This Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe is meatless and made from scratch with fresh tomatoes! It's vegetarian and uses fresh herbs.
You'll never go back to jarred once you learn how to make this Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. It's made without meat with fresh tomatoes and herbs.

Summer gardening season is ramping up and many of us find ourselves staring at a huge stack of tomatoes not entirely sure what to do with all of them.
There are so many options - Tomatoes can be jarred, frozen, dried, pureed, or chopped. One of my favorite things to do is to turn them into spaghetti sauce.
Homemade spaghetti sauce sounds a little intimidating, but I assure you it's not. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it was to prepare.
Once you get a taste of that earthy fresh flavor, you'll find yourself wishing for a stack of tomatoes all year round.
Jump to:
- What Is Spaghetti Sauce Made Out Of?
- Ingredients For Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Which Tomatoes Are Best For Spaghetti Sauce?
- How To Blanch Tomatoes
- How To Peel Tomatoes For Pasta Sauce
- How To Make Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- How To Achieve The Best Texture When Cooking Spaghetti Sauce
- Why Add Sugar To Tomato Sauce?
- Can I Sub Dried Herbs For Fresh?
- Why Is My Spaghetti Sauce Watery?
- What To Serve With Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
- Can Spaghetti Sauce Be Frozen?
- How To Freeze
- How To Reheat
- How Long Does It Last In The Fridge?
- Can This Sauce Be Canned?
- Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

What Is Spaghetti Sauce Made Out Of?
This Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce contains a few basic ingredients. The main ones being fresh tomatoes, garlic, shallots or onions, tomato sauce, fresh herbs like basil, oregano, and thyme along with a couple others.
It's light and full of simple, clean flavors. This spaghetti sauce is ready in less than an hour - It is not the variety that cooks for hours on end which results in a heavy, bold sauce.
It's actually more of a marinara sauce, which means it is thinner in texture than a traditional spaghetti sauce and it's made without meat. This sauce is meant to be enjoyed right away and not meant to be jarred or canned.
I just add it to the top of some freshly cooked pasta along with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and eat to my heart's content.
Ingredients For Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Here's what you'll need to make it.
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 2 Shallots (or 1 small onion)
- 12 Roma Tomatoes or San Marzano Tomatoes (equals 2 - 2 ½ lbs.)
- 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
- ¼ cup Basil (fresh minced)
- 1 tsp. Oregano (fresh minced)
- 1 tsp. Thyme (fresh minced)
- 1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
- 2 tsp. Sugar
- ½ tsp. each Kosher Salt and Pepper
- 1 package Gluten Free Pasta (any variety - can use regular pasta if not gluten free)
- Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Which Tomatoes Are Best For Spaghetti Sauce?
The best tomatoes for making homemade pasta sauce are those of the paste variety. Paste tomatoes include roma, San Marzano, margherita, and Amish paste.
These varieties have a meaty texture, low water content, and relatively few seeds. They are low in acidity and high in sweetness making them ideal for turning into sauces.
San Marzano is the quintessential 'sauce tomato' in Italian cuisine but this variety may be difficult to locate in your local grocery store. I have always used roma tomatoes when making this recipe and am consistently pleased with the results.
How To Blanch Tomatoes
This spaghetti sauce is made by blanching fresh tomatoes. Blanching is a simple process wherein the tomatoes are placed in boiling water for a few minutes until the skin breaks open.
The tomatoes are then transferred to an ice bath which stops the cooking and allows the skin to be easily removed.
I used 12 roma tomatoes for this recipe, which equals roughly 2 - 2 ½ pounds and amounts to about 2 ½ cups of spaghetti sauce.
- To blanch the tomatoes fill a large pot with water, place the pot on the stove top, and bring the water to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, carefully drop 12 roma tomatoes into the pot using a Spider strainer or slotted spoon (being careful not to splash yourself with boiling water).
- Lower the heat a bit and boil the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes, or until the skin begins to break open.

How To Peel Tomatoes For Pasta Sauce
It's important to peel the tomatoes before turning them into sauce as the skins may create a chunky, uneven texture in addition to adding extra bitterness.
Peeling the tomatoes is easy once they have been blanched in boiling water and shocked in an ice bath.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water.
- Once the skins have begun to split as the tomatoes are boiling, carefully remove each tomato with a Spider strainer or slotted spoon and place them in the ice bath.
- Allow the tomatoes to cool completely in the ice water and discard the hot water that was used to boil the tomatoes.
- Once the tomatoes are cool to the touch, carefully peel the skin from each one and discard.
- Remove the core from the top of the tomatoes using a paring knife or small metal scoop.

