Homemade Pasta Sauce

Never eat sauce from a jar again! Making your own pasta sauce is soo incredibly simple. All it takes is a little bit of time and some tupperware containers and you can have a freezer full of pasta sauce to defrost and use whenever you need!

I love pasta and pasta sauce. At any given time, I have multiple containers in my freezer, just in case. A lot of people think I'm insane for devoting time and effort to making something you can easily purchase at the store. I disagree. Homemade sauce tastes so much better than jarred and is far better for you. One cup of jarred pasta sauce has, on average, over 1000 milligrams of sodium! Not to mention high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, preservatives, additives and fillers. Homemade sauce is a tastier, healthier option and is SO EASY to make. It's also cheaper. This recipe makes at least 4 meals worth. More if you only cook for one or two people. Just cook it up, store the rest in the freezer and enjoy. Save yourself the time, expense and scary additives, just make your own!

See my homemade pasta sauce recipe after the jump.





Prep Time: 2-5 minutes
Cook Time: 60-90 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp minced garlic, or 4 cloves finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 24 oz jars of tomato puree or 2 28 oz cans (or crushed tomatoes, if you prefer)
1 can tomato paste
16 oz water
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
salt and pepper

Step by Step Instructions:
1. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes

2. Add tomato paste, salt and pepper, and herbs

3. Simmer on low for 5 minutes while paste caramelizes and soaks up all the flavors. You want the tomato paste to burn a little bit. It should get dark red and stick to the bottom. Scrape it and keep stirring.

4. Add tomato puree and 16 oz of water, season with pepper

5. Cover and cook covered on medium heat 15 minutes, sauce should be bubbling

6. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for another 30-60 minutes

Tips for great sauce:

• The longer you cook on a low heat, the better the sauce will taste. If I have time, I try to simmer for 2 hours before I cool and freeze for later use.
• Drain your pasta a minute or two before its done and let finish cooking in the sauce - this is an old restaurant trick that makes a huge difference. 
• Time Saver: if you don't have enough time to let your sauce cook for hours - 30 minutes is enough to make a tasty sauce. Save the longer batches for the weekends. 
• This recipe will make a large batch of sauce that you can freeze in single or multiple serving containers for future use. To thaw - fill a glass bowl or pot with hot water and put sauce container in. Leave for 10 then drain and refill with new water and repeat. You should be thawed in 20-30 minutes.