Nothing beats putting homemade tomato sauce on pasta, pizza, or even just a toasted baguette, store bought versions can’t even compare! This sauce is so easy to make with just a few simple herbs and ingredients, it can easily be modified to your liking for whatever flavors you want. And when made in big batches, it becomes so much cheaper, and healthier, than store bought options that are loaded with chemicals and stabilizers.

Fresh Herb Tomato Sauce’s Environmental Benefits

Buying in season, local produce and canning it yourself can significantly cut down on the carbon emissions caused by food transportation of jarred and canned goods
Purchasing items in bulk, such as tomatoes, herbs & spices, etc., cuts down on excess packaging going into landfills or oceans, especially when using Reusable Produce and Bulk Bags
Buying pre-packaged and convenience food from fast food chains or grocery stores promotes the use of single use containers, utensils, napkins, and more that’ll end up in landfills and oceans, whereas making the same meal at home makes single use items obsolete

Fresh Herb Tomato Sauce

Prep time: Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total: 2 hours

Makes 3 Quarts of sauce

Ingredients:

5 lbs. San Marzano or Roma Tomatoes

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 medium Yellow Onion

1 head of Garlic

2/3 cup Fresh Basil

1/3 cup Fresh Oregano

1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme

1 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley

1 Tbsp. Fresh Rosemary

5 medium Sage Leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. PREP: Rinse off the tomatoes and all of the fresh herbs, and pat them dry with a tea towel. Cut the tomatoes into quarters removing the brown nub on top but leaving the seeds and insides intact. In small batches, place the tomatoes into a food processor, and mix until they become a smooth puree. Transfer the tomato puree into a large bowl, and continue to puree the rest of the tomatoes until all are blended. Setting the puree aside for now, peel and chop the onion and garlic separately (they will be added in at separate times), then take the leaves off the stem and chop all the herbs.

2. COOK: Place a large stockpot onto the stove on medium-high heat, adding in the olive oil and onions. Cook the onions for around 7 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the onions turn a golden translucent color. Add in the garlic, cooking for another minute or 2 until fragrant. At this point, add in all of the tomato puree and bring to a boil, then drop the heat down to medium for a slow boil. Without covering the pot, allow the sauce to slow boil for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until the sauce has reduced by 25%.

3. BLEND: After the sauce has reduced, use a stick (immersion) blender to blend the tomato and onion sauce together. Alternatively, allow the mixture to cool down a bit, gently pour it into a blender, blend, and return mixture to the pot. Once thoroughly blended, turn the heat down to medium-low, add in the chopped oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage to the pot, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add in the chopped basil, simmer for 10 minutes, and stick blend briefly to just break up the herbs. Check the sauce for flavor, adding salt and pepper to taste.

4. STORE: Taking the pot off the heat, allow the sauce to cool down for an hour so that it will be easier to transfer to jars. Using either a wide mouth canning funnel or a large scoop or ladle, spoon the sauce into either quart or pint jars for storage, leaving about an inch at the top of the jar empty. Throw on a lid and pop the jars into the fridge, where they will keep for up to 2 weeks, or into the freezer where they will keep for up to 6 months.

Optional:

5. CANNING: This sauce can be preserved for much longer by properly canning it.

Notes:

The More Herbs the Better – While this recipe does call for specific quantities of herbs, those are just suggestions for our own taste. If you like different herbs or don’t have a certain one on hand, don’t sweat it, just change up the recipe a bit and see what works. And if you have extra herbs, great! Throw them into the sauce for extra flavor, it will only make the sauce better in the end!

Can it for later – Since you can use tomato sauce year round for you, but tomatoes are only in season for a limited time, no problem! Buy tomatoes in season when they’re cheap and plentiful, and can the finished sauce for the off season. Delicious herb-filled tomato sauce all year round!

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