If I wanted a weeknight meal that tasted like it simmered on the stove all day, I would make a double batch of this passata tomato sauce. And before you let the name scare you away, rest assured —passata is just a shorter (and more Italian) way to mean pureed tomatoes.
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Never mind how simple it is to make, passata sauce is freakin’ delicious. The flavor is a little sweeter and cleaner than a pasta sauce made from canned whole tomatoes.
The difference between passata and other canned tomatoes
Passata is made from tomatoes that have been skinned and seeded. It is cooked just under boiling point for a bit until the tomatoes thicken and then it’s packaged to preserve its rich flavor.
Whole canned Italian tomatoes are just that: canned tomatoes that have been skinned but still have their seeds.
Tomato puree typically has been pre-cooked and thickened while tomato sauce has been cooked and seasoned.
Tomato paste is made from tomatoes that have cooked down and reduced until thickened which is why it has such an intense flavor.
Passata is typically found in a glass bottle and I typically use Mutti or Cento’s passata products depending on what store I’m shopping. Sometimes you’ll see it in a shelf-stable aseptic carton.
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A bit of butter never hurts
Naturally, I use olive oil in this tomato passata sauce. But I find that butter adds a richness and accentuates the sweetness of tomatoes like no other ingredient can. Butter also has a way of mellowing the acidity of tomatoes.
It is so good used in lots of recipes, most notably a layered chicken cannelloni (coming very soon in time for the holidays!).
2 steps to make Italian passata sauce
Ways to use jarred passata
Ladled over a piece of super crispy chicken parmesan.
Make a triple batch and use in a ricotta cheese lasagna.
As the base sauce for a crowd-pleasing pan of baked ziti.
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20 Minute Passata Tomato Sauce
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Ingredients
- 2 T unsalted butter
- 1 T olive oil
- ⅓ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 23 oz bottle of passata, I use Mutti or Centro
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- fresh basil leaves, about 6-10 leaves
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the olive oil.2 T unsalted butter, 1 T olive oil
- Add the onion, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and saute the onion in the fat until golden.⅓ cup chopped onion
- Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or until you smell it.3 cloves garlic
- Pour in the passata, the sugar and about 6-10 fresh basil leaves (they can be on the stems). Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Taste and correct for seasoning.23 oz bottle of passata, 2 teaspoons sugar, fresh basil leaves
