Simple Homemade San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Name: San Marzano Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 28 oz can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; 2 tsp kosher salt; fresh basil (optional)

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Why settle for jarred tomato sauce when you can whip up the best San Marzano tomato sauce at home in under 20 minutes? With just three simple ingredients (plus fresh basil, if you like), this classic red sauce is bursting with rich, vibrant flavor—so easy, so versatile, and so much better than anything from a jar.

If you like this, you are going to love my Lobster Pasta. It’s a simplified version of a creamy tomato restaurant-style seafood pasta. For a Roman classic, you have to try my Bucatini Amatriciana. It builds on the foundation of the San Marzano tomato sauce for a richer Roman sauce that gets its flavor from Pecorino Romano and Guanciale.

Doppio (Abra’s husband) here again to share another one of my Italian recipe secrets. This is my go-to red sauce and the foundation for just about every other tomato sauce I make. The beauty of this simple recipe is that all three ingredients are pantry staples, making this classic Italian tomato sauce perfect for weeknight meals, easy lunches, and entertaining on the fly. The best part is that it tastes so sophisticated and luxurious that everyone will think you spent hours stirring a secret family recipe over the hot stovetop when in reality you whipped it up in under a half hour.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Also known as Pomodoro sauce this San Marzano Tomato sauce is better than any supermarket tomato sauce out there. Fresh and intense with sweet tomato flavor, you’ll never want to waste money on another ‘gourmet’ jarred sauce ever again.
Versatile – this recipe is the mother sauce for almost all of my Italian red sauces. The flavors are so clear and simple that it works with so many dishes.
Quick and Easy – You will be shocked by how easy this is to make. This sauce is done and on the table in under 20 minutes, for real!!!

Let’s Get Cooking!

Do San Marzano Tomatoes Make a Difference?

What’s so Special About San Marzano Tomatoes?

In short, yes, San Marzano tomatoes make a difference, especially in a recipe with just a few ingredients.

San Marzano Tomatoes have a thick delicate flesh and fewer seeds than most other tomatoes. Their trademark balanced sweetness and acidity, along with a lower moisture content make them prized amongst the best chefs in the world. One of the reasons this deceptively simple San Marzano tomato sauce works is because of the unique balanced flavor of the San Marzano tomato.

Real San Marzano tomatoes smell like fresh tomatoes freshly picked off the vine. A freshly opened can should smell like tomatoes at the farmer’s market stall. Notes of extra sweetness or cooked tomato are typically a sign that the product has been enhanced and not a positive sign.

San Marzano Tomatoes taste like tomatoes, not tomato sauce. If they taste overly sweet, like a long-simmered sauce, you likely do not have San Marzano Tomatoes. Real San Marzanos have a fresh minerality, combined with savory/sweet/ slightly bitter taste profile that’s prized around the world. True San Marzano Tomatoes are delicious whether you cook them for 10 minutes or 10 hours.

Texture is the ultimate test. San Marzano Tomato flesh easily breaks apart with no resistance. Try to lift a tomato with just your thumb and forefinger and it most likely tears apart. San Marzano Tomatoes are much more delicate than most other tomato varieties, hence artisanal processing is the only way to preserve them as more vigorous industrial canning procedures completely mush them up.

Taste – These tomatoes are set apart from others because of their rich, sweet flavor and lower acidity. There is no need for adding sugar to your sauce if you use these tomatoes! They also have a thicker consistency than other canned plum tomatoes, and you’ll find they have less seeds too (making it ideal for cooking).

A place and a variety. San Marzano is not only a type of tomato but also a region in Italy. The San Marzano tomato is a type of long, thin, plum tomato with less seeds than other plum tomato varieties. San Marzano tomatoes are grown in Southern Italy, between the cities of Naples and Salerno. The one key factor contributing to San Marzano tomatoes famous taste is the potassium-rich volcanic soil they’re grown in.

Pro tip: True San Marzano tomatoes, should say “Pomodoro San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese Necorino and have the red and yellow D.O.P. stamp” on the can. This ensures the tomatoes are grown in the authentic region. While the seed that creates the San Marzano tomato variety can be grown in other places in Italy as well as in the United States, the authentic prized San Marzano Tomato is only grown in the fabled volcanic soil of the region.