How To Make Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Once the tomatoes are blanched and peeled, it's time to sauté them along with some garlic, shallots or onions in olive oil. Sautéing the tomatoes in this manner will allow them to break down as they begin to form a sauce.
- Mince 6 cloves of garlic and 2 shallots (or 1 small onion).
- Place a large pot on the stove top and heat to medium. Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil.
- Once the oil is heated add the garlic and shallots. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the peeled and cored tomatoes to the pot and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
- I recommend using shallots instead of onions if you can find them. Shallots have a milder flavor and are slightly sweeter than onions resulting in a smooth, silky sauce.
- You can definitely use an onion if you prefer. I recommend a lighter variety of onion such as white onions.

How To Achieve The Best Texture When Cooking Spaghetti Sauce
Spaghetti sauce is one of those things that is subjective and everyone has their own ways of enjoying it. Some sauces are thick and chunky and others are smooth and silky.
You can customize this recipe a bit according to your tastes. It can be left thick and chunky or cooked down and pureed for a smoother texture.
- Once the tomatoes have sautéed for 4-5 minutes, it's time to smash them with a potato masher (or some similar kitchen tool).
- Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for another 10 minutes, smashing them often with a potato masher. They will begin to break apart and look more like a sauce.
- After 10 minutes or so add 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, 2 tsp. sugar, ¼ cup fresh chopped basil, 1 tsp. each of fresh oregano and thyme, and ½ tsp. kosher salt and pepper.
- Cook for another 5 minutes, all the while continuing to mash the tomatoes with a potato masher.
- Add 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter to the sauce and simmer for a few more minutes on low or until the butter has melted.
- If the sauce is still too chunky for your tastes feel free to pulse it with an immersion blender until it reaches your desired consistency. Be very careful when using an immersion blender in hot spaghetti sauce! Be sure to turn the heat off before using an immersion blender in a pot of sauce on the stove top.
Why Add Sugar To Tomato Sauce?
It may seem weird to add sugar to spaghetti sauce but it's an important component of the dish. Tomatoes and tomato products are high in acid and the sugar helps to balance out the acidity, resulting in better flavor.
Adding sugar balances the whole thing out.
Can I Sub Dried Herbs For Fresh?
Yes! Dried herbs work great when the fresh ones just aren't available.
I would recommend decreasing the amount of dried herbs if using in place of fresh.
Use 2 Tbsp. dried basil in place of ¼ cup fresh basil and ½ tsp. each of dried oregano and thyme in place of 1 tsp. of the fresh stuff (alternately you can use 1 tsp. Italian seasoning in place of fresh oregano and thyme).

Why Is My Spaghetti Sauce Watery?
I've never had an issue with watery spaghetti sauce using this recipe but it's always a possibility. There are a few tricks you can use to prevent watery pasta sauce.
If the sauce is watery, it's possible that the tomatoes used were a variety that holds a lot of water.
- To remedy a sauce that is too watery, simply allow it to simmer for a longer period of time on the stove top and the excess water will evaporate.
- Alternately, you can add 1-2 Tbsp. of tomato paste. Tomato paste is a natural thickener and will thicken the spaghetti sauce when added. Be sure to allow the tomato paste to mix into the sauce so there are no chunks.
Keep in mind that this variety of spaghetti sauce is more like marinara and it's meatless so not thick like a Bolognese. It may seem a bit lighter than the store-bought varieties.
Love pasta? Don't miss these recipes!
- Chicken Sausage Spaghetti
- Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
- Chicken Marsala Pasta
- Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta
- Mushroom Olive Pasta
- One Pot Veggie Pasta
- Spinach Walnut Pesto

What To Serve With Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
Prepare your favorite brand gluten free pasta according to the package directions and drain. You can make some fresh pasta if you're feeling really ambitious (I totally recommend this if you have the time).
The great thing about this sauce is that it's super versatile. You can serve it on top of your favorite variety of noodles. Spaghetti, linguini, farfalle, penne, or ravioli are all delicious choices.
You can use it any way you would store-bough tomato spaghetti sauce. Feel free to top this sauce with sautéed mushrooms, grilled chicken, shrimp, meatballs, or sautéed vegetables of choice like zucchini or greens.
If you'd like to keep things low-carb you can opt for zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
For a salty or briny kick feel free to add chopped Kalamata olives or capers to this pasta.
I love a generous amount of freshly shaved Parmesan, Romano, or Parmigiano-Reggiano along with some minced basil.
For a side dish I love pasta served alongside balsamic green bean salad, marinated tomato basil salad, minty fresh pea salad, and pickled beet salad.

