San Marzano Tomato Sauce Recipe

I thought I'd show everyone how I make my family's favorite pasta sauce. I use this sauce for everything - my pizzeria style pizza, no-carb pizza crust, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, stuffed shells, eggplant parmesan, spaghetti and meatball pie, mozzarella sticks, chicken parmesan bites, toasted ravioli, meat sauce.... I even use it as a base for my chili.  

I start with a huge can of San Marzano Tomatoes.  They are, without question, the very best. Some good brand names to look for are Cento, Muir Glen, Sclafani, Tuttorosso, Pomi, or any San Marzanos that list "DOP" on the label (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta).

I also chop one large Spanish onion, and mince 5-6 big cloves of garlic.

I like to buy whole tomatoes and process them myself.  Today I'm pureeing my tomatoes because I'm feeding a picky eater who doesn't like chunky tomatoes, but you make them as chunky or pureed as you like.  A blender or food mill can also be used.

If the kids are around, they like to help me crank the tomatoes through a food mill. It's kind of fun.

After the tomatoes are processed, blended, or milled, you end up with pureed tomatoes that look like this. Set them aside for now.

Okay, in a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan over med-high heat, saute the onions in olive oil until they are nice and caramelized.

Add 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and pepper. You have to season every step of the way.

Yum. Cook your onions  until they're caramelized like this.  They're going to add an incredible depth of flavor to the sauce.

Now it's time to add the minced garlic.  Don't add it earlier that now or it will burn and taste bitter.  Saute the garlic with the onions for just about 30-60 seconds, stirring well so the garlic doesn't burn. As soon as that wonderful garlicy aroma fills the kitchen...

Add a whole can of tomato paste and stir constantly for 3-5 minutes until the tomato paste darkens and starts to caramelize (again, adding even more depth of flavor).

Here's a tip - keep a cup of water (or a splash of red wine) near the stove top. The minute you notice any spots getting too brown - like you see here at 10 O'clock...

Add a splash or two.  It will bubble up and dissolve the spot and keep your food from burning.  The technical term for this is called "deglazing".

See - the liquid evaporated and the dark spot is all gone (actually, it's been incorporated into the sauce), but nothing has burned!  

Okay, time to add the reserved tomato puree and most of the remaining ingredients (everything except the fresh basil).  Simmer for about an hour.  Just before serving, remove the bay leaves and add the fresh basil.

I hope you'll give this sauce a try.  Let me know how you like it.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• heavy bottom stockpot https://amzn.to/3WuwZOz

• food mill https://amzn.to/3WjOZLg

• food processor https://amzn.to/3FJVilt

• vitamix https://amzn.to/3DX1ghJ

• tomato strainer https://amzn.to/3sURWEH

• san marzano tomatoes https://amzn.to/3T0Qonc

---

San Marzano Tomato Sauce

makes about 12 cups (enough to feed a big Italian family with plenty of leftovers!)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 jumbo onion, diced

• 5-6 garlic cloves (pressed, crushed, or minced)

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 6 ounce can tomato paste

• 6 pound can San Marzano whole tomatoes (pureed until smooth in food processor, blender, or food mill)

• 3 tablespoons dried parsley

• 4 dried bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (kids might find this amount a tad spicy - adults usually love it - I double it)

• *Fresh basil, chopped or torn (as much as you like, but don't add until serving)

Directions

1. Over med-high heat, saute onions, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in olive oil until caramelized (I save the leftover oil from jarred sun-dried tomatoes to use for things like this).

2. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds, or until very fragrant.

3. Add tomato paste and caramelize for 3-5 minutes; stirring constantly.

4. Add pureed tomatoes, bay leaves, dried oregano, dried basil (don't add the fresh basil yet), red pepper flakes, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper; stir to combine.

5. Simmer on low for about an hour.

6. Remove bay leaves.

7. Add fresh basil just before serving.

Notes

• You can simmer this sauce longer if you like, but you don't need to.

• For meat sauce, I like to add Italian sausages or ground beef that has been browned with lots of onion and garlic.

• If you happen to have a rind of Parmesan cheese leftover, throw that in too (it won't really melt into the sauce, but it will add a lot of great flavor).

• For a smaller batch, use a 28oz can of tomatoes and scale the recipe down to 1/3.

To Make Meat Sauce:

The general rule of thumb is 1 pound of cooked meat to 1 quart of sauce, but you can certainly add as much or as little as you like.