Look for the stamp of authenticity. Look for these stamps on the can, DOP and PDO – What do they mean? Protected Designation of Origin (often abbreviated to PDO or DOP in Italian) is a European Union regulation that honors the status of foods like French Champagne and Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano; it defines how and where foods must be produced to carry the official designation

Don’t get fooled- Real San Marzano Tomatoes can only be sold whole, peeled, and preserved in their own juice. Words like “chopped”, “puree”, “concentrate”, or “style”, will let you know something isn’t right. Don’t fall victim to “Italian-sounding” names and misleading imagery. An authentic can of San Marzano Tomatoes must have the DOP seal. While there are tomatoes grown with the San Marzano seed, if its not grown in the region and stamped with the proper label and seal, its not the real thing. It may still be very good but, not authentic. San Marzano Tomatoes typically cost double of other whole peeled tomatoes. If the price looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Authentic and D.O.P. certified tomatoes: Sclafani, Rega, La Fede, and Strianese.

An excellent alternative. If you can’t find real San Marzano’s in your grocery store, look for tomatoes grown and packed in Italy. One of my favorite brands is Mutti. Their tomatoes have an excellent balance of acid and sweetness.

San marzano tomatoes in a bowl, salt, and olive oil

Ingredients and Substitutions

Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.

San Marzano Tomatoes – Sweet with just the right amount of acidity. Quality canned San Marzano tomatoes will smell like fresh tomatoes when you open them. It’s like having the deliciousness of a fresh garden tomato with the convenience of a shelf-stable product. No wonder they are so highly regarded.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – It might seem like a lot of oil but don’t skimp on this quantity. The oil is essential to the balance of the sauce. The lush EVOO is the counterpart to the tomato’s acidity and when combined with a good pinch of salt, this sauce comes to life.
Kosher Salt – Salt teases out the flavor from the tomatoes. Salt amplifies the flavor of the San Marzanos and connects the sweet and acid flavors with the lushness of the olive oil.
Fresh Basil (Optional) If you have fresh basil, it’s a wonderful addition, though the sauce does not need it. I like to crush a few stems and add them to the oil just before the tomatoes go in so their flavor and aroma is released into the sauce. I save the fresh basil leaves to garnish the sauce. This way they retain their color and let off a fresh burst of heavenly basil aroma.

pasta stirred into a pot of homemade san marzano tomato sauce

How To Make

Pour the can of whole peeled San Marzano Tomatoes into a large glass bowl and mash them up with you hands. you can also crush them with a potato masher once they are in the pan.
Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan. If adding basil stems, add them at this step, the basil perfume will open up in the heat of the oil. Once the oil warm/hot, add the smashed up San Marzano tomatoes to the pan.
Add salt and stir all the ingredients.
Allow the sauce to come to simmer rapidly for 5 minutes, (lots of small bubbles). Reduce heat to medium and let the sauce simmer gently for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to blend the tomatoes with the oil. The tomatoes and oil will meld together and the mixture will reduce by about 1/4 creating a glossy smoother texture, punctuated by small chunkier sections of tomato.
Taste for salt, adding a pinch more if needed. Your sauce is ready to serve. Garnish your sauce with a few leaves of basil and enjoy.

?‍? Serving Suggestions

Server with pasta that has been cooked in generously salted water. Rather than topping your pasta with the sauce, add the pasta to the pan of sauce, allowing some of the pasta cooking water to mix into the sauce. Give the pasta a good stir in the sauce (flipping it in the pan if you are confident or stir with a wooden spoon). As the pasta, the starchy water, and the oils from the sauce mix together they will emulsify into a glossy slick of saucy lusciousness . This is where the magic happens in the pan, transforming this sauce and the pasta into a sum that is greater than its parts.

