Homemade Pasta Sauce for spaghetti, lasagna, and other favorite pasta dishes. Simple ingredients and delicious flavor, good with meat or go meatless!
Homemade Pasta Sauce is so simple and easy to make. We started making this particular sauce over the last year or so. Occasionally, we'll have it with real pasta; other times we'll have it with squash or zucchini pasta.
While I love ground beef, Italian sausage, or meatballs in my sauce, this sauce is also really good as a meatless sauce. So if you prefer a hearty sauce without meat, this is the sauce for you.
The recipe makes enough for a large pan of lasagna or a couple meals of spaghetti, just to give you an idea of how many servings it makes. You can freeze any leftover sauce, as well, making for a quick weeknight meal when you're not sure what to make for dinner.
Tips for how to make Easy Homemade Pasta Sauce
- Mince 3 to 5 garlic cloves.
- Then mince 1/2 of a large onion.
- Add crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, and minced onion to a deeper skillet. We use our favorite 10 1/4-inch iron skillet.
- Bring sauce to a simmer.
- Add Italian Seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar to the mixture. Stir well.
- Cover and allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes.
- Taste test along the way. This is half the fun of making homemade spaghetti sauce.
- At this point, you can add cooked meat if you want. Or you can keep it meatless.
- Add to your favorite pasta. We love this sauce with spaghetti and lasagna.
Looking for more recipes to make with this pasta sauce?
- Baked Italian Cauliflower Meatballs
- Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Creamy Tortellini Alfredo – Switch up the sauce and add a red sauce instead. Or add part red/part cream for a creamy red sauce.
- Grands Mini Supreme Pizzas – Use this sauce as a delicious pizza sauce.
- Pizza Pot Pie – Use as the main sauce for this recipe.
- Shepherd's Pie
- Spaghetti Tacos – Make this sauce for spaghetti.
Tools you may need to make your own pasta sauce
Iron Skillet – to make this one skillet sauce.
Heat Resistant Spatula – Works well for stirring and scraping the sides of the pan.
Crushed Tomatoes – You'll need 2 28-ounce cans.
Spices – You'll need Italian Seasoning and basil.
Glass Lid – for iron skillet.
Want to see how to make pasta sauce (and spaghetti with spaghetti squash)? Watch our video!
Print the recipe for Easy Homemade Pasta Sauce
Easy Homemade Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 28- ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 3 to 5 garlic cloves
- 1/2 large onion
- 2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Mince 3 to 5 garlic cloves.
- Also mince 1/2 of a large onion.
- Add crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, and minced onion to a deeper skillet. We use our favorite 10 1/4-inch iron skillet.
- Bring sauce to a simmer.
- Add Italian Seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar to the mixture. Stir well.
- Cover and allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes.
- Taste test along the way.
- At this point, you can add cooked meat if you want. Or you can keep it meatless.
- Add to your favorite pasta.
This is now my go to sauce. I add tomato paste and cook it in the crock pot all day. It is sooo good. My family loves it!
Thanks so much, Michele! I’m glad you like it.
Can you simmer meatballs in this sauce for 2 hours. Can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
Jan, I think that would be absolutely delicious! Good luck!
Oooh, Linda, I didn’t think of making it in the slow cooker. Maybe I’ll do that, too!
Mel, thanks for the recipe. I’ve saved it and will give it a try (minus the sugar) next time I need pasta sauce. Homemade is so much better, no?
Thank you, Suzy, and you’re very welcome. I agree, homemade is so much better!
This looks so delicious! I am going to try it in my crock pot!
Thank you, Linda! I hope you enjoy it!