This simple weeknight tomato sauce can give you that wow, this is good! moment when you don’t have a ton of time – or tomatoes. This started out many years ago as a way to make jarred tomato sauce taste better and slowly morphed into something much more, but with not much more effort. This is how you can cook a truly delicious tomato sauce for pasta, pizza, or whatever you’re craving!
Keep in mind that these are basic guidelines that can be altered as you see fit based upon the application. Want to add meat? Go for it! Craving mushrooms or a cheesier sauce? Sounds good. It’s all about how you build your sauce that really matters here.
Because this sauce is so easy, you might have time time make a quick batch of semolina pasta!
Weeknight Tomato Sauce
Depending on the flavor profile you’re going for, and especially if you’re making pizza sauce, the addition of small amounts of sugar and wine vinegar can greatly improve your results by slightly increasing the sweetness and acidity. For this, check out the last step!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion or 2 shallots, chopped
- Salt
- 4 garlic cloves, diced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce, puree, or diced, depending on your desired final consistency
- Bay leaf
- Thyme sprig
- Basil sprig
- Star anise, half (optional)
- Sugar, as needed (optional)
- Red wine vinegar, as needed (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan or saucier over medium heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and sauté, stirring occasionally until translucent.
- Step 2 Toss in garlic and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Pour in wine and scrape up anything stuck to the pan. Let reduce until almost evaporated.
- Step 3 Add tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, basil, and star anise (if using), and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes to let flavors develop.
- Step 4 Discard bay leaf, thyme, and star anise (if using), and taste for flavor. Add salt if needed.
- Step 5 (Optional) Add sugar to your sauce, a little at a time, until you can just taste it. Then do the same with the vinegar. When you can just taste the vinegar, add a sprinkle of sugar, and your sauce is now complete.
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