A pot of pasta with perfect san marzano tomato sauce

Expert Tips

Adding Herbs – Add whatever you like in your sauce. I like to thrown in a few basil stems to the oil to make a quick basil infusion. I then garnish with torn fresh basil leaves when I serve the sauce. If I want a spicier sauce I add crushed red pepper (pepperonino) after the tomatoes are in the pan. The heat of the sauce allows the red pepper to open up its flavor without gettting too hot and turning brown.
To add cheese or not to add cheese: I love a shower of salty Pecorino Romano or rich Parmigiano Reggiano with this sauce. It does not need it, but its a nice touch.
No garlic or onion needed! I love a rich garlicky sauce, but this is not that. This is simple, pure, basic and, outstandingly delicious. The olive oil, and salt compliments and amplify the quality of the San Marzano tomatoes for a perfectly balanced and addictively delicious, versatile sauce.

Storage

STORAGE – Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
REHEATING – Microwave or stovetop
FREEZING – While you certainly can freeze this sauce, it comes together so quickly from pantry staples I don’t see why you should.

a pan of san marzano tomato sauce with fresh basil on top

FAQ

Can I add onions and/or garlic?

Yes, however, it is not necessary. The beauty of this simple sauce is that it comes together quickly with just three ingredients. Onions and garlic change the character and straightforward tomato flavor of the sauce. Still delicious though.

Do I need to chop the tomatoes before adding them to the pan?

No. While I like to mash them with a potato masher or with my hands before adding them to the pan, you can skip this step. San Marzanos are very tender and delicate so they will break apart as they cook. If you skip the mashing, you will end up with a slightly chunkier sauce depending on hoe long you let it simmer.

More tasty recipes:

For more tasty dishes like this one, check out my Mediterranean recipes roundup!

If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate and comment!

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San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

The best San Marzano tomato sauce is the simplest. Made with only three ingredients this traditional red sauce is a versatile flavor bomb ready in under 20 minutes.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings servings

Calories 119 kcal

Ingredients

1 28 oz can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
fresh basil optional

Instructions

Over med-high heat, add extra virgin olive oil to a large saute pan
If you are using, add basil stems to olive oil now so they can release their flavor into the oil. Do not allow them to burn.
Add 1 can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes to the oil. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to crush the tomatoes into smaller pieces.
Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to the tomatoes in the pan.
Over medium-high heat, rapidly simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to blend the oil and tomatoes.
Reduce heat to a low simmer for and additional 10 minutes. Stirring frequently.
Turn off the heat. The sauce is complete. Pluck any basil stems from the sauce. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. If you like, shower with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano.
To serve with pasta: While sauce is still on the heat, add pasta and aprox 1/8 to 1/4 cup pasta water to the sauce and stir thoroughly, allowing the sauce to emulsify with the pasta and starchy pasta water. This will produce a glossy thickening effect to the sauce. Stir or flip/saute to coat the pasta evenly with the thickened, glossy sauce. Top with fresh basil, grated parmesan, and crushed red pepper.

Notes

Adding Herbs – Add whatever you like in your sauce. I like to thrown in a few basil stems to the oil to make a quick basil infusion. I then garnish with torn fresh basil leaves when I serve the sauce. If I want a spicier sauce I add crushed red pepper (pepperonino) after the tomatoes are in the pan. The heat of the sauce allows the red pepper to open up its flavor without gettting too hot and turning brown.

To add cheese or not to add cheese: I love a shower of salty Pecorino Romano or rich Parmigiano Reggiano with this sauce. It does not need it, but its a nice touch.

No garlic or onion needed! I love a rich garlicky sauce, but this is not that. This is simple, pure, basic and, outstandingly delicious. The olive oil, and salt compliments and amplify the quality of the San Marzano tomatoes for a perfectly balanced and addictively delicious, versatile sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (4 total servings in recipe)Calories: 119kcalCarbohydrates: 0.01gProtein: 0.003gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 1163mgPotassium: 1mgFiber: 0.003gSugar: 0.01gVitamin A: 0.3IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.1mg

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Meet Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

Abra is a licensed nutritionist, seasoned home cook, and forever flavor-chaser. She’s spent more than two decades exploring the connection between food and health—and just as long obsessing over what makes something truly delicious. Abra’s Kitchen is where those two loves meet, with recipes that celebrate vegetables, follow the seasons, and make you excited to cook.