This has become my go-to sauce for homemade pizza, pasta, lasagna, and the like! Made with canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, and lots of fresh basil, it tastes incredibly fresh and comes together in just about 20 minutes. What’s more, you can easily adapt it to make a quick, creamy vodka sauce!

An overhead shot of homemade tomato sauce in a quart container.

Jarred tomato sauce is a lifesaver in a pinch, but once you start making sauce from scratch, it’s hard to go back. Made with just a handful of ingredients, mostly pantry items, it doesn’t take much effort, and the flavor — the bright, sweet flavor — is unmatched.

The recipe below is an adaptation of a Marcella Hazan tomato sauce recipe (not the famous one) and calls for sautéed onions, crushed garlic, white wine, canned whole peeled tomatoes, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. After 20 minutes of simmering, it’s done. Fresh basil puréed in at the end adds the loveliest note of freshness.

To make a vodka variation, simply replace the wine with vodka and stir in some heavy cream at the end (see recipe box for details). Use this sauce for pizza, pasta, lasagna, eggplant parmesan, and more!

PS: Quick, Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce

Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce, Step by Step

First: gather your ingredients.

Ingredients to make quick, homemade tomato sauce from canned tomatoes.

You need about 2 cups of diced onions and about a tablespoon of minced garlic (from two cloves).

Minced onions and garlic on a cutting board.

Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil until they are soft.

A pot of minced onions and garlic simmering stovetop.

Then add white wine and simmer 2-3 minutes or until the alcohol smell dissipates.

A pot of minced onions and garlic simmering stovetop with olive oil.

Add a can of peeled tomatoes.

A pot of homemade tomato sauce simmering stovetop.

Snip them with scissors right in the pot; then simmer 15 minutes.

A pot of tomato sauce simmering stovetop with scissors inside.

Add basil.

A pot of tomato sauce simmering stove top with fresh basil added.

Purée with an immersion blender or transfer to a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.

A pot of homemade tomato sauce simmering stovetop with an immersion blender inside.

Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt to taste.

A pot of homemade, quick tomato sauce.

This will give you about a quart of sauce. I love these deli containers for storing sauces and dressings. At this point, you can freeze the sauce for up to 3 months.

Homemade tomato sauce in a quart container.

Here’s the vodka sauce variation:

A pot of homemade, quick vodka sauce.
An overhead shot of homemade vodka sauce in a quart container.

Such a great feeling having homemade sauce on hand!

Two quarts of homemade tomato sauce on a counter top.
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An overhead shot of homemade tomato sauce in a quart container.

Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce (Canned Tomatoes)

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Description

This has become my go-to sauce for homemade pizza, pasta, lasagna, and the like! Made with canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, and lots of fresh basil, it tastes incredibly fresh and comes together in just about 20 minutes. What’s more, you can easily adapt it to make a quick, creamy vodka sauce!

Adapted from this favorite Marcella Hazan recipe.

Notes:

  • These are a few brands of canned tomatoes I really like: La Valle, Mutti, DiNapoli, and Cento.
  • To make a vodka variation, use vodka in place of the white wine, and purée the sauce with 1/2 cup of cream at the end.
  • Freeze the sauce for up to 3 months. I love these deli containers for storing sauces and dressings.  

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 cups finely chopped white or yellow onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • kosher salt
  • Pinch crushed chili flakes
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 28-oz can of peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes, see notes above
  • 1/2 cup (packed) fresh basil (about 1/2 ounce)

Instructions

  1. In a medium pot, combine the oil, onions, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt. Turn the heat to high. As soon as the onions and garlic begin simmering, give them a stir, turn the heat to low, and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.
  2. Uncover the pot, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, stir once or twice, raise the heat to high; then add the wine. Let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until the alcohol smell dissipates.
  3. Add the tomatoes. Using scissors, snip the tomatoes into smaller pieces. Season with a generous pinch of salt, and cook at a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor. Add the basil. Purée until smooth. Taste and adjust with more salt if necessary. (Alternatively use an immersion blender to purée)
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American, Italian