Here's what I do... I like to dice a medium yellow onion, then cook it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes), stirring frequently until the onions develop some nice caramelization. Then I add a clove or two of minced garlic, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Chop and stir until the meat is crumbled and cooked through. Drain excess grease if needed, then add a quart of sauce and heat through. Some of my family members are not fans of Italian sausage, so I usually only added beef, but if you choose to use sausage, hold off on adding the salt and pepper until you cook and taste the sausage to see if it needs additional seasoning (it's usually pretty flavorful on its own).

---

Stuffed Shells with 3 Cheeses

Mmmm, Stuffed Shells - a family favorite any time of year. Great when you need to feed a crowd too!

First boil 1 box of jumbo pasta shells (properly salted water please... add enough kosher salt so the water actually tastes salty - like the sea). Under cook the shells a bit so they don't turn to mush later in the oven. It's really important to cool these shells completely before proceeding. I do this by running them under cold water. I'll even throw in an ice cube or two. Then drain and move on to the next step.

In the meantime, gather all your ingredients together. Here I have my homemade sauce (or "gravy" as some family members insist on calling it), Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Ricotta cheese, eggs, dried parsley, red pepper flakes, and s & p. I didn't have any frozen spinach on hand today, but I usually throw a 10-ounce box of that in too (thawed and squeezed of course).

Check out my delicious homemade sauce recipes:

• quick weeknight marinara

• weekend san marzano tomato sauce

For the filling, mix the eggs, ricotta, 1/2 the mozzarella, 1/2 the parmesan, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and optional spinach together. Mix, mix, mix.... you don't want any bites with too much red pepper... or worse, not enough cheese!!!

Haha, that reminds me of the time my 2 year old son said to me (with the most concerned tone in his voice), "But mommy, if you die, who will buy me cheese???" (ah, the love of cheese). For the record, I was not dying. I wasn't even sick... it just randomly occurred to my toddler that I was the prime cheese provider, and he was quite concerned that his cheese provisions could very well be hindered at some point in the event I should cease to exist.

That 2 year old is now nearly 16, and he's still a cheese fiend. I literally have to hide the fresh mozzarella from him!

Okay, back to the stuffed shells...

Here is the filling all nice and mixed.

I usually place the filling into a large, disposable pastry bag, but since most of you probably don't have one of those hanging around, I'll demonstrate with a gallon size zipper storage bag. This will help you to fill the shells with slightly less mess. Note I said slightly - unless you have a helper in the kitchen to hold each shell open, you are going to get a little messy, so if you're brave (or desperate) enough to try this alone, do yourself a favor and use a pastry or storage bag.

Before we go any further, put a layer of sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. This will prevent the shells from sticking to the dish.

Now, cut a fairly decent size hole in the corner of the bag and start filling the shells. See how large I made this hole? I probably cut a good inch off the corner of the bag. Put the open corner into the shell and squeeze to fill. The bag will help you keep the shell open. So much easier than trying to fill them with a spoon.

If you have any filling left over, just squeeze it into the gaps between the shells. Waste not, want not.

Top the shells with the remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and a sprinkling of dried parsley. IMPORTANT - place the baking dish on a sheet pan. Your oven will thank me later.

I like to use Reynold's Wrap Non-stick Foil whenever I make stick or cheesy things.  Nothing sticks to it.

Seriously, one side is printed "non-stick side" (the dull side). Put the non-stick side against the cheese and you'll never have to worry about the foil ripping all the melted cheese off your dinner again!

This is the side of the foil that was in direct contact with all that melted cheese. Look - you can click on the photo to see that there isn't one speck of cheese stuck to that foil. Not one speck! Great stuff!

And THIS is why your oven is happy you put that baking dish on a cookie sheet. You'll thank me too :). Mmmm, yummy. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Stuffed Shells with 3 Cheeses

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 box jumbo shells (not quite fully cooked - rinsed and cooled completely)

• 2 eggs

• 32 ounces ricotta cheese

• 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

• 4 ounces grated parmesan cheese, divided

• 3 tablespoons dried parsley

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (optional)

• 3-4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce, divided (try my recipes here and here)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large baking dish (like 11x15), spoon 1/2 of the tomato sauce; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, 1/2 the mozzarella, 1/2 the parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and optional spinach; mix well.

4. Fill the partially cooked pasta shells and place them on top of the layer of tomato sauce in the baking dish.

5. Top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.

6. Sprinkle with dried parsley.

7. Cover well with non-stick foil and place baking dish on a sheet pan.

8. Bake covered in a 350F oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the shells are hot and bubbly.

9. Remove foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

10. Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!