It’s hard to believe that the recipe for the best tomato sauce in the world has only three ingredients, but it’s true! Make it today and rock your world…tomato sauce-wise.
Jump to:
Why you will love this recipe
In a nutshell, this easy homemade tomato sauce recipe is going to ROCK YOUR WORLD. It’s that easy, and that good.
And to immediately give credit where credit is due, as much as I wish I had come up with this recipe, it was written by the brilliant Marcella Hazan, and is probably her most famous (and easiest) recipe ever. Here’s why I had to share!
First, it tastes AMAZING. I might have mentioned that.
Second, it only involves three ingredients.
Third, it takes less than an hour of cooking, and most of that time it is just doing its own thing simmering away on the stove, turning into homemade tomato sauce gloriousness.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Salt: Ok, that’s ingredient number 4, but it is totally optional, depending on how sweet you like your tomato sauce.
Tomatoes: I use canned tomatoes, but during fresh tomato season you can use fresh chopped tomatoes as well.
Onion: You want a nice big sweet onion for this sauce…they are sometimes called Vidalia or Walla Walla onions.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Put your tomatoes, butter and a peeled halved sweet onion in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
STEP 2: Let it simmer for 45 minutes, then take the onion out and toss it (or better still, save it to add to a soup or a stew).
If you like your sauce chunky you are ready to roll. If you like your sauce smooth, you can give it a whirl with the immersion blender, or puree it in your regular blender.
And…you’re done!
Recipe FAQ
You can peel fresh tomatoes by cutting a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato, plunging them into boiling water for one minute, scooping them out with a slotted spoon and then peeling with a paring knife when cool enough to handle.
You can, but I think the whole canned tomatoes have a richer flavor. I “chop” them by putting them into the pot and snipping them into pieces with a kitchen scissors.
The onion cooks with the tomatoes and butter and releases just enough onion flavor during the cooking process. If you leave it in (which you can do – you be you!) your sauce will naturally have a little more onion flavor to it.
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
This tomato sauce recipe is of course just plain perfect ladled over a bowl of pasta. But if you want to use it in other ways, we love to use it in this recipe for one pot spaghetti and meatballs.
It’s also perfect with mashed potato gnocchi, and ricotta dumplings!
Other pasta sauce recipes we love!
Could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
PrintThe Best Tomato Sauce in the World!
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
5 from 2 reviews
It’s hard to believe that the recipe for the best tomato sauce in the world has only three ingredients, but it’s true! Make it today and never go back!
- Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped, or one 28 ounce can imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.
- When it is done, scoop out the onion and discard (or better still, save it to eat or stir into soup!)
- If you like your sauce smoother, whirl it with an immersion blender, or pour carefully into a regular blender and blend.
- Taste and and add more salt as needed, and then toss with your favorite pasta. Throw out all other tomato sauce recipes.
Notes
Salt: Ok, that’s ingredient number 4, but it is totally optional, depending on how sweet you like your tomato sauce.
Tomatoes: I use canned tomatoes, but during fresh tomato season you can use fresh chopped tomatoes as well.
Onion: You want a nice big sweet onion for this sauce…they are sometimes called Vidalia or Walla Walla onions.
Recipe by Marcella Hazan
zara says
yeah! thanks God for food like this – world is a better place ;) (ps. I add garlic to this sauce)
More Cowbell says
I can believe that's good. I have a problem with acid foods and discovered when I was in college that a chunk of butter dropped on the spaghetti sauce on my plate really reduced that acidity. A food scientist told me that it's probably the calcium binding the acid or something like that.
I don't know that I could give up my massive amounts of garlic — rather leave out the onion and make garlic my third ingredient. ;) But it's good to see that someone as knowledgeable as Marcella Hazan supports the butter thing.
It may be all over the web, but this is the first I've seen of it.
Diane says
More Cowbell, Everyday Food has basically the same directions using garlic There’s a video.
Lindsay says
This looks amazing! How simple and easy and perfect.
Georgia says
Kate — This recipe has been all over the food blogs lately! Recently, when I noticed where it originally came from, I realized I had the Marcella Hazan cookbook right on my shelf! Probably been there two or three years. I made it the same day and WOW. Tasty!
aBroad says
Even when I cook with olive oil .. I will throw in a dab of butter at the end , it seems to just richen everything up more .. like your recipe that I love .. Velvet Pasta.
Tonight I am making Zucchini pasta, thankyouveddymuch !
jillian :: cornflake dreams. says
wow! so easy. that's fantastic. pinning this recipe. xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams
SMITH BITES says
my all time, hands down FAVORITE sauce evah!!! and i mean really, who even needs pasta??? straight outta the pan . . .
PoetessWug says
WOW! Easy Peasy! And 3 of my favorite ingredients in the world too!…Thanks! :-]
gatesofgrace says
Here is how you make this sauce even bettah. Mini Powdered Donuts. Add a package of them to the sauce while simmering (mush em' up first). Do it. Do it now.
Joyce says
Is this for real?
Kate says
Personally, I haven’t tried it. But I guess you never know. I do think this sauce is pretty dang perfect the way it is, though. :)
sarah @ pao e queijo says
You're right, everything IS better with butter! I love recipes that can use either fresh or canned tomatoes. Thanks for this one! You can never have enough great tomato sauce recipes in your repertoire!
Becki's Whole Life says
This really is the best. It's kind of velvety and has a rich flavor from the butter and the onion. I make it with the canned whole tomatoes and it's just perfect. Marcela knew what she was talking about with this one..
onceuponarecipe says
Wow, the best tomato sauce in the world has just 3 ingredients?! I will be trying this!
Joanne says
Oh yeah. I've heard AMAZING things about this sauce. I think it needs to happen. Especially now that I'm carb loading like an insane woman!
FramedCooks says
I'd say it's a perfect tie. But make both and see what you think!!
Jacqueline Olsen says
Better than the pasta al pomodoro (aka velvet sauce) from Bon Appetit?