Basic Vegetarian Tomato Sauce

This is the foundational Italian tomato sauce, the kind that sits behind every great pasta plate in Bologna and Rome. The base is a soffritto: finely chopped carrot, celery, and onion sweated in olive oil for a full 10 minutes until they melt into a sweet, fragrant base. That long sweat is what builds depth without meat.

Fresh basil and parsley get chopped right into the soffritto, so their oils cook into the vegetables and infuse the whole sauce rather than sitting on top. This isn’t pesto, the herbs are an aromatic backbone, not a garnish.

Italian plum tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them) push everything through a food mill, then simmer partly covered over very low heat for 2 hours. That long, slow reduction is non-skippable. It’s what concentrates the flavor and gives the sauce its silky body. Rushing the simmer leaves you with thin, sharp-tasting sauce.

A second pass through the food mill at the end gives you the smooth, restaurant-style finish.

Use on spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, or anywhere a great red sauce belongs.

Pro Tips

• Use the best canned tomatoes you can find. San Marzano is the gold standard for a reason. The sauce has nowhere to hide cheap tomatoes.
• A pinch of sugar at the start tames any tinny acidity from canned tomatoes without making things sweet.
• Stir occasionally during the simmer, especially as it thickens. Tomato sauce can stick and scorch on the bottom if left alone too long.
• Save a parmesan rind in the freezer just for sauces like this. Drop it in during the simmer for a savory umami depth, fish it out before serving.
• Freezes for 6 months in airtight containers. Portion into 1-cup servings for easy weeknight pasta.

Variations

• Add 2 to 3 anchovy fillets to the soffritto for a deeper, savory umami push (no, the sauce won’t taste fishy).
• Stir in a splash of red wine after the soffritto, let it reduce, then add tomatoes for a richer sauce.
• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a spicy arrabbiata-style version.