A famous family recipe - San Marzano Tomato Sauce. A luscious red sauce simmered for several hours to develop the most rich and hearty tomato sauce. Fresh herbs, authentic Italian flavors, and the most inviting aroma. Easily the best tomato sauce I've ever had! From my family to yours.
Recipe by A Simple Palate on August 1, 2018
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT240M
Total time: PT245M
Rating
4.97 stars (158 reviews)
Keywords
homemade tomato sauce, italian sauce, marinara sauce, san marzano tomato sauce
Ingredients
8 garlic cloves, (minced)
3-4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 28oz cans San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes ((with juices))
Cook garlic: In a large stainless steel pot on LOW-MEDIUM heat sauté garlic in olive oil for 30-60 seconds. Stir constantly to keep garlic from burning.
Add tomatoes and simmer: pour canned tomatoes with juices in with the garlic. Add tomato paste, salt, and black pepper. Mix ingredients together, partially cover with lid - but not completely, and simmer on LOW heat for 3+ hours. Stir every so often to avoid burning. Note: if using a parmesan rind, add it in this step and let it simmer with sauce until finished. Remove and discard rind when ready to serve.
For smooth sauce: when sauce is finished cooking, use a hand immersion-blender to puree. Note: If you prefer a chunkier/thicker sauce (like I do), you can skip this step as the San Marzanos naturally break down while cooking.
Add herbs: when sauce is finished, mix in chopped fresh herbs. Season with additional salt & black pepper if needed and serve!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 63 kcal
Carbohydrates: 7.7 g
Protein: 1.7 g
Fat: 3.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.6 mg
Sodium: 164.7 mg
Sugar: 2.8 g
Reviews
Katie Easton on 2025-08-16 (4 stars): Very delicious !!!
Diana on 2025-08-12 (4 stars): When using whole san marzano tomatoes. Do you drain off the citric acid its packed in, drain in water? And do you add water to sauce...my mom used to add size of paste can. ?
Berto on 2025-08-08 (5 stars): I heard if you add a little sugar helps with acidity. ?
Hunter on 2025-08-04 (3 stars): 4 - 5 cans of 28 oz San Marzano tomatoes ? That's a lot.
We used 2 cans and squeezed them by hand in a large non-stick dutch oven pot ,then followed the rest of the recipe as written. I also added toasted fennel seeds and some chopped Calabria chillies. Added a pound of seared grass fed ground chuck and cooked in the oven, uncovered for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spooned this over some toasted ravioli with graded parm. Pretty darn good.
Ashley on 2025-08-01 (5 stars): This is the best sauce I have ever made! So incredibly easy and worth the wait. The carrot trick is genuis. I also used fresh basil from my garden at the end for perfection!
I am sharing this recipe with everyone I can because it is that delicious.
Thank you for sharing.
Mika on 2025-07-21 (5 stars): Fantastic, simple, straight to the point.
Got bunch of tomatoes from the farmer’s market and this recipe did them justice, I had to go full uncovered at the end to thicken the sauce a lil more but that was it.
Thanks Chef!
Jennifer on 2025-07-16 (5 stars): Family loves this sauce. I love how you get the taste of tomato and not just ton of seasoning. This is my go to sauce now.
Cindy on 2025-07-08 (5 stars): Is a serving 1 cup? Fantastic sauce!
Liz on 2025-06-18 (5 stars): Our usual Christmas Eve meal is lasagna. Used this sauce and it was the best I’ve ever made! I’m making a pot today to freeze for various meals as well as dinner tonight. It’s very similar to my Italian grandma’s just with a little less oregano.
Jo on 2025-05-04 (5 stars): Hey there! So, I got rid of my aluminium pots ages ago, probably about 40 years back. I heard a few not-so-great things about aluminium bleaching into our food. My dad used to work in the aluminium smelters in Gladstone, way back when. I was just a wee kid, so I picked up a bit about it. Stainless steel is the way to go, in my opinion. I absolutely love my stainless steel pots and pans.
Anyway, I’m making my own chicken Parmesan right now, and I’ve got this recipe I’m trying out. I’ve made my own crumbs with herbs, rosemary, and garlic, and it smells absolutely scrumptious! I’ve got some good, sliced cheese to put in too.
Has anyone ever used Gouda sliced cheese for this? I’m curious to know if there are any other cheese options I could try for my chicken Parmesan. Does it have to be Parmesan?
Jo on 2025-05-04 (5 stars): I got rid of my aluminium pots many many years ago probably 40 years ago because I heard of quite a few things that were not good about the aluminium bleaching into your food. My dad worked in the aluminium smelters in Gladstone. Many many years ago. I was only a small child, so I learned a bit about it. Stainless steel is the way to go love my stainless steel pots and pans, happy cooking - making my own chicken Parmesan so I ordered this recipe for it. I’ve made my own crumbs with herbs and rosemary and garlic smells divine and I have good sliced cheese to put in. Has anybody ever use Gouda sliced cheese for this? any idea of what other cheese I could use for my chicken Parmesan? Does it have to be Parmesan?
Gabriel on 2025-04-27 (5 stars): Perfect recipe, I use this sauce as meal prep with pasta. I just want to emphasize that you SHOULD NOT use an aluminum pot. Wasted $70+ worth of ingredients due to a metallic taste & immediately invested in a stainless steel.
