Difficulty Level: Beginner
You may be thinking why make pasta sauce when you can just grab a jar of pre-made sauce and call it a day? Well three reasons will make you a believer. The first reason is that many jarred pasta sauces contain a large amount of added sugar and sometimes are high in sodium too. The second reason is that jarred sauce is more expensive per ounce than crushed tomatoes. The third reason is that it is seriously so easy. It only takes a few minutes to make a quick homemade sauce.
I haven’t bought pasta sauce for several years now and my family eats my sauce without complaint (well the ones that actually like red sauce). You can use this sauce with meat balls, sausage and ground beef. In baked pastas and any recipe that calls for jarred sauce.
Pasta Sauce
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 clove minced garlic (about a tsp of pre-minced garlic)
1 TBSP of olive oil
½ tsp sea salt or whatever salt you have on hand
½ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp dried oregano or Italian seasoning
½ cup parmesan cheese (the stuff in the can is what I use, but you could by fresh and grate it)
In a medium sauce pan heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add garlic and heat for just a few seconds before adding crushed tomatoes. Do not burn the garlic it will taste bitter.
After adding tomatoes add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Bring to a simmer (small bubbles) and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes. If adding meat to sauce add while simmering.
If meat is frozen, such as frozen meatballs, or raw simmer with meat until meat is cooked through. If adding cooked meat simmering for the 10-15 minutes will be plenty of time. Serve with you favorite pasta shape or use in a baked pasta recipe.