Simple Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe

This authentic Italian tomato sauce recipe is simple without many flavors or spices; garlic and basil are all you need. It is the basic principle of authentic Italian cuisine: simplicity is the winner when the tomatoes are tasty and full of flavor. Pasta al pomodoro o pasta asciutta is the pasta Italians would eat daily during the week. It has to be quick and made with easy Italian staple ingredients.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Serving
• Storing
• Top tips
• Italian Marinara sauce vs sugo al pomodoro
• The myth of San Marzano tomatoes
• FAQ
• Recipes you might also like
• 📋Simple Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe

Italian everyday meals are structured into 3 courses:

• Primo piatto: first serving, usually a simple pasta al pomodoro also called pasta asciutta
• Secondo piatto: meat or fish
• Contorno: side dish
• Fruit

During busy weeknights, this primo piatto has to be simple, quick, and easy to make with ingredients you always find in an Italian kitchen.

Simplicity is one of the main principles of authentic Italian cooking.

As the meat or fish is served after, the primo piatto is primarily a vegan dish. We add Parmesan cheese, Pecorino cheese or Ricotta Salata, depending on the region.

Other simple vegan or vegetarian pasta we would serve as primo piatto are: Red Pesto Pasta Sauce, The Classic Pesto Recipe Pasta Trofie, Pasta Caprese Salad, Pasta alla Norma

For more information on how Italian structure their meals, you can read the article: Italian Sunday dinner a 6 meal courses

Ingredients

Type of tomatoes

Normally, we use long tomatoes for tomato sauce, and the best are San Marzano tomatoes (read more about San Marzano tomatoes below).

If you cannot find them, long tomatoes like Roma will do.

Even better if you have your own garden tomatoes during the summer months.

If you want to make this tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, you can follow this recipe for Italian tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes.

Canned Tomato sauce

However, the quickest way is to use a canned tomato sauce.

Of course, I use my homemade tomato sauce, which I make and can in late August-early September

Alternatively, the best tomato sauce you can buy at the grocery store is Mutti.

I never buy already flavored store-bought sauce, as I like to add my own fresh herbs.

I always buy the can that says natural, just plain tomato sauce.

You can also use whole canned tomatoes, but you must simmer the sauce for a long time as if using fresh whole tomatoes.

The tomatoes have to break down into a sauce slowly.

An immersion blender will not speed up the process as it doesn’t thicken the sauce.

Type of pasta

The best pasta for tomato sauce is Maccheroni, but you can use your favorite pasta: spaghetti, penne, or fusilli.

It is very important to use good quality pasta, and I always recommend the brands Garofalo or Rummo.

For more information about my favorite Italian ingredients brands, read the article: Italian ingredients.

Seasoning

For seasoning the tomato sauce, you need:

• Fresh garlic cloves: contrary to many beliefs, we do not use excessive garlic in Italy. Once the olive oil is flavored, the garlic is removed from the sauce. Do not use garlic powder.
• Fresh basil
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Hot red pepper flakes if you like it hot

Authentic Italian flavors are made with only fresh ingredients, do not use store-bought Italian seasoning.

Find the quantities in the recipe card

Instructions

Prepare the sauce

1. Stir fry the garlic with the extra virgin olive oil
2. Once brown, remove from the pan
3. Pour the tomato sauce; watch out as it can splatter
4. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir
5. Add the basil leaves
6. Cover and let it simmer at low heat, with the top slightly open for 5 to 10 minutes. You can place a wooden spoon on the side of the lid

Hint: the longer it simmers, the thicker the tomato sauce. However, most canned tomato sauces are already cooked, so you can simmer your tomato sauce for only 5 minutes

Cooking the pasta

1. Bring to boil a large pot of salted water
2. Pour the Maccheroni into the water and let them boil for the time indicated in the box (I always do 1 minute less as I like it al dente)
3. Drain the pasta and pour it into a bowl
4. Add immediately 3 tablespoon of tomato sauce and stir

Serving

Once the pasta is all seasoned, you can top up the plate for presentation:

1. Add more tomato sauce on top
2. Some fresh basil leaves
3. Plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For detailed step-by-step instructions on how to cook pasta like an Italian, you can read the article:  38 Tips On How To Cook Pasta Like An Italian

Storing

You can store the fresh tomato sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

If you need it for longer, you can freeze it.

However, as it is very easy to make and only takes a few minutes, I recommend making only the amount you need.

If you have leftover pasta you can fry it: Pasta a frittata

As an Italian, I like my meals to be freshly made.

