Simple, Fast, Easy, Tomato Basil Sauce

It’s date night tonight with Mike. I am making Vegan Pizza Puttanesca. I was going to share the recipe with you, but I haven’t created it yet. I need to make it at least once before sharing. I like to do things at least 3 times before I make them an official recipe. Besides that, when I thought about giving you the pizza recipe, I realized I hadn’t given you the sauce recipe yet. You see where this is going?

I make sauce a lot. All types of sauce. I make cheesy sauces, cream sauces, tomato sauces, among others. It helps when you’re a vegetarian to always have a good sauce you can smother all over bread. I like bread. Sauce makes bread even better.

This is my tomato basil sauce. I use it for pizza and as my own sauce when the boys are having a meat sauce. I think it’s delicious. You should try it too .

Simple, Fast, Easy, Tomato Basil Sauce

2 tbs olive oil
3 Cloves Garlic or roasted garlic , grated or minced
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper (*Optionally More, To Taste)
28-Ounce Can Roma Style Tomatoes
6 Ounces (1 can) Tomato Paste
Kosher or Sea Salt 1 tbs. (*Optionally More, To taste)
1/4 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 Cup, Packed Basil Leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated, parmesan (optional)
Ground Black Pepper* (optional)

1. Place large pot over medium heat.

2. Add olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Stir and let cook until you can smell the garlic.

3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir & bring to light simmer. Add Balsamic vinegar.

4. Add Salt. Taste. Add more salt if needed. Taste. Repeat salt, if necessary.

5. Add basil. Simmer for about 2 minutes more. Stir. Turn off of heat.

Bring to room temp. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

21 Responses

Katie @ Healthnut Foodie April 28, 2011 at 4:07 am | Permalink | Reply

Oh my!!! This looks fantastic! We do homemade pizza at least monthly! (Who am I kidding?!? If I have less than one ball of dough in my freezer, I go into a panic attack!) LOVE homemade pizza!!! http://healthnutfoodie.blogspot.com
Roasted Carrots w/ Traditional Balsamic Vinegar | gourmetblends April 23, 2011 at 5:57 am | Permalink
Gourmantine April 20, 2011 at 8:27 pm | Permalink | Reply

Delicious looking sauce! I’ve gave your lovely site a couple of awards, you can see it here http://www.gourmantineblog.com/?p=1323
Mario Grazia Italian Chef April 19, 2011 at 2:51 pm | Permalink | Reply

Your personal recipe is very interesting, with parmesan, balsamic vinegar and garlic, and it sounds very tasty!

Keep it up!

Mario Grazia
The Meatball Project Conclusion on Family and Picky Eaters (non-recipe post) « Kate from Scratch April 19, 2011 at 2:34 pm | Permalink
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking April 18, 2011 at 8:23 pm | Permalink | Reply

What a lovely tomato sauce! I bet it would be as tasty on pizza as it would be tossed with pasta! Thanks for sharing! You have a beautiful blog and I’m looking forward to exploring your recipes.
Kate April 18, 2011 at 12:33 pm | Permalink | Reply

This sauce looks delish and pretty simple which I LOVE! Looks like it would be a great sauce for an easy and quick weeknight dinner. Thanks for sharing!
1. katefromscratch April 18, 2011 at 12:56 pm | Permalink | Reply
  
  Yeah, the simplicity is what I love about it too. Anybody can dump a bunch of dried seasonings into a sauce, but this is at least a nice base. I like it without any extras but sometimes some roasted red peppers and kalamata olives (and 1/4 cup grated onion – don’t tell my family. They think they hate onions) make it extra special. That was the inspiration for the aforementioned puttanesca pizza.
  
  I also make this with fresh tomatoes in the summer. So good.
oliveoilexperience April 18, 2011 at 2:42 am | Permalink | Reply

Your right this is in deed a simple sauce, but is yummy and smells great!
gingerbreadbagels April 17, 2011 at 5:54 pm | Permalink | Reply

Oh my does this tomato basil sauce look incredible. I LOVE balsamic vinegar in tomato sauce. YUM!
katefromscratch April 17, 2011 at 4:42 pm | Permalink | Reply

Thanks! Yeah, the balsamic adds a little sweetness and depth in a pinch.
Connie April 17, 2011 at 3:45 pm | Permalink | Reply

Wonderful, I love the balsamic in there. My quick tomato sauce might be getting some adjustments…
Megan April 17, 2011 at 3:03 pm | Permalink | Reply

This sounds (and looks) delicious!! I’m always looking for new sauces to try. Thanks for sharing!
1. katefromscratch April 17, 2011 at 5:02 pm | Permalink | Reply
  
  glad you like it! If you make it, take a pic and let me know how it comes out. You can contact me on facebook & twitter. I’d love the feedback.
Mandy - The Complete Cook Book April 17, 2011 at 7:51 am | Permalink | Reply

Fabulous!
Mandy
1. katefromscratch April 17, 2011 at 5:03 pm | Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks Mandy!
Strawbz April 17, 2011 at 7:15 am | Permalink | Reply

Tom and basil is the best combo ever will definately make this
1. katefromscratch April 17, 2011 at 5:04 pm | Permalink | Reply
  
  Glad you like it. If you make it, feel free to upload a pic on fb and twitter. I’d love to gain some more perspective from people using the recipes.
  
  Thanks!
Kelly April 16, 2011 at 8:35 pm | Permalink | Reply

This looks incredible!
tiffany April 16, 2011 at 6:59 pm | Permalink | Reply

Mmmmm, yummy. I love tomatoes and basil!
northwoodsart April 16, 2011 at 5:27 pm | Permalink | Reply

This looks fantastic! The bf and I absolutely LOVE red sauce (on anything, really), so this is definitely going to be a must-try.

If you’d like to explore some pizza options, I just wrote a blog on homemade pizza (complete with pictures!) that you should check out. It’s wonderful stuff

Anyway, thanks for sharing, and keep doing what you do!!