Our Family Pasta Sauce

The simple homemade tomato sauce behind so many of our family’s favourite meals.

There are some recipes you make once in a while, and others that quietly become part of how your family eats. This is one of those recipes.

I learned this pasta sauce from my mother-in-law, along with many of the Italian dishes that have become favourites in our family. It’s the sauce I use for a simple bowl of pasta, but it’s also the starting point for chicken Parmesan, eggplant and meat patties, meatballs, cannelloni, pasta and beans, and more.

The recipe itself is surprisingly simple. A few good ingredients, seasoning to taste and time to simmer are really all it needs.

And make extra. This is exactly the kind of recipe that makes another dinner easier when you have some waiting in the freezer.

PREP 10 MIN | COOK 1+ HOUR | TOTAL 1 HR 10+ MIN | YIELD FOR APPROX. 900 G PASTA | METHOD STOVETOP

Why You’ll Love This Sauce

Made with just a handful of simple ingredients
Easy to adjust to your own taste
Simmer it for an hour or let it go longer when you have time
Make extra and freeze some for another meal
Use it for far more than just pasta
It’s the foundation for several of our favourite family recipes

Ingredients

2 jars tomato passata
Approximately 1 jar water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped, or approximately ½ onion
Italian seasoning, to taste
Salt, to taste
Sugar, to taste
Small piece of Parmesan rind, approximately 2 × 2 inches, optional
A few fresh basil leaves
Sausage or spare ribs, optional, for additional flavour

A Note About the Tomatoes

I prefer Mutti tomato passata, but any brand of plain passata works well.

Crushed tomatoes or plain tomato sauce can also be substituted if that’s what you have.

What you don’t want for this recipe is a jar of prepared pasta sauce, such as Ragu or Classico. Start with plain tomatoes so you can build and season the sauce yourself.

How to Make Our Family Pasta Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the chopped shallot and sauté until softened. I prefer shallot, but onion works just as well.
Pour in both jars of passata.
Don’t throw away those empty jars yet. Fill each jar approximately halfway with water, give it a good swirl to pick up the tomato left inside, and pour the water into the pot.
Add Italian seasoning, salt and a little sugar. The amounts are approximate because this is really a season-to-taste recipe. Start with less, let the sauce simmer and adjust as you go.
If you have a Parmesan rind in the freezer, add a small piece to the pot.
Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat and let it cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Let it simmer longer if you have the time.
Taste and adjust the Italian seasoning, salt or sugar as needed. Add a few fresh basil leaves and let them simmer in the sauce.
Remove any remaining Parmesan rind before serving or storing the sauce.

My Parmesan Rind Trick

If you grate your own Parmesan, save the rind.

I buy large blocks of Parmesan and grate them myself. Instead of throwing away the rind when I reach the end of a block, I keep it in the freezer.

When I’m making sauce, I take out a small piece, usually around 2 × 2 inches, and let it simmer right in the pot. You can add a little more if you like.

It’s such a simple way to get a little more flavour out of something that otherwise would have been thrown away.

♥ Family Kitchen Tip

Keep a bag of Parmesan rinds in the freezer.

You don’t need an entire rind for one pot of sauce. Cut or break it into smaller pieces before freezing and take out what you need whenever you’re making sauce.

Make It Your Own

This is one of those recipes that doesn’t need to be measured down to the last teaspoon.

Taste as you go.

If the tomatoes are a little acidic, add a touch more sugar. If the sauce needs more flavour, add another sprinkle of Italian seasoning or salt.

You can also add sausage or spare ribs and let them simmer in the sauce for additional flavour. That option was part of the original recipe I learned from my mother-in-law too.

The important thing is to start with good plain tomatoes and give the sauce time to simmer.

How Much Sauce Does It Make?

This recipe makes enough sauce for approximately 900 g (2 lb) of pasta, depending on how saucy you like your pasta.

If you’re using it for chicken Parmesan, eggplant and meat patties, cannelloni or another recipe, simply portion out what you need and save the rest.

Make Extra and Freeze It

If you’re already making sauce, it’s worth making enough for another dinner.

Let the extra sauce cool completely, portion it into freezer-safe containers and freeze it for another day.

A container of homemade sauce in the freezer can turn into pasta on a busy night, or give you a head start on one of the other family recipes that uses this sauce.

It’s one of those little things you can do today that makes dinner easier another day.

One Sauce, So Many Family Favourites

This sauce is the starting point for some of the recipes that have been passed along in our family.

Eggplant & Meat Patties Parmesan

One of my unexpected favourites. My mother-in-law found a rather clever way to convince someone who insisted she didn’t like eggplant that perhaps she actually did.

Chicken Parmesan

Another recipe I learned from my mother-in-law and a longtime family favourite. Lightly breaded chicken is baked with this sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan until bubbling and golden.

Homemade Meatballs

Another perfect reason to put a pot of sauce on the stove.

Lucy’s Cannelloni

Another special family recipe, with both meat and ricotta-spinach fillings, baked with this sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan.

Pasta & Beans

Simple, comforting and another way this same family sauce becomes something completely different.