Marcella Hazan tomato sauce with butter and onion, simmered until silky and balanced. Rich, simple, and exactly what you want with pasta or meatballs.
This homemade tomato sauce recipe is my all-time favorite. It’s not mine, it’s Marcella Hazan’s tomato butter sauce that has been quietly circulating kitchens for decades. And for good reason.
There’s nothing new here. Just a deep personal desire to make sure everyone I know has this recipe in their back pocket.
Tomato sauce is one of those things that can easily get overcomplicated and underwhelming all at the same time. This one is the opposite. It’s beautifully and majestically simple with 3 ingredients and 45 minutes of mostly hands-off cooking.
I always have the ingredients on hand, so I make it often. Weekly, usually. Our 7-year-old has it memorized and can make it (when I feel like sharing the kitchen). Sometimes I’ll throw in a clove of garlic, or a few woody herbs, or a big pinch of chile flakes. But most of the time, I make it exactly as Marcella did.
It doesn’t need help.
The butter rounds everything out, the onion melts into the sauce and leaves behind a touch of sweetness. As it simmers, the tomatoes mellow and the flavors concentrate. The sauce strikes the perfect balance of bright and jammy, fresh and rich.
I always blend mine completely smooth. That’s not traditional, but I just love it velvety smooth. If you prefer it chunky, leave it as is! Both are fabulous ways to enjoy what I think of as the perfect tomato sauce.
I use it everywhere. Tossed with my homemade ricotta ravioli, spooned over giant meatballs, or as a dipping sauce for crispy fried arancini. Any time I need an italian tomato sauce, this is the one.
how to make this tomato sauce:
Recipe tips:
Use high-quality whole peeled tomatoes. With just a few ingredients, the tomatoes make or break the sauce.
Blend right in the pot. An immersion blender makes it easy to go from chunky to silky smooth in seconds.
Loosen if it reduces too much. A splash of water or pasta cooking water brings it back to the right consistency.
Add cream for a richer version. About ⅓ cup turns it into an indulgently creamy tomato sauce the kids love
Make extra. It keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge and freezes well for a couple of months.
PrintMarcella Hazan Tomato Sauce
Homemade tomato sauce with butter and onion, simmered until silky and balanced. Rich, simple, and exactly what you want with pasta or meatballs.
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2 ½ cups
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion, peeled and halved
- 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onion and tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring and crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot every so often, about 45 minutes.
- Sauce is ready when the butter separates from the tomatoes, and the onion is very soft and translucent. Discard the onion. Use sauce as is or blend smooth with an immersion blender.
- Toss with hot pasta or refrigerate in a glass jar for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 9.5g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 24mg
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