Sugar Free Homemade Tomato Sauce For Pasta

How to make the ultimate sugar-free homemade tomato sauce to make the perfect spaghetti sauce from scratch and top a pizza with pizzaz! And once you’ve made your own pasta sauce you’ll never buy store bought sauce again.

Why you’ll love this tomato sauce

• It’s super easy to make
• Unlike store-bought tomato sauce this homemade sauce has no added sugar and no preservatives
• Homemade pasta sauce is just bursting with fresh tomato flavour that will brighten up any dish

What type of tomatoes to use

You can use fresh tomatoes to make this sauce as I have. Or you can use tinned tomatoes.

Use 2 x 400g cans of tinned tomatoes instead of 1 kilo of fresh tomatoes.

If you are using tinned tomatoes go for whole plum tomatoes rather than the crushed variety. You get more bang for your buck this way and it is so easy to break up the tomatoes yourself.

Always go for the best quality you can afford. The cheaper brands tend to lack flavour and be rather watery.

Tomato hack

I just use my kitchen scissors right inside the can to snip up whole tinner tomatoes to make my sauces.

Pro tips

Cooking low and slow gives the best flavour for this tomato sauce. Don’t rush the cooking process, give it time for the flavours to deepen and fully develop to give a richness to your homemade pasta and pizza sauce.

Use fresh herbs if you can for a real punch of flavour. However I always use dried oregano as I feel it has a better flavour for cooking than fresh oregano.

Ingredients for tomato sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 3 sticks of celery chopped
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 1 kilo tomatoes
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• Herb bundle of 1 bay leaf, sprig of rosemary, 2 sage leaves and a sprig of thyme
• 1 tsp dried oragano
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

How to make tomato sauce for pasta

• Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and cook the onion, garlic, carrots and celery for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make a cross on the base of the tomatoes and plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds to remove the skins. Half and scoop out the seeds and then chop the flesh..
• Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
• Add all other ingredients, stir and bring to the boil.
• Now lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or until most of the liquid has evaporated. This slower cooking allows the flavours to really develop and brings out the best in this tomato sauce.
• Press through a sieve or food mill or whizz in a food processor to get a beautifully smooth sauce.
• Pour into a sterilised bottle and pop on the lid.

How much homemade tomato sauce for pasta does this make?

This recipe makes half a litre/ approx 1 pint of sauce.

Additions

You can make this into a hot tomato sauce by adding a chilli to the recipe. I make mine plain as Idgy isn’t into spicy food so I just add some hot sauce to my own dish afterwords if I want to jazz mine up a bit.

Storing homemade tomato sauce

You can keep this tomato sauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in a sealed jar.

This homemade pasta sauce freezes well for up to 3 months. I like to freeze mine in freezer bags set flat on a baking tray till frozen then I can ‘file’ them in the freezer by standing them upright to take up less valuable freezer space.

You can give your homemade tomato sauce a longer shelf life by canning it in a water bath.

Uses for homemade tomato sauce

For pouring on to any type of pasta from simple spaghetti to a homemade lasagne.

I love to use this homemade tomato sauce in my Greek meatballs (soutzoukakia) recipe.

For any recipe that calls for tomato sauce, especially Mediterranean dishes.

Spread on top of homemade pizza as your base layer.

Use your homemade sauce as the base for a tasty dip. Just add some chilli and fresh coriander for a salsa type dip or Greek yogurt for a creamy style dip.

Looking for more fun and tasty sauces to make? Then check these out before you go;

Homemade harissa

Super easy homemade raita

Nasturtium Hot Sauce

Homemade hawthorn ketchup

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

PS this Sugar Free Tomato Sauce is just one of the recipes featured in my 50 Easy Homemade Pantry Staples round-up. Honestly making your own store cupboard basics is fun, easy and saves money too.