This fresh tomato sauce recipe is made in a blender or food processor. This means that it is a thinner sauce and it doesn’t have any big chunks of vegetables in it. Check out the recipe tips if you want to make it a thicker sauce.

Overfilled jar of fresh tomato sauce topped with fresh basil — OUsing Fresh Tomatoes and Herbs will Result in the Best Tasting Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe

While some sauce recipes use canned or jarred tomatoes, this sauce recipe uses fresh tomatoes. It’s a great way to use up that abundance of tomatoes from your garden. It’s best made when tomatoes are in-season, but decent tomatoes can be found at your local grocery store year round, if you can buy them on the .

High quality ingredients are going to make a great sauce. Taste your tomatoes, if they are sweet and delicious, your sauce will be too. All of the ingredients in this sauce are fresh, even the herbs. I use the basil that’s grown in my herb garden but get the parsley at the farmer’s market.

Sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil — *Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Basil, and Raisins Give This Pasta Sauce a Tangy, Sweet Flavor*

Is This Tomato Sauce Healthy?

I love this fresh tomato sauce recipe especially because tomatoes are heart healthy and full of good for you vitamins and minerals like lycopene, beta carotene, vitamin C, and folate. Also because it’s meatless (vegetarian and vegan), gluten free, and free of refined sugars!!

There is no peeling off tomato skin in this recipe, we use the whole dang thing. Why would we peel the tomatoes anyway? Did you know that there is a flavonoid in tomato skin called naringenin? It is known to decrease inflammation and even protect against some diseases. There is no point in throwing away these nutrients. Plus it saves you time!

Overfilled jar of fresh tomato sauce — *This is the Best Tomato Sauce to Serve with Spaghetti Squash or Pasta*

Tomato sauce is so versatile. I like to use my tomato sauce on Spaghetti Squash. You can also mix it in with any type of pasta or use it in place of a jarred spaghetti sauce in your favorite recipe.

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

Bell Pepper: Red or orange peppers are best here.
Onion: Sweet or yellow onion, finely chopped.
Olive Oil: Extra-virgin, of course.
Tomatoes: I used 5 large fresh tomatoes (around 5 lbs), but you could substitute 32-35 oz of canned or jarred tomatoes. Just remember to reduce the salt unless you are using the “no salt added” canned tomatoes.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: I used dried sun-dried tomatoes but you can also use the ones in oil, just drain them.
Raisins: For a little natural sweetness. Can also use dried cranberries or one chopped, pitted date.
Parsley: Italian parsley, a tablespoon that’s been chopped. This is the flat leaf parsley and not the curly leaf parsley.
Basil: 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves.
Salt: I like using Kosher salt or sea salt.
Pepper: Freshly ground pepper.

Various ingredients for tomato sauce some of which are fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, basil, and red bell pepper — *Try Making this Pasta Sauce in lieu of Using a Jar of Store Bought Sauce*

How to Make Fresh Tomato Sauce

Sauté the onions in extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Add in the bell peppers and continue cooking until tender.
In a blender or food processor, combine the cooked onions and bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and tomatoes. Scrape down sides if needed. Add in raisins, parsley, salt, and pepper. Continue to blend.
Transfer this mixture back to the large skillet and cover. Cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil.
Lower the heat and allow the sauce to simmer for around 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Tear up the basil and stir in. Season with more salt and pepper as needed.

All of the steps to make tomato sauce — *This Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe Comes Together in No Time*

Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe Tips

If 1 teaspoon (or more) of salt seems like a lot, keep in mind that we are using fresh tomatoes instead of canned or jarred. The flavor of the tomatoes will come alive with the salt. Remember to reduce the salt if using canned or jarred that contain salt.
You can substitute dried herbs if you like. Use 1 teaspoon of dried basil and 1 teaspoon of dried parsley. Flavors will not be the same as using fresh herbs.
Because this pasta sauce is made in the blender or food processor, it is a thinner sauce. If you want a thicker, chunkier sauce simply combine all of the ingredients in the food processor except half the fresh tomatoes. Add that mixture and the other half of the tomatoes to the skillet and continue with the rest of the recipe.
The longer you simmer the sauce the thicker it will get.

Storage Instructions for Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe

How to Refrigerate Tomato Sauce: Let the sauce cool and put in a glass container or BPA-free airtight plastic container or zipper bag. The sauce should last about 4-5 days in the fridge.
How to Freeze Tomato Sauce: Let the sauce cool off completely before pouring into an airtight glass, BPA-free freezer-safe bag or freezer-safe plastic container. Make sure to label the sauce with the recipe name and date. The sauce should last about 3 months in the freezer.
How to Thaw Frozen Tomato Sauce: Thaw the frozen tomato sauce on a plate in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. You can also immerse the container or bag in a bowl of water for about 1 1/2 hours. The sauce doesn’t have to be completely thawed out to heat it.
How to Re-Heat Tomato Sauce: Empty contents into a pot. Heat over low, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Or put in a microwave safe container and microwave for about 4-7 minutes. Finish or toss any spaghetti sauce that you have re-heated and do not re-store anything that is leftover.

*I love that this Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe is Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten Free.*

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