This homemade spaghetti sauce uses just a handful of simple ingredients and is so easy to make! Learn how to make a big batch of this flavourful tomato sauce... to tantalise your taste buds and simplify meal time planning!
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- Fresh Homemade Spaghetti Sauce - Big Batch
- Ingredients to make tomato spaghetti sauce
- How to make a big batch of fresh spaghetti sauce
- Equipment
- Tips for making the best tomato spaghetti sauce
- Bonus time saving tip
- Storage Tips
- How to serve this Spaghetti Sauce
- FAQ
- Related
- Big batch homemade tomato Spaghetti sauce
Fresh Homemade Spaghetti Sauce - Big Batch
This spaghetti sauce is my go-to tomato-based sauce – why? Because it is bursting with wonderful flavours, so easy to make and works in so many dishes!
I love how you only need a handful of simple ingredients to create such a tasty and flavourful sauce!
This big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce is perfect for parties and get-togethers!
Plus, this spaghetti sauce freezes well – so you can easily make this in advance which is so convenient! This also makes meal time planning so much easier.
With just a helping of this sauce you can transform any dish into a work of art… a real masterpiece! From pasta, spaghetti and aubergine red pepper bake to aubergine pizzas and mushroom rice this sauce is a staple which brings culinary magic to all your dishes!
Ingredients to make tomato spaghetti sauce
- Olive oil: I recommend using extra virgin olive oil, a healthier option as this oil contains vitamins and minerals. Olive oil is the foundation of an authentic Italian sauce and absorbs flavours well including garlic, chillies and onions, so works well in Italian cooking.
- Onions: chopped brown/yellow onions are used in this sauce and bring flavour to this dish
- Garlic: use fresh cloves of garlic for this dish you can finely chop them using a knife or food processor
- Red chillies: I use both dry red chillies and fresh red chillies for extra heat and flavour in this dish.
- Tomato passata: (this is also labelled Tomato Puree in the US). I am referring to pureed and strained tomatoes which comes in a jar (or carton). This is the base of the sauce.
- Fresh basil: use fresh basil adds a refreshing taste to the sauce and is a must in this recipe
- Seasoning: dried oregano and salt are used to season the sauce
- Plum or cherry tomatoes: fresh plum or cherry tomatoes are added in the sauce, these bring a rich tomato taste and subtle sweetness to the sauce
How to make a big batch of fresh spaghetti sauce
- Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add garlic and dried red chillies. Cook for 20-30 seconds on medium heat, until slightly golden.
- Add onions and fresh red chillies and sauté and cook until golden, for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add half of the basil into the pan and stir to combine with the garlic and onions and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato passata into the pan. Tip: To remove all the sauce from the jar - add a little water into the bottle, put the lid back on and give the jar a shake and pour into the pan.
- Add the salt, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt, stir once more and cover the pan and allow the sauce to cook for 20 minutes on low-medium heat.
- Add more basil and fresh cherry/plum tomatoes. Add the remaining basil and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then add a handful of fresh cherry/plum tomatoes cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, serve with spaghetti/pasta or as desired and enjoy!
Equipment
To make this sauce, you will need a large pan (non-stick) with a lid and a (heat-resistant) silicone spatula/wooden spatula to mix the sauce.
Tips for making the best tomato spaghetti sauce
- Flavour the sauce: garlic, onion, salt, dried and fresh red chillies are cooked in the olive oil to add flavour the sauce and I recommend including all for a flavourful dish. You can adjust quantities of garlic and onion if you prefer a milder sauce.
- Use fresh basil: I prefer using fresh basil over dried basil in this dish for its refreshing taste and flavour, cooking the basil with the onions gives this sauce a distinctive taste, more fresh basil is also added towards the end of cooking. Adding basil before and after adding tomato passata gives this sauce more depth of flavour.
- Avoid overcooking the sauce: cook the tomato sauce for the right amount of time, overcooking the tomatoes can cause the sauce to taste bitter.
