Make this delicious tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and not only will you use up your garden tomatoes but, you’ll in turn get a sweet and amazing tomato sauce to put over your pasta! This is a vegetarian (Vegan too) tomato sauce a.k.a. marinara sauce and it’s gluten-free.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Making Italian tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes is quite possibly one of the best use of tomatoes I can think of. Fresh tomatoes make the absolute best spaghetti sauce and it’s not hard to do, especially with the right tools.
Of course you can make a great-tasting tomato sauce without fresh tomatoes too but, if you have fresh garden tomatoes, make this delicious recipe.
You may also want to know How to Make Tomato Pasta Sauce Less Acidic with Simple Ways.
If this is your first time making tomato sauce from scratch, fear not. I’ll walk you through the process and you’ll learn easily.
My friend gave me access to her huge vegetable garden while she went on vacation in Aug.
I excitedly picked over 20 lbs of tomatoes in a span of three days! She had quite a plentiful garden!
Instead of canning the tomatoes, I made this delicious marinara sauce recipe and froze it for later. It was a great way to use up 20 lbs of fresh tomatoes that were ripening by the day.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which means, if you make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission but, the price you pay is the same.
Now, I only make this spaghetti sauce recipe once per year in August when fresh tomatoes are in season. You can find a box of tomatoes as shown below at a farmers market or produce stands.
The rest of the year, I make my tomato sauce with Hunt’s canned tomato sauce but, I don’t add salt. The recipe is much the same as this one.
What Tools Should I Use to Make Fresh Tomato Sauce?
Now, I’m not gonna lie. Making tomato puree involves some work. If you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, you may want to buy the Kitchen Aid attachments to make tomato sauce as it will be much easier and faster.
But, if this is your first time making tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and you don’t want to put out the money for the attachments, you can use a food mill which is much less costly.
Keep in mind that you can use a food mill to make apple sauce and baby food. I remember those days of making baby food. I could barely keep up with making apple sauce for as fast as it was eaten.
Why is my tomato sauce bland?
Look at these red ripe garden tomatoes! Now, I have to mention that if the tomatoes are not sweet and flavorful, your sauce won’t be either. This can happen with canned tomatoes too. If this is the case with your tomatoes, you can add canned tomato sauce to the fresh tomato sauce recipe to add more flavor.
It may seem like there’s a lot of oil in this recipe but, don’t skimp on the EVOO. It adds a lot of flavor and gives the spaghetti sauce the right consistency.
To make this fresh tomato sauce recipe, you’ll need 6 quarts of fresh tomato puree.
How to Make Italian Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
What kind of tomatoes should I use to make fresh tomato sauce?
Roma, plum and San Marzano are commonly used to make tomato sauce but, you may also use the round tomato varieties too.
Here’s a summary of how to make this delicious fresh tomato sauce. The full, printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.
- First, rinse plum or Roma tomatoes and remove any dirt. Cut out any notable blemishes. Then, boil the tomatoes.
- Next, drain the water and put the tomatoes into a food mill (I have this one)or tomato sauce maker to remove the skin and seeds. If some seeds get in the puree, it’s o.k. If using a food mill, press down and turn the handle at the same time. Make sure the tomatoes are under the metal masher.
- Then, add chopped onions, minced garlic, and extra virgin olive oil to a big stock pot and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Next add fresh tomato puree, fresh parsley, salt and pepper to the oil mixture in the stock pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Use a heat diffuser so the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. It’s reasonbly priced. haven’t had to scrape the bottom of the tomato sauce pot since using it!
- Put on low and let it cook for 2 hours.
How do you reduce tomato sauce?
Tomato sauce will reduce in time as it’s cooking when it’s uncovered.
How do you reduce the acidity in tomato sauce?
Adding minced carrots 1/4 cup) will help to reduce the acidity in tomato sauce. Another common option is to add a little bit of sugar (1-2 tbsp) but, I don’t put sugar in my sauce. I’ll add the minced carrots instead.
Read more about How to Make Tomato Pasta Sauce Less Acidic with Simple Ways
Your family is going to love this fresh marinara sauce. Freeze the leftovers to use for later. Your pasta will never taste so good.
You may also like:
Authentic Italian Sunday Gravy Recipe (Tomato Sauce) + VIDEO
Creamy Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce
Simple Homemade San Marzano Tomato Sauce Recipe
How to Make Tomato Pasta Sauce Less Acidic with Simple Ways
NOTE: This recipe was updated on Aug, 29, 2026.
Italian Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Equipment
- food mill or tomato sauce maker machine
Ingredients
- 22-25 lb plum tomatoes (will be about 6 qts of fresh tomato puree)
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 12 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 tsp of dried parsley)
- 2 tbsp salt (add more if you desire)
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- First, rinse plum or Roma tomatoes and remove any dirt. Cut out any notable blemishes.
- Next, boil them in big pots of water. It's easiest to use 2 or 3 pots to make it go faster. Add about 6-7 lbs to each pot of boiling water.
- When the peel on the tomatoes break open and the tomatoes are cooked, they're ready to come out. Pour the cooked tomatoes into a strainer.
- Next, in your kitchen sink, use a food mill (or a tomato sauce maker machine on the counter) to remove the tomato skin and seeds. See the food mill instructions for how to use it if need be. Make sure there is a container underneath the food mill to catch the tomato puree. This process takes a long time.
- Once you have 6 quarts of fresh tomato puree, you're ready to make the sauce. If you want to keep it in the refrigerator overnight, to make the sauce another day, it'll keep for up to three days.
- In a large stock pot, add oil, onions and garlic. Simmer for three minutes.
- Add tomato puree, parsley, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and cook for 2 hours. Stir every 10-15 minutes or it will stick to the bottom unless you're using a heat diffuser.
Notes
Storage:
Fresh tomato sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days and frozen up to 6 months. Tip: You can make the puree one day and the sauce the next. Store the fresh tomato puree in the refrigerator.Did You Make This Recipe?
If you made this recipe don’t forget to leave a review!
Hello Jill. Yes, this recipe can be canned however you must add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar to reach a safe acidity level (pH 4.6 or lower) and prevent botulism. Please research this before you do it. I freeze mine instead.
can I can this
I don’t recommend doing that. You may not like the amount of seeds and skin peels in it.
Can I put the tomatoes in a blender with the skins and seeds
Thank you for leaving a comment Lynette. I’m glad you liked it.
very good
Hi Lori. I’m glad you found the Kitchen Aid attachment useful and easier. Thanks for the 5-star rating on the recipe!
Delicious! I scaled the recipe down because I only had 8 cups of purée but this was amazingly easy and tasty.
The best advice was the Kitchen Aid attachment! Got it for my birthday yesterday used it today and saved myself hours of using that hand crank food mill!
Thanks for all the great recipes and tips Joanne!
Hi Veronika. Thanks for the wonderful compliment and the five-star rating!
I made this sauce today and it’s incredible! Best sauce ever ❤️ Thank you for the recipe.