Homemade Tomato Sauce

In our household, tomato sauce is one of the staples I keep in the freezer (along with homemade chicken stock!). It makes for a super easy meal on days where I don't have a lot of time or motivation to cook an elaborate dinner. Over the last few years, my husband and I have tried A TON of different recipes and this is the one that we keep going back to time and time again.

Here's why this recipe works. First, you use canned whole tomatoes so you can easily make this year round. I splurge and get the imported Italian San Marzano tomatoes. These cans have D.O.P. serial numbers on each can and run about six dollars a can. I think they taste have a really rich tomato flavor and are slightly sweet. They are totally worth the extra money, but any canned whole tomato would work just fine. Second, the sauce is slightly spicy from red pepper flakes and is full of vegetables. The neat thing about this recipe is that you broil a mixture of carrots, celery, onions, and garlic until they are slightly charred - which gives them a ton of extra flavor. Third, this sauce freezes beautifully. The recipe makes enough for 2-3 batches of pasta, so you put the work in to make the sauce and can reap the benefits in the future.

LESSON LEARNED: Sauces that you can make ahead and freeze are time-savers.

Recipe for Homemade Tomato Sauce