Making homemade tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes is a great way to use up summer fresh tomatoes! When you use a food mill, there’s no need to prep for the tomatoes. You’ll end up with a rich, flavorful tomato sauce you can enjoy for pasta, pizza, and so much more!
Affiliates note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My content may contain affiliate links to products and services. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
Table of Contents
You’re going to love making Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes. This is one of the easiest recipes to make because there is no peeling required! Everything goes right into the pot. After simmering for a few hours, you can simply process the tomatoes through your Food Mill, and voilà you’ve got the best Fresh Tomato Sauce.
Give it a try—you’ll love how easy it is, and once you do, you can try your hand at making applesauce with a food mill. If you’re looking for other ways to cook tomatoes, try this easy marinara sauce, homemade tomato soup, or fermented tomatoes.
Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
To make tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes you will need:
- Roma tomatoes: Works best for making tomato sauce. These tomatoes contain fewer seeds and have more flesh and less water, which means they cook down into a flavorful sauce.
- Aromatics: We will cook the tomatoes with onions and garlic to infuse them with more flavor.
- Red wine: Cooking the tomatoes with red wine gives your tomato sauce richer and more vibrant flavors. You can also use port or vermouth.
Be sure to check the recipe card for the full list and quantities of each.
How to Make Fresh Tomato Sauce
Making tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes is so easy to do! Here’s a look at the main steps.
Step 1 – Cook the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and red onion in a large stock pot until it boils. Reduce the heat and cook covered on low heat for about an hour.
Step 2 – Check the sauce and give it a stir, crushing the tomatoes. Cover it with a lid and cook for another hour.
Step 3 – Remove the lid and stir the sauce. Continue to cook uncovered for one hour or longer until the sauce thickens.
Step 4 – Remove the pot from the heat and allow the sauce to cool for 10 minutes.
Step 5 – Place the food mill over a deep bowl or pot and use a soup ladle to carefully transfer some of the sauce to the food mill. Crank the food mill so the pureed sauce drops into the bowl below.
Step 6 – Discard the skins and other debris left in the food mill. Decant the sauce into a jar, place the lid on the jar, and refrigerate your sauce.
How to Use and Serve
You can use this fresh tomato sauce in recipes or dishes just like you would use canned tomato sauce.
- It works great to make stuffed shells, baked pasta dishes, and lasagna.
- Use it to season and add flavor to your favorite soups, stews, or casseroles.
- Add it to rice or other grains for flavor.
- Use it as a base for homemade pizza.
Recipe Tips
- Store your tomato sauce in airtight jars or containers. This tomato sauce will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and 4-6 months in the freezer.
- Use caution when transferring the cooked tomatoes to the food mill. It’s a good idea to let it cool slightly, use a ladle, and move the pot close to the food mill to prevent spilling any on yourself.
- Make in multiple batches so you can store tomato sauce to use in recipes in the future. You can even package it up in 1 or 2-cup portions so you can easily pull out exactly the amount you need.
More Tomato Recipes
Canning Crushed Tomatoes with Water Bath Tutorial
Easy step-by-step process to water bath can tomatoes for your pantry shelf.
How to Make Slow-Roasted Candied Tomatoes
Enjoy these soft, tender, and absolutely scrumptious tomatoes!
How to Make Tomato Powder
Create this delightfully tasty flavoring powder in the oven or the dehydrator.
Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List
For an extensive list of the traditional foods you can make and purchase to stock your pantry, be sure to download my free 36-page Traditional Foods Pantry List. This comprehensive eBook is full of links to recipe videos, helpful articles, and more!
And if you’re looking for a printed book full of my traditional foods recipes to show you how to create a traditional foods kitchen, be sure to order your copy of my new bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.
Order YOUR COPY Now!
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.
Kitchen Academy Videos
Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? If so, I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos, live streams, and other members-only perks. Plus, your YouTube comments include a special members-only badge.
More Kitchen Pioneer Videos
Are You Salt Sensitive or Salt Resistant? Get the Latest Salt Intake Research
Learn how your body may react to salt intake differently from others.
What Is the Best Time to Eat Dinner?
Find out if eating dinner early or late is best for you. You might be surprised!
Does Eating Food in a Specific Order Fight Disease?
Research suggests that the order in which we eat our food may significantly impact our health and ability to fight disease.
Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest
- Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
- Subscribe to Mary’s Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy (Optional Paid) - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
- Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook (Optional Paid) - Get a printed book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.
I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!
Homemade Tomato Sauce using a Food Mill
Ingredients
- 8 pounds Roma tomatoes whole
- 6 medium Onions rough chopped
- 2 heads garlic cut in half
- 2 cups Red wine You can also use port or vermouth.
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Immediately turn your heat down to low, cover the pot, and allow it to simmer on low for one hour.
- After one hour, check on the sauce and stir well. Crush the tomatoes in the process. Re-cover your stock pot and allow it to simmer on low for another hour.
- Remove the pot lid and stir sauce. Allow to simmer one hour or longer until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce has thickened sufficiently, remove the pot from heat and allow the sauce to cool for 10 minutes.
- Place food mill over a deep bowl or pot and carefully transfer some of the sauce to the food mill. A soup ladle works well for this process.
- Crank the food mill as the finished sauce drops into the bowl below. The skins and other debris will remain in the food mill.
- Once all the sauce has been processed through the food mill, discard the skins and other debris. Decant the sauce into a jar, place the lid on the jar, and refrigerate.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Cooking Supplies
- Weston Stainless Steel Food Mill
- Duralex Made In France Lys Stackable 10-Piece Bowl Set
- OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Ladle
- Le Creuset 16-Quart Stockpot
- Le Creuset 20-Quart Stockpot
Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide
- Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
- Visit my Shopping Guide page
Get up to 15% off for Stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and Equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Mockmill Grain Mill, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and more!
