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My improved Italian red sauce recipe uses lots of fresh garlic and tomatoes, just like a traditional red sauce, but there’s a secret ingredient to make it extra special. Scroll down to the recipe to see what it is! This red sauce is perfect to use in any Italian recipes that call for a red sauce.
The last few months, I have been making this new and improved red sauce for pasta….a lot. I make a large batch and freeze the leftovers. Think of it like ‘nesting’, except without the baby! I don’t know what I am preparing for….a power outage, a run on food…Armageddon!?
But I do love this improved red sauce recipe. I just wanted to try something different and it works for me. It is sweet, but not too sweet, deep, rich, garlicky, and coats a pasta well. I would like to think it is a hybrid of several of more traditional red sauces I have made over the years. So, again, this is not some new discovery here. Just maybe try it if you need a change of pace, or you have picky eaters to feed like I do!
This pasta sauce recipe is really versatile, too. You can serve it over pasta, of course, but it can also be used in other Italian recipes. It’s the best pasta sauce for things like chicken Parmesan, lasagna, or stuffed shells.
I hope you like my improved red sauce recipe. Please leave a comment if there’s something special you add to your pasta sauce!
A couple of quick notes about making the red sauce:
When I use fresh herbs, I wait to add them until just before serving, because I want to be able to taste them. I know there are 2 different schools of thought on this. My thought is, do what works for you!
I like to add a little chopped basil on top. It should come as no shock to you that I eat basil on a lot of things. ????
Oh, and at the beginning of this post, I mentioned that there is a secret ingredient that makes this improved red sauce so special. Can you guess what it might be?
Fresh Mozzarella cheese! I have been hoarding it all week, since buying it from Trader’s Point Creamery. I love it!
15 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)
1 hr, 30 Cook Time
1 hr, 45 Total Time
Ingredients
- 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes and a little water to rinse it out. PLUS 15 ounces water.
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 shallots, finely minced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I always add more to my finished product)
- 2 TB tomato paste
- Fresh pepper and Kosher salt
- 1/3 C olive oil
- 2 TB of salted butter
- Chopped fresh herbs. I use basil, oregano and thyme. You can use dried here, but I always suggest fresh.
Instructions
- In a skillet saute the garlic, shallot, salt and pepper in the olive oil/butter until translucent, the shallots have properly ‘sweated’ and they are soft and fragrant. This may take 5-7 minutes. At this point I add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes.
- Add the tomato sauce and dried herbs (if using them), cover it and let it simmer on low for as long as you need to, but not longer than 3 hours. If you are using fresh herbs, for the freshest taste, wait until just before serving to add them.
