While you can buy tomato sauce at the store, why would you want to? Our homemade recipe for Italian sugo al pomodoro is easy to make using a handful of simple ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You can whip up the tasty and flavorful homemade pasta sauce in 40 minutes, so you don’t need to spend the whole day preparing it.
- The sauce is the perfect base for many Italian recipes like ragu, chicken parmesan, and lasagna.
What is Sugo?
Sugo means ‘sauce’ in Italian. It is an Italian term referring to a simple tomato sauce; we simmer fresh ingredients to create a rich, flavorful sauce. Sugo al Pomodoro is different from tomato passata, made from the sieved tomato puree we use in the recipe.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
- Olive Oil: Saute the onions in olive oil.
- Onion: Sautéed onion softens and releases natural sweetness into the sauce.
- Tomato Paste: Adding a spoonful of tomato paste intensifies the tomato flavor and deepens the color of the sauce.
- Tomatoes: Canned San Marzano tomatoes are my go-to for making sugo al pomodoro. Some traditional recipes call for vine-ripe tomatoes, and you can go that route, but I use peeled San Marzano tomatoes. They are picked and canned in season, so they are the perfect way to make tomato sauce all year round. I prefer buying canned whole tomatoes and crushing them by hand before adding them to the Dutch oven.
- Spices: Season sugo with salt and red pepper flakes, and add a bay leaf for a subtle flavor.
- Garnish: Finish the tomato sauce with fresh basil.
Additions and Substitutions
- Meat: Make a hearty and filling sugo by adding ground beef, pork, or veal. Browning the meat beforehand and simmering it with the sauce adds depth.
- Wine: For an extra layer of flavor, deglaze the pan with red or white wine before adding the canned tomatoes.
- Vegetables: Saute diced carrots, celery, bell peppers, garlic, or mushrooms along with the onions for added texture and flavor
- Herbs: Infuse the sauce with fresh herbs like oregano, thyme, or rosemary.
How to Make Sugo Al Pomodoro
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Warm the olive oil in a Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the onions and continue cooking until they soften and become translucent, for about 10 minutes. Then, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds.
Step 2: Add the sauce from the can to the Dutch oven and crush the tomatoes into the pot.
Step 3: Stir salt and red pepper flakes into the tomato mixture.
Reduce the heat, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and gently simmer for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes break down. Adjust the heat if the mixture begins bubbling too much.
Expert Tips
- Begin with quality ingredients! Fresh tomatoes are the key to great-tasting tomato sauce; that’s why I swear by San Marzano tomatoes.
- If tomato sauce is too acidic for you, add a small carrot while the sauce simmers; the sweetness of the carrot will release throughout the cooking process, and that’s enough to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
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Serving Suggestions
Treat yourself to an epic Sunday dinner with the ultimate duo: juicy and succulent meatballs and flavorful sugo al Pomodoro. And guess what? The sauce pairs perfectly with any pasta—whether long or short. Check out these delicious ways to serve up this sauce:
- Ratatouille
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Zoodles
- Lasagna, Zucchini Lasagna
- Pasta Pie
- Penne Arrabiata
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Lasagna Roll Ups
- Quinoa Balls
What to Do With the Leftovers
- Refrigerate – This flavorful tomato sauce recipe is perfect for making ahead. Store the sauce in an airtight container; it will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Freeze – Let the sauce cool, and transfer it to a freezer-safe bag or container. Sugo al pomodoro will last 3-4 months.
- Thaw – Defrost the sauce in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat – Warm leftover sauce on the stovetop and prepare the other ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between marinara sauce and tomato sauce?
Marinara sauce is a quick-cooking Italian sauce often made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, olive oil, herbs, and sometimes red pepper flakes. It has a fresh and bright flavor with a chunky texture.
On the other hand, tomato sauce is a slow-cooked sauce that sometimes includes ingredients like carrots, celery, bell peppers, herbs, spices, and sometimes meat. Tomato Sauce has a rich and complex flavor with a thicker consistency.
Many use the terms interchangeably, but the marinara sauce is simple, while tomato sauce is often heartier.
More Italian Recipes:
Sugo al Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 cans San Marzano Tomatoes, 28-ounce
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- basil, for garnish
- Warm the olive oil in a Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the onions and continue cooking until they soften and become translucent, for about 10 minutes. Then, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the sauce from the can to the Dutch oven and crush the tomatoes into the pot.
- Stir salt and red pepper flakes into the tomato mixture.
- Reduce the heat, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and gently simmer for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes break down. Adjust the heat if the mixture begins bubbling too much.
- OPTIONAL – Use an immersion blender to incorporate the sauce until smooth.
- Garnish the sauce with fresh basil, and enjoy!
- Begin with quality ingredients! Fresh tomatoes are the key to great-tasting tomato sauce; that’s why I swear by San Marzano tomatoes.
- If tomato sauce is too acidic for you, add a small carrot while the sauce simmers; the sweetness of the carrot will release throughout the cooking process, and that’s enough to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.