Easy Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

Perfect with gnocchi, a filled pasta like ravioli or a classic spaghetti, Easy Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion will be  Adapted from the queen of Italian cuisine, Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Italian Cooking.

Homemade spaghetti sauce doesn’t have to cook all day when 45 minutes is all that’s needed. I found this sauce years ago when I was thumbing through my favorite Italian cookbook, The Essentials of Italian Cooking. This easy tomato sauce became an instant favorite in our house as it has for countless other chefs, bloggers, and cooks. My kids literally have been known to drink this sauce from the bottom of the bowl— it’s that amazing.

What makes this sauce so special?

You know how they say the simple things in life are the best? The older I get, the more I know this is true. And this simple tomato sauce proves it.

It has such a pure, sweet flavor that has been known to make the pickiest people sigh.

And it has three ingredients.

THREE.

3.

TRE.

The 3 Ingredient Tomato Sauce

Tired of the suspense? These 3 ingredients (that you likely have if you have my Pantry Guide) make this magical sauce:

• tomatoes
• onion
• butter

So let’s break them down. I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to grab a big ole piece of bread and slide it into this sauce.

Canned or fresh tomatoes?

Easy! You can do either. Hazan’s original recipe calls for fresh and if you have an abundance of them in your garden or you have a favorite local farm stand or farmer’s market, then by all means, use fresh.

Using fresh tomatoes

One caveat: you do have to remove the skins. If you aren’t sure about how to remove skins from  tomatoes, here’s what you need to do:

• Make an “X” at the bottom of the tomato with a sharp knife.
• Gently place the tomato(es) in a pot of boiling water using a slotted spoon.
• After one minute, with the same slotted spoon, remove the tomato from the water and immediately dip into a bowl of ice water.

Using canned tomatoes for sauce

When making tomato butter sauce, I use whole San Marzano tomatoes.

Yes, I am picky like that. Always go for the best quality ingredients you can afford. And that doesn’t mean they’re going to be the most expensive.

Puree the tomatoes in the blender. You can also leave them whole if you like a chunky sauce.

p.s. For the scoop on buying San Marzano tomatoes, head over to my Tomato Bisque recipe to quickly learn about what you need to look for when shopping at the store.

What type of onion should I use?

You probably know there are mainly four kinds of onions in the grocery store: yellow, white, red, and sweet. Five if you count green. (and I’m sure there’s lots more!) Each have their own place but some can also be swapped for one another.

Here’s a quick guide:

• White. The strongest of all with a thinner papery skin. and the most likely to produce tears. Good for when you want a distinct bite like in a raw salsa.
• Yellow. A little milder and slightly sweeter than white and the most all purpose onion. Get milder and sweeter the longer you cook them.
• Red. Very mild and also good in salsas or this Homemade Guacamole.
• Sweet. Like the yellow, they are what they say. Sweeter with more of a Saturn-like shape.

In this easy tomato butter sauce, use the yellow but white or sweet works too!

And all you’re going to do is cut it in half and add it to the tomatoes.

Butter in spaghetti sauce?

YES!

Butter adds a silken texture and very subtle flavor that helps the tomato and onion get even sweeter. It’s the secret ingredient.

You barely need cheese with this sauce. It’s that delicate, yet rich.

The process

3 ingredients.

3 steps.

1. If using canned tomatoes, puree them in a blender until they reach the consistency you want (I do 10 seconds or so).
2. Add the tomatoes to medium saucepan along with one halved onion (skin removed and root trimmed) and some butter.
3. Cook for 45 minutes and remove the onions using a slotted spoon or strainer.

Don’t pitch the onion!

Like I said, this sauce is famous. The New Yorker has an article on what to do with that sweet, mellowed, very soft onion after it’s done its job in the tomato and butter sauce.

More use for that bread—if you still have some left.

After it’s cooked, the sauce is the best combo of sweet and savory. It’s great on stuffed pastas like tortellin, ravioli and also gnocchi. It does a great job of hanging on all those ridges.

Even better, this is an easy weeknight dinner that can the soul as well as the belly in under 50 minutes!

As my grandmas said, “Mangia!”

Even more pasta sauces

• Butter and Cream Sauce
• Homemade Italian Red Sauce
• Bechamel for Last Meal Mac ‘n Cheese

Tips:

Storage & Make Ahead:

Make ahead: Make this sauce a day or two ahead of when you plan to serve it. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezing Tips: Allow the sauce to completely cool before storing in a freezer safe container or ziploc bag. Can freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge or microwave before heating.

For two:

One can of tomatoes is perfect. You’ll have enough for two meals.

For a crowd:

I have quadrupled this with no problem and you might have to if you’re serving 10.