Name: pasta sauce recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1/2 tsp salt & pepper; 400 g carrots; 200 g celery; 400 g onions; 350 g cherry tomatoes (substitute with tinned tomatoes if on a budget); 500 ml passata; 2 tbsp tomato puree; 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 40 g fresh basil (or 2 tablespoons of dried ); 2 garlic cloves; 1 litre beef stock (vegetable stock if wanting to make this vegetarian)

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This super simple pasta sauce recipe is ideal for making in a big batch, so you can have lots on hand for delicious recipes. It is ideal as a spaghetti bolognese base, for slow cooker lasagne, a simple pasta lunch and lots more. Also, if you’re looking for an alternative then be sure to check out my kale tomato pasta sauce recipe.

I absolutely love cooking a meal where I can make a second meal for my freezer. Anything that allows me to cook somethings speedy, and homemade, on a busy night, is a winner for me!

Ingredients for pasta sauce recipe:

15ml vegetable oil (you can use olive if you like it)

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

2 cloves of garlic

400g carrots and onions

200g celery

350g cherry tomatoes or crushed/tinned tomatoes

500ml passata

2 tablespoons of tomato puree

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

40g fresh basil or 2 tablespoons of dried basil

1000ml beef stock (or vegetable stock if you want to adapt this to be vegetarian)

Soft white bread rolls on a cooling rack with text overlay that says Soft, floury white bread rolls

Method for this easy homemade pasta sauce:

Wash, peel and chop your carrots, celery and onions.

Saute in oil and season with salt and pepper.

Once your vegetables are starting to soften, and the onion is turning translucent, add the rest of your ingredients.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 45 minutes.

Leave to cool and then blend using a stick blender. I usually cover my large pot over with a tea towel, or similar, then give a good blend.

Spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, burger and beef keema curry - easy beef mince recipes

Can you freeze a pasta sauce recipe?

Yes! I freeze my pasta sauce recipe in 500ml portions. These are sufficient portion sizes for a family of 3, at least, and we got a couple of litres of sauce from this recipe. If you want to make this go a little further then add some more stock, or even just water.

This should be good in the freezer for at least a month, but I’ve left it for 4 months with no obvious quality changes.

This pasta sauce can be used as it is, as the base of a 15 minute spaghetti bolognese, slow cooker spaghetti bolognese, mince pasta bake, air fryer pasta bake, slow cooker vegetarian lasagne or even as a delicious pizza if you simmer it down a little further in a small portion.

Products I use when making my pasta sauce recipe:

*Stock pot

*Stick Blender

*Storage Container

Can you make this pasta sauce without tomatoes or onions?

Yes, absolutely. I would recommend trying it with roasted red peppers and a generous glug of red wine instead. Also, I’ve heard people using Beetroot to make a lovely vibrant red pasta sauce, while being free of tomatoes and onions.

Fancy making this easy pasta sauce in the slow cooker?

Just throw everything in, and skip the sauté of the vegetables to save some time. Cook it for 6-8 hours on low, or 4-5 on high, and then blend and follow the instructions the same.

I do find this a little bit thinner than cooking on the hob, just because of the lower temperature of the slow cooker, but it is still delicious!

The cooked slow cooker beef stroganoff in a blue bowl

How much pasta for 100g of sauce? How much pasta for 350g of sauce?

I feel that a good ratio is 100g of dried pasta to 100g of sauce. This works out well for a lovely saucy dish, without being overly sauced.

How much Worcester sauce in spaghetti bolognese?

Just use a few splashes! Nice and simple, lots of flavour but not a lot of sauce is required, literally just a couple of ml!

Slow cooker spaghetti bolognese, slow cooker roast beef, slow cooker beef stroganoff and slow cooker cottage pie with text overlay that says tasty beef recipes for the slow cooker

How to make an easy pasta sauce recipe:

15 minute spaghetti bolognese - frugal, delicious, simple and quick to make! #FrugalFood #SpaghettiBolognese #PastaRecipes #PastaDishes #Bolognese #FrugalEats #CheapEats

pasta sauce recipe

A delicious pasta sauce that is full of nutrition and ideal with all pasta types or as the base of a pizza.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pasta, sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 10 servings (250ml each)

Calories 78 kcal

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
400 g carrots
200 g celery
400 g onions
350 g cherry tomatoes substitute with tinned tomatoes if on a budget
500 ml passata
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
40 g fresh basil or 2 tablespoons of dried
2 garlic cloves
1 litre beef stock vegetable stock if wanting to make this vegetarian

Instructions

Peel, wash and chop up the carrots, celery and onions. Smaller will cook quicker, but you’ll be blending anyway so it doesn’t matter.
Sauté the vegetables in the vegetable oil and season with salt & pepper.
Once the vegetables have been cooked for a few minutes, and the onions are beginning to turn translucent, add in the rest of the ingredients. I add the cherry tomatoes, passata, garlic and basil first. I then add the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce after a few minutes. Before finally adding the beef stock, slowly, while combining.
Bring the mixture to the boil and allow to simmer for 45 minutes.
Once it has simmered thoroughly leave it to cool slightly. Once it has cooled slightly you can use a stick blender to get this blended.
You may want to blend in small portions but I use a large pot, cover it with a large cloth and just go for it! It only takes 1-2 minutes to blend it.

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.