Simple San Marzano Tomato Sauce

San Marzano are the classic tomato sauce tomato. They are very similar to a Roma tomato, but with so much more flavor. San Marzano are one of my favorite tomatoes to grow each year and this recipe is how I use most of them.

How to make tomato sauce with fresh San Marzano tomatoes?

There are many ways to cook tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. I find the easiest way is to cut them in quarters and cook them down on the stove. To save time, I don’t remove the skin or anything on mine.

Once the tomatoes have cooked down, many people use a food mill to breakup the sauce. I just use a blender, because that’s what I have and it works similarly.

Besides tomatoes I typically add olive oil, salt, garlic, and basil to my sauce. You can keep it simple or you can add in extra flavors such as red pepper flakes.

How many tomatoes do you need to make tomato sauce?

You need more tomatoes than you might think. Tomatoes are a lot of water so they cook down quite a bit. I usually make this recipe with about 6-7 lbs of tomatoes. That makes about 6 cups of tomato sauce. You can easily double this or half it depending on your needs.

How to store homemade tomato sauce?

I use 16oz mason jars to store my tomato sauce. This is because recipes often call for a can of tomato sauce that is 14.4oz. I can just use one of my cans of tomato sauce to replace it. Also, I am mostly cooking for 2-3 people so 1 jar is perfect for dinner. Here are the jars I use - Mason Jars.

Once you have put the sauce into jars there are a few ways to store the jars.

How to Refrigerate Tomato Sauce

This is the easiest way to store tomato sauce. Just place the jars in the fridge after you fill them. They should stay good for 2-4 weeks.

How to Freeze Tomato Sauce

This preserves the life of the tomato sauce for much longer. I have used my frozen tomato sauce 8 months after I froze it and it was still delicious. Just remember to take it out and put it in the fridge a few days before you want to use it.

How to Can Tomato Sauce

If you want to preserve them but not take up space in your freezer you can can them in a water bath. This takes a little more work and tools, but if you are preserving a lot of tomato sauce it might be the way to go.

I also found a new way of canning this year. You add the hot sauce to a mason jar, put the lid on, and flip it upside down for 5-15 minutes. The heat in the jar should seal the jar shut. When you flip it back over the top should pop so you know it’s sealed. This is the first year I am trying it so I don’t know if it will work, but I’m hoping it does!