Pasta Tomato Sauce
This is my absolute favorite pasta tomato sauce. It is so flavorful and delicious! This recipe is a variation on an old Mario Batali recipe I came across years ago. We’ve been making a version of it ever since, slowly adding more vegetables over time, because that’s how we like to roll! Thyme is the shining star ingredient of this tomato sauce, it adds such a fragrant and unique spin on a classic sauce. I like to load up my tomato sauce with lots of vegetables: onions, carrots, celery, and red bell pepper, plus LOTS of garlic. This combination of vegetables really creates a delicious sauce, all without adding sugar!
We use this pasta tomato sauce on so many dishes, from lasagna to spaghetti, it is the perfect choice for all your pasta dishes. Plus, you can make a double batch of pasta tomato sauce, use half now, and freeze the rest for a later meal. Did I mention that this tasty sauce will also make your kitchen smell delish? Yum, time to get cooking!
Tomato Sauce
A veggie-loaded plant-based tomato sauce so good your kids will lick it up! With onions, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, garlic, and thyme this flavorful tomato sauce will soon be your favorite pasta topping.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Homemade
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 28-ounce can of tomatoes
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a deep saute pan. Kick the heat up to medium-high. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Add the carrots, celery, red pepper, and garlic to the saute pan. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the veggies for about 10 minutes, with the lid on to retain the moisture.
- Puree the sauce. Add the canned tomatoes to a blender pitcher. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and red pepper mixture to the blender. Blend on high for about 1 minute until the sauce is mostly smooth. Return the sauce to the saute pan.
- Add the thyme, salt, and water to the veggie mixture in the saute pan. Turn the heat to high. Once the sauce begins to boil, turn the heat down to low. Let the sauce simmer on low with the lid on for 20 minutes.
Notes
Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, can be frozen for up to 2 months.
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Cheers,
Erica
Sounds wonderfully flavorful. I look forward to trying it.
I think you’ll love this, it’s a really versatile pasta sauce.