Name: Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 Medium sized onion , diced; 1 Large carrot, grated; 3-4 Garlic cloves, minced or grated; 1/4 tsp or more crushed red pepper- optional; 2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes; Fresh Parsley, Handful, chopped; Extra Virgin Olive Oil -enough to cover bottom of pot; Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste; 1 Pound dried Spaghetti*; Parmesan cheese, grated- optional

Skip the jar, make this Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce instead. It’s simple, nutritious and cheaper than the stuff you get at stores!

Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce is one of those recipes that everyone should know how to make. This recipe is so simple and basic…only a handful of pantry ingredients are needed and about an hour of your time. Plus, its very budget friendly! Way cheaper than the jarred stuff, no Siriusly! Crushed tomatoes cost way less than already prepared sauces.. all you need is a handful of pantry ingredients and you get something so much better than the stuff in the stores. So put the jars down! Homemade is certainly better.

Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce in a white bowl with a white linen napkin next to it and a fork on top

Mise En Place for Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce

Equipment:

Pot and strainer for spaghetti

Cutting board and chef knife to chop the onions, garlic and herbs

Box grater for the carrots

Pot or pan big enough to hold 6 cups of liquid without boiling over.

Hand or regular blender *if you can I highly suggest in investing in a hand blender, its my favorite all time appliance

CHEF TIP: Do not use Aluminum pots or utensils with acidic foods. Aluminum is highly reactive and can alter the foods flavor and appearance.. The pan will get messed up as well.

Ingredients:

Onions – Buy any globe onion.

Carrots – The sweetness in the carrots balances out the acidity of the tomatoes and it’s a sneaky way to trick any picky eaters into eating their veg 😉

Garlic – Fresh garlic is best and powdered works in a pinch

Canned Crushed Tomatoes– brand doesn’t really matter. Buy what you like and can afford

Parsley – I prefer parsley, it’s a sturdy herb.. Imparts great flavor, is more readily available and very affordable. But if you like basil, go for it.

Crushed red pepper – I like heat, leave it out if you don’t.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Buy what you can afford. Trader Joes has a good inexpensive one I use just for cooking .

Spaghetti – Buy your fave brand or what’s on sale.. No spaghetti? Any hearty pasta can sub in.. no angel hair pasta please.

Parmesan cheese – Save money by buying it whole and grating it yourself. To store after it’s opened, simply wrap it tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and straight into the fridge.

red crushed tomatoes in a clear bowl next to a small bowl with white diced onions in front of a brown cutting board with grated orange carrots and white garlic and green parsely . On top of a soft reddish burnt orange surface

Let’s make Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce!

Before we cook, we chop! Affix your cutting board to the counter using a damp paper towel. Chop your onions and herbs. Rough chop is ok. Grate your carrots using the large holes. Don’t go nuts worrying about cut sizes, are going to blend all this later.

Place your pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium high. Add your oil. We just want to coat the bottom of the pot/pan, and wait for it to shimmer. Next up are the onions and carrots. We want to coax maximum flavor out of these so salt the mix, generous pinch, don’t be shy… sauté until the onions and carrots are soft and a solid golden brown. At this heat it won’t take long, maybe 10 minutes.

Now add the garlic and crushed red pepper if using. Stir until the garlic starts to smell like heaven, like a minute more.

Chef Tip : Adding the garlic last reduces the chances of burning. Burnt garlic is bitter and very unpleasant.

Up Next are the tomatoes and parsley.. season with a three fingered pinch of salt. Bring the heat up a bit and when bubbles start to break on the surface, cover it and lower the flame to medium. Be careful, simmering/ boiling tomatoes like to pop… if you like your face, stay clear lol

Let this cook for an hour. No need to constantly stir, but do keep an occasional eye out so the sauce doesn’t scorch on the bottom.

Before the homemade tomato sauce is done, Boil the pasta.. try to time it just right. It usually takes about 8-12 minutes for al dente pasta. (al dente means “to the tooth”-meaning it has bite and not mushy)

Toss the pasta with how much ever sauce your soul desires and top with cheese or not. Refrigerate what sauce is left and if you’re so inclined Use it in my best ever vegetarian chili recipe.

spaghetti with tomato sauce in a white bowl with white cheese grated on top

closeup of spaghetti with tomato sauce in a white bowl with white cheese grated on top and a silver fork twirled in it

Can I Prep ahead?

I would only prep this Spaghetti w/ Homemade Tomato Sauce ahead if I had a slew of meals to cook during the week and I wanted to make my life easier. What I would do is:

Open the cans of tomato and transfer them to 2 quart containers and store in the fridge
Chop your onions and garlic and store them, Separately, in a jar/container with a lid. It will be good for a week. If the other stuff you’re cooking has onions and garlic, add these to the party too 😉
Wash and thoroughly dry any fresh herbs, except basil and store until ready to use. I don’t have a lot of storage on my countertops so I like to roll my cleaned and dried herbs in a paper towel then transfer them to a ziplock bag and into the fridge. My herbs last more than one week this way. check out this article by Bon Appetit for more info.