- Chop basil just before adding to pan: to keep the basil fresh.
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Bonus time saving tip
- As this sauce is freezer-friendly I recommend making a big batch of this sauce and freezing in smaller freezer-friendly containers. This will help make meals (and meal planning) so much easier!
- How? Once cooled, divide the sauce into the number of desired servings per container – then label and freeze!
- Next time you want a quick meal simply take out your container, defrost the sauce and serve with pasta, spaghetti or as desired!
Storage Tips
- Fridge: This sauce can be stored in the fridge for 2 days, store in an airtight container once cooled.
- Freeze: You can also freeze this sauce for up to 3 months – store in a freezer-friendly container and label before transferring into the freezer.
How to serve this Spaghetti Sauce
This spaghetti sauce can be served with any pasta including spaghetti for a classic authentic Italian pasta dish.
Alternatively, you can serve this sauce as part of a bake like aubergine/eggplant red pepper bake or as a sauce for homemade pizzas (including our air fryer naan pizza or eggplant pizza)!
Serve your Italian feast with some crispy air fryer or baked jalapeño poppers, zucchini and tomato salad, garlic breaded mushrooms, and veggie risotto!
Enjoy!
FAQ
Allow the sauce to thaw (in its container) at room temperature for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before reheating the sauce. Alternatively, you can reheat sauce in a pan on low heat for at least 10-15 minutes or until hot (depending on serving size). Ensure you regularly stir and monitor your sauce!
Allow the sauce thaw for a few hours, then tip the container upside down into the pan. Alternatively, after allowing the frozen sauce to sit at room temperature for a few minutes run a table/dinner knife around the edges (where the sauce and container are touching). This will help loosen the frozen sauce so you can easily tip it into the pan.
Related
Looking for other tasty recipes like this? Try these:
Big batch homemade tomato Spaghetti sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Dried red chillies
- 1 cup Garlic cloves (chopped) 160g (adjust according to taste)
- ¾ cup Brown/yellow onion (finely chopped) 90g
- 1 ½ tablespoon Fresh red chillies (chopped)
- 2 teaspoon Salt (plus additional ¼ teaspoon or to taste)
- 4 jars x 640g tomato passata or tomato puree (see notes)
- ½ cup Fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped)
- pinch Dried oregano (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add garlic and dried red chillies. Cook for 20-30 seconds on medium heat, until slightly golden.
- Add onions and fresh red chillies and sauté and cook until golden, for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the half of the chopped basil into the pan and stir to combine with the garlic and onions and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato passata into the pan. Tip: To remove all the sauce from the jar - add a little water into the bottle, put the lid back on and give the jar a shake and pour into the pan.
- Add salt, stir the sauce once more and cover the pan. Allow the sauce to cook for 20-25 minutes on low-medium heat.
- Add the remaining chopped basil and cook for another 2-3 minutes
- Add a handful of fresh cherry/plum tomatoes cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat, serve with spaghetti/pasta or as desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Tomato passata: this is also labelled Tomato Puree in the US, I am referring to pureed and strained tomatoes which comes in a jar (or carton). This is the base of the sauce.
- Flavour the sauce: garlic, onion, salt, dried and fresh red chillies are used to add flavour the sauce and I recommend including all for a flavourful dish. You can adjust quantities of garlic and onion if you prefer a milder sauce.
- Use fresh basil: I prefer using fresh basil over dried basil in this dish for its refreshing taste and flavour, cooking the basil with the onions gives this sauce a distinctive taste, more fresh basil is also added towards the end of cooking. Adding basil before and after adding tomato passata gives this sauce more depth of flavour. Chop basil just before adding to pan to keep the basil fresh.
- Avoid overcooking the sauce: cook the tomato sauce for the right amount of time, overcooking the tomatoes can cause the sauce to taste bitter
- Storage: This sauce can be stored in the fridge for 2 days, store in an airtight container once cooled. You can also freeze this sauce for up to 3 months – store in a freezer-friendly container and label before transferring into the freezer.
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