To save time, I freeze essential ingredients like breadcrumbs, stocks and soffritto.

To find out more, you can read my article: Once a Month Freezer Meal Prep To Save Time

Top tips

• For the tomato sauce, the best tomatoes are San Marzano. You can use a homemade sauce or a shop-bought one. I recommend the brand Mutti
• When you buy canned tomato sauce, ensure the tin is perfectly intact, and there are no dents. Any damage on the tin can trigger bacteria in the sauce
• If you use a homemade sauce, ensure the jar is vacuum sealed. It should be difficult to open
• When I make the sauce, I remove the garlic once cooked. The oil will have absorbed the flavor from the garlic, and it is not necessary to leave it in the sauce, but if you like it, you can leave it in
• The best pasta for tomato sauce is Maccheroni, but you can also use spaghetti, penne, or fusilli. Buy a good brand
• I always cook the pasta 1 minute less than what is indicated on the box
• Once the cooking time has passed, drain the pasta immediately
• Season the pasta as soon as possible, do not leave it in the bowl. If your sauce is not ready, use some extra virgin olive oil
• Serve the pasta immediately

Italian Marinara sauce vs sugo al pomodoro

Sunday sauce or Sunday gravy in Italy does not exist.

Meat cooked in tomato sauce is called Ragu.

Here are some examples: lamb ragu, lasagna di Carnevale, and meat ragu in the pressure cooker.

It is not an Italian tradition to make it every Sunday.

The authentic Italian marinara sauce has nothing to do with the American homemade Marinara sauce.

In Italian, Marinara is not a tomato sauce as the tomato was introduced in Italy only in the 18th century from America.

Marinara in Italian means "from the sea" or "sailor".

"Alla Marinara" was a word added to a recipe for dishes the sailors used to eat when returning from the sea.

"Alla Marinara" is mostly a sauce made with Mediterranean herbs like oregano, parsley, basil, or capers, not necessarily tomato-based.

Once the tomato was introduced in Italy, "pizzaioli" from Naples started making a pizza sauce with tomato, garlic, and oregano, no mozzarella or any other cheese.

That is what in Italy we call "pizza alla Marinara".

This sauce was also used for cooking meat or fish, and the recipe was then called "sugo alla Pizzaiola".

The regular Italian tomato sauce "sugo" instead is usually made with a soffritto, which is made with onion, carrots, and celery chopped and stir-fried in olive oil and tomatoes.

It is cooked for a long time, then blended to make it smooth and creamy.

In this article, I share a much simpler tomato sauce recipe you can make daily.

The myth of San Marzano tomatoes

The San Marzano tomato is an Italian PDO product from the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino area, named after the city of San Marzano sul Sarno in the region of Campania.

Its oblong shape and fleshy pulp make it ideal for use in the food processing industry.

It's particularly suitable for quick cooking due to its compactness, less water content, and fewer seeds, allowing a more lively flavor in tomato sauce.

Their seed arrived in Campania in 1770, gifted by the Viceroy of Peru to the King of Naples, and thrived in the fertile volcanic soil.

The huge demand for this type of tomato in the United States cannot be served only by the real PDO San Marzano tomatoes produced in Campania.

The New York Times in the article The Mistery of the San Marzano denounces its counterfeiting:

«Italy is one of the largest producers of tomato paste in the world but not all of this product comes from Italian tomatoes. Tomato paste is imported into Italy from China. Producers have learned to dilute triple concentrate with water, add salt, pasteurize it, and sell it as double tomato paste. But this cannot be labeled as "produced in Italy", even when the tomatoes were produced in China but processed in Italy».

Italian law permits unlabeled tomato cans to be exported, and upon arrival in America, any label can be added to them.

If you want to ensure you buy real San Marzano tomatoes from Agro Sarnese-Nocerino area, read the label carefully:

• If the label is written in Italian, it doesn't mean they are the real thing
• Make sure it says produced in Italy, not processed in Italy
• Look for the PDO certification
• If the price is reasonable, they are not the real thing

FAQ

Recipes you might also like

If you are looking for more pasta with vegetable recipes, you can check the category: Pasta

Also check the recipes below:

• Red Pesto Pasta Sauce
• The Classic Pesto Recipe Pasta Trofie
• Pasta Caprese Salad
• Zucchini Recipe Pasta And Ricotta
• Pasta a Frittata: Italian Fried Pasta
• Black Truffle Recipe Pasta

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