Picture a pasta sauce bursting with vibrant flavors, crafted entirely from the bounty of a sun-kissed garden. Ripe tomatoes, plucked at the peak of summer sweetness, take center stage. Sun-warmed basil leaves lend their aromatic essence, and garlic, freshly harvested from the soil, infuses the sauce with pungent warmth, while onions add a subtle sweetness.
As the sauce simmers, the flavors meld into a symphony of freshness, each ingredient playing its part to perfection. This homemade pasta sauce is a celebration of the season and brings joy and a sense of contentment because the vegetables were grown in your garden.

Homemade pasta sauce
We use this homemade sauce for pasta, pizza, and meatball subs. Pretty much anything you’d need a nice red sauce for.
Add cooked ground beef or ground turkey for a complete meal!
Sometimes you will have a tart or bitter sauce, it all depends on the tomatoes that are used, but instead of sugar, I’ve found that adding some more salt or a splash of red wine vinegar offsets the taste very well.
Homemade Pasta Sauce
25
minutes1
hour1
hour25
minutesIngredients
6-8 Tomatoes Roma, or other that you like. You can also use (1) 24oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 sprigs Parsley Roughly chopped or 1 tsp dried
1 Sprig Thyme Fresh or 1/2 tsp dried
2 Whole Bay leaves fresh or dry
1 Sprig Fresh Oregano Roughly chopped or 1 tsp dried
1/3 Cup Fresh basil Roughly chopped
2 Cloves Garlic roughly chopped
1 Large Carrot Diced
1 Medium Onion Diced
1 Splash Olive oil
1 Tsp Salt or more to taste
Directions
- If using fresh tomatoes – Start by preheating the oven to 350° – Wash the tomatoes and roast for 20 minutes in the oven or until soft and remove the skin
- Add a splash of olive oil to a saucepan and heat over medium
- Add onion and carrots and cook until browned.
- Add garlic and let it brown for a minute.
- While the onions, carrots, and garlic are cooking. Place roasted tomatoes into a food processor and pulse a few times to break tomatoes apart.
- Add tomatoes into the pot with all the herbs
- Simmer on low for 1 hour
- Taste the sauce as it cooks, add more salt as needed
When the sauce is cooked, remove the bay leaves and the spines of the herbs and serve!
Notes
- If you like a smooth sauce, blend until smooth then serve.
- It’s always important to remove the bay leaves before serving.
- Canned crushed tomatoes are excellent in this recipe as well. Feel free to use them instead of the Roma tomatoes.
- If your sauce comes out bitter or tart add a slash of red wine vinegar.


Did you make this recipe?
Tag @willowbottom_homestead on Instagram and use hashtag #willowbottom