezes.
Freeze the spaghetti sauce for up to 2 months. Thaw the spaghetti sauce overnight in the refrigerator before reheating to serve.
How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Using Fresh Tomatoes
Here is a recipe for making homemade spaghetti sauce by using fresh tomatoes as an ingredient.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Using Fresh Tomatoes
Ingredients
For ground meat and vegetables:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 1 medium bell pepper cored and diced
- 2 celery ribs sliced
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 1 large or 2 small zucchini trimmed and diced
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
For the tomato sauce:
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves lightly packed, torn
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tsp granulated sugar or honey
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- 8 to 10 cups diced tomatoes about 4 to 5 lbs. large tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock or water
- 1 lb. spaghetti pasta cooked and drained, to serve
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrots to the pot. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables start to soften and turn golden brown.
- Add ground beef and ground Italian sausage to the pot. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, or until the meat is fully cooked. Break the meat into small pieces as it cooks, using a meat masher or a large spoon.
- Add fresh rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes to the pot. Stir 20 to 30 seconds, to allow flavors to bloom.
- Stir in fresh basil and parsley. Add sugar or honey, ground black pepper, salt, chopped tomatoes, and chicken stock or water to the pot. Stir to combine ingredients.
- Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are tender. Serve homemade spaghetti sauce over cooked spaghetti pasta.
This post was all about how to make homemade pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes.
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credits
- Photo by Heather Gill / Unsplash
- Photos are for illustrative purposes only.