This quick tomato chermoula packs in some brightness with basic pantry ingredients like garlic and cumin. Good for topping grilled meats or scooping with bread.
Method: stovetop
Time: under 30 minutes
Tomato Based Sauces
You can purchase plain canned tomato sauce in nearly every grocery or convenience store these days. The problem is, the flavor is usually flat and even sometimes tinny. So why not make it at home? Good sauce can be time consuming but the results are worth it. You can make it in large batches and it will freeze wonderfully for future uses.
Tomato sauces (sometimes just called red sauce) have a variety of uses. They are a popular base to pasta or pizza sauce, and other cooking sauces. The nice thing about making homemade sauce is that you can alter the ingredients in so many ways to tailor it to your personal preferences.
jump to the recipes
pro tip:
Because tomatoes are acidic, make sure to avoid using aluminum or cast iron when cooking the sauce.
Tomato Chermoula Sauce
Tomato Vegetable Sauce
This is an easy, all purpose red sauce that can be used as a pasta or pizza sauce. You can also use it in any recipe calling for canned tomato sauce - it's that versatile!
Method: stovetop
Time: 30-60 minutes
Fresh Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce
Fresh, homemade tomato sauce makes a world of a difference in pastas, pizzas, and everything in between. A real tomato sauce takes all day to make, so just let the...
Method: crock pot
Time: over 5 hours
Greek Tomato Sauce
A Greek twist on red sauce. Delicious used in pastitsio, moussaka, gyros, and more.
Method: stovetop
Time: 30-60 minutes
Chirmol (Guatemalen Tomato Sauce)
Made with water, tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt, dried red pepper flakes
Method: stovetop
Time: under 30 minutes
Get our daily recipe newsletter!
Every day we send out a featured recipe and our editor's favorite picks. Don't miss out!
Salsa Di Pomodoro Alla Siciliana (Tomato Sauce Sicilian Style)
Made with fresh mushrooms, fresh basil, olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato paste, Italian plum tomatoes, pork, oregano, fresh parsley
Method: stovetop
Time: 2-5 hours
Portuguese Tomato Sauce
Made with garlic, green bell pepper, fresh parsley, Italian-style tomatoes, Italian tomato paste, water, dry red wine, red wine vinegar, sugar, black pepper
Method: stovetop
Time: 1-2 hours
Tomato Sauce from Scratch
Made with sugar, salt and freshly ground black pepper, dried oregano, parsley, olive oil, garlic, plum tomatoes, dry red wine, basil
Method: stovetop
Time: 30-60 minutes
Mediterranean Red Pepper Sauce
Made with red wine vinegar, olive oil, almonds, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, crushed red pepper, roasted red peppers
Time: under 30 minutes
Tomato Puree
Made with herbs, black pepper, tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper, sugar, salt
Method: stovetop
Time: 2-5 hours
Yellow Tomato Sauce
Made with cilantro, epazote leaves, onion, olive oil, garlic, yellow tomatoes, tomato paste, chipotle chilies
Method: stovetop
Time: under 30 minutes
What's the secret ingredient in these cakes? Pudding mix. It not only adds flavor but it gives the cake a richer, creamier texture. No one will know your secret ingredient!
Not to be confused with evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk is very sweet (and very sticky) and used primarily in desserts.
Pumpkins aren't just for pies or Halloween decorations. These large, orange gourds - while naturally sweet - also work well in savory dishes. They pair well with poultry and pork (and especially bacon) and their creamy-when-cooked texture blends easily into soups.