Ultra-Simple Tomato Sauce

This recipe is from Good and Cheap.

Good and Cheap is a gorgeous cookbook for people with limited income, particularly on a $4/day food stamps budget. The PDF is free (ahora en Español!) and has been downloaded more than 15,000,000 times. I have more cookbooks, too!

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There are many ways to make tomato sauce. While there is a time and place for the longer cooking and more complex sauces, I rarely find those times! This simple version is almost always what I make. This tomato sauce is boldly tomatoey and works on just about anything. It also takes 5 minutes to make. Can’t beat that.

Best Tomato Sauce

Print Recipe

Super simple tomato sauce with bold tomato flavor that comes together in 5 minutes.

• CourseCondiment

Servings

3 1/2 cups

Servings 3 1/2 cups

Best Tomato Sauce Print Recipe Super simple tomato sauce with bold tomato flavor that comes together in 5 minutes. CourseCondiment Servings 3 1/2 cups Servings 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp chile flakes
• 28 oz can canned tomatoes crushed or diced
• 1/2 lemon zested (optional)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Add the olive oil to a saucepan on medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 1 minute, until it smells great and becomes translucent. Add the chili flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Add the can of tomatoes, mix, and cook until warmed through. Add a little lemon zest, then salt and pepper to taste. Since canned tomatoes are often already salted, you may not need to add any.
2. If you want a thicker sauce that will stick to pasta better, cook for 10 to 20 minutes to evaporate more of the liquid. Use immediately or keep in a jar in the fridge for later use.

Recipe Notes

I often buy whole, canned tomatoes and puree them with an immersion blender or chop them. I tend to think the whole tomatoes are a little better than the tomatoes that are already crushed.