• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Mountain Kitchen
  • About
    • Meet David
    • His Royal Highness
  • Our Story
  • My Melanoma Story
  • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Bread
    • Cuisine
      • Asian Recipes
      • Italian Recipes
      • Mexican / Spanish Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Grilling and Smoking
    • Sauces, Spices and Seasonings
    • Main Dishes
      • Breakfast
      • Pasta Recipes
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches
      • Slow Cooker / Crock Pot
      • Soups & Stews
    • Meats
      • Beef Recipes
      • Chicken Recipes
      • Pork Recipes
      • Seafood Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Vegetarian
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
The Mountain Kitchen Logo

The Mountain Kitchen

FOOD WITH A VIEW

  • About
    • Meet David
    • His Royal Highness
  • Our Story
  • My Melanoma Story
  • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Bread
    • Cuisine
      • Asian Recipes
      • Italian Recipes
      • Mexican / Spanish Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Grilling and Smoking
    • Sauces, Spices and Seasonings
    • Main Dishes
      • Breakfast
      • Pasta Recipes
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches
      • Slow Cooker / Crock Pot
      • Soups & Stews
    • Meats
      • Beef Recipes
      • Chicken Recipes
      • Pork Recipes
      • Seafood Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Vegetarian
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Home » Cuisine » Italian Recipes » Basic Tomato Sauce

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Basic Tomato Sauce

Published January 19, 2014 · By Debbie · 2 Comments

FacebookPinterestXEmail
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

Basic tomato sauce is just the beginning of something wonderful that come together in your kitchen. Simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot and simmered until thickened. When it comes down to it, basic tomato sauce is an essential that can be made ahead.

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

How To Make Basic Tomato Sauce

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan.

When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic to the pan; cook until soft and light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

Add the thyme and carrot, and cook for about 5 more minutes or until the carrot is soft.

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

Crush the whole tomatoes, by hand over the pan, adding the juice and reserved juices from the can.

Bring to a boil, stirring often.

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

When the sauce comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for no less than 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, the sauce should be as thick as hot cereal, if not, continue to simmer until it thickens.

Season with salt, to taste, then use with your favorite Italian dish.

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

Make Ahead:

The tomato sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Recipes With Basic Tomato Sauce:

  • Italian Meatloaf
  • Baked Pasta with Meatballs and Spinach

  • Eggplant Rollatini

  • Gluten-Free Veggie Lasagna

  • Eggs in Hell (AKA: Eggs In Purgatory)

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com

Wait until you see what I did with this for Meatless Monday last week. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post…

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes! | TheMountainKitchen.com
Print Pin Rate this Recipe
No ratings yet

Basic Tomato Sauce

Basic tomato sauce is simply seasoned with onion, garlic, and thyme, sweetened slightly with carrot; simmered until thickened. For all your Italian dishes!
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes minutes
Total Time 55 minutes minutes
Servings 8
Calories 107kcal
Author David & Debbie Spivey

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 4 garlic cloves thin sliced
  • 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves chopped or 1 tablespoon dried
  • ¼ cup carrot grated
  • 56 ounces canned peeled whole tomatoes crushed by hand and juices reserved

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
  • Add the onion and garlic to the pan; cook until soft and light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the thyme and carrot, and cook for about 5 more minutes or until the carrot is soft.
  • Crush the whole tomatoes, by hand over the pan, adding the juice and reserved juices from the can.
  • Bring to a boil, stirring often. When the sauce comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for no less than 30 minutes.
  • After the 30 minutes, the sauce should be as thick as hot cereal, if not, continue to simmer until it thickens.
  • Season with salt, to taste, then use with your favorite Italian dish.

Notes

Make Ahead:  The tomato sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 287mg | Potassium: 435mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1025IU | Vitamin C: 24.8mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2.5mg
Did you try this recipe? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Give it a star rating and leave a comment below to let us know how it turned out for you. If you’d like, share a photo of your dish on Instagram, don’t forget to mention @TheMountainKitchen or use #TheMountainKitchen!
FacebookPinterestXEmail

Related Posts

Homemade Sauce Recipes

Homemade Sauce Recipes To Put On About Anything

This homemade tomato sauce is made with San Marzano tomatoes, a hearty red wine, and lots of fresh summer basil; the beginning of countless Italian dishes. | TheMountainKitchen.com

Homemade Tomato Sauce With San Marzano Tomatoes and Wine

mini eggplant au gratin

Mini Eggplant Au Gratin {A Meatless Monday Recipe

Italian Recipes, Sauces

Previous Post: « Mozzarella Herb Garlic Bread
Next Post: Eggs in Hell {A Meatless Monday Recipe »
about us

About Debbie & David

We live on the side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Virginia. I am the author and photographer here at The Mountain Kitchen, where I share delicious homemade recipes using clean food ingredients, and stories about mountain life. Read more...

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Rachelle blue says

    January 19, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    I will be making this soon!

    Reply
    • Debbie Spivey says

      January 19, 2014 at 1:47 pm

      Love this recipe! You will too 🙂

Primary Sidebar

debbie and david

Hey! My name is Debbie Spivey and this is my husband David. We live on the side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Virginia. I am the author and photographer here at The Mountain Kitchen, where I share delicious homemade recipes using clean food ingredients, and stories about mountain life. LEARN MORE >>

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search For Something

Melanoma – It’s Not Just Skin Cancer

melanoma story
contact us

AS SEEN ON

as seen on

Copyright © 2026 · themountainkitchen.com · All rights reserved · Privacy Policy · Policies and Disclaimers · Contact Us

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required