This is the basic homemade spaghetti sauce recipe I make when I’m looking for something quick and easy. Store bought brands never seem to have the flavor I’m looking for, so I like to whip up a batch of my own spaghetti sauce when needed. There are a lot of ways you can glorify this sauce to make it your own, or suit the tastes you want or need, but this basic recipe will work in a pinch or when you are just looking for something simple.
First gather your ingredients. Yep, this is all you need. It doesn’t take much to make a basic batch of sauce. I prefer using my own fresh tomatoes, but I never have enough to last me through the year, so store bought canned is what we’re working with today. Hopefully if the weather isn’t too wonky this year I’ll have a good harvest of tomatoes and I can share a homemade tomato sauce recipe with you sometime in the next year. Let’s keep our fingers crossed because nothing compares to home grown tomatos in sauce. Now I’m heading off on a tangent, so let’s get back to our basic sauce.
Ingredients
- 29 oz can of tomato sauce
- 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes in puree
- 6 oz can of tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 large onion, chopped or minced (your choice on how big of chunks you want)
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning (more or less to taste)
Add all ingredients to a sauce pot and simmer for at least 15 min on a medium to low temp. Stir frequently and consider using a breathable splatter guard to help prevent sauce splatters everywhere. The longer this cooks, the thicker it gets. If it gets too thick, you run the risk of a burned flavor in the sauce, so don’t over cook, and I can’t stress enough, stir, stir, stir!
If you have more time and/or want to add another flavor dimension to your sauce, here are some ideas for stir ins that some people enjoy. I’m a veggie monster all the way. I’ll add in a ton of veggies if I can!
- diced celery
- diced green peppers
- roasted red peppers
- olive oil
- black olives
- red, blush or white wine (preferably not cooking wine, they don’t have the same flavor)
- brown sugar
- mushrooms
- sausage
- hamburger
- zucchini
- Kielbasa
- broccoli
- cheese
- crushed red pepper flakes
- clams
- a touch of vinegar (for some tang, maybe apple cider or balsamic)
- Asparagus
- shredded carrots
- basil
- oregano
- salt/pepper
Here are some of my other recipes that might pair well with this sauce, or other creations you create using this sauce:
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