Can Spaghetti Sauce Be Frozen?
Yes!
I do recommend enjoying this Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce right away as it contains so many fresh flavors and ingredients but you can freeze it if you prefer.
How To Freeze
- Prepare the sauce according to instructions. Allow the pasta sauce to cool completely before transferring to the freezer for storage.
- Pour the cooled sauce into plastic containers or heavy-duty freezer bags (removing any excess air with your hands), label the containers, and freeze up to 3 months.
How To Reheat
- Transfer the containers to the fridge 24 hours before reheating and allow to thaw.
- Place the thawed sauce in a pan on the stove top and cook until heated through.
How Long Does It Last In The Fridge?
Any leftover sauce may be stored for 3-4 days in an airtight glass container in the fridge.
Be sure to allow the sauce to cool completely before transferring to the fridge for storage.
Can This Sauce Be Canned?
This spaghetti sauce is meant to be enjoyed fresh and may not be canned or jarred!
Canning or jarring spaghetti or tomato sauce requires a few extra steps in order to safely consume. Do not can or jar this sauce!
Love Italian dishes? Check out these recipes!
- Italian Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
- Chunky Italian Vegetable Soup
- Sheet Pan Italian Chicken
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan
- Spinach Basil Pasta Sauce
- Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan Fries
Looking For More Homemade Pasta Sauce? Don't miss these recipes!
Easy Napoli Sauce
Zucchini Mushroom Pasta Sauce
Bolognese Sauce

Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots or 1 small onion
- 12 roma tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup fresh basil or 2 Tbsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. oregano or ½ tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. sugar adjust to taste
- ½ tsp. kosher salt adjust to taste
- ½ tsp. pepper adjust to taste
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 package gluten free pasta noodles or regular noodles if not gluten free
- Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Prepare the gluten free pasta according to package instructions and drain. Set aside.
Blanch The Tomatoes:
- Fill a large pot with water, place the pot on the stove top, and bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, carefully drop 12 roma tomatoes into the pot using a Spider strainer or slotted spoon (being careful not to splash yourself with boiling water).
- Lower the heat a bit and boil the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes, or until the skin begins to break open.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water. Once the skins have begun to split as the tomatoes are boiling, carefully remove each tomato with a Spider strainer or slotted spoon and place them in the ice bath.
- Allow the tomatoes to cool completely in the ice water and discard the hot water that was used to boil the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are cool to the touch, carefully peel the skin from each one and discard. Remove the core from the top of the tomatoes using a paring knife or small metal scoop.
Prepare The Spaghetti Sauce:
- Mince 6 cloves of garlic and 2 shallots (or 1 small onion). Mince ¼ cup fresh basil, and 1 tsp. each of fresh oregano and thyme.
- Place a large pot on the stove top and heat to medium. Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Once the oil is heated add the garlic and shallots. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add the peeled and cored tomatoes to the pot and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
- Once the tomatoes have sautéed for 4-5 minutes, it's time to smash them with a potato masher (or some similar kitchen tool). Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for another 10 minutes, smashing them often with a potato masher. They will begin to break apart and look more like a sauce.
- After 10 minutes or so add 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, 2 tsp. sugar, ¼ cup fresh chopped basil, 1 tsp. each of fresh oregano and thyme, and ½ tsp. kosher salt and pepper.
- Cook for another 5 minutes, all the while continuing to mash the tomatoes with a potato masher. Add 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter to the sauce and simmer for a few more minutes on low or until the butter has melted.If the sauce is still too chunky for your tastes feel free to pulse it with an immersion blender until it reaches your desired consistency. Be very careful when using an immersion blender in hot spaghetti sauce! Be sure to turn the heat off before using an immersion blender in a pot of sauce on the stove top.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the sugar, salt and pepper levels. Add more fresh herbs if you like.
- To Serve: Serve sauce immediately on top of prepared pasta and add desired toppings such as extra basil and Parmesan cheese.
Rosemary
Nothing like homemade spaghetti sauce. My family loved this recipe. Thank you.
Christine
Thanks, Rosemary!
aimee
I usually use canned tomatoes for spaghetii sauce but this is so much better! Love how fresh and tasty it is!
Christine
It's so perfect to make this sauce at the end of summer when tomatoes are in season - Nothing like homemade spaghetti sauce!
Kelly Anthony
Spaghetti our households favorite meal! We usually make sauce using canned tomatoes, but obviously, this looks SO GOOD! Yum! Can't wait to try 🙂
Christine
Thanks, Kelly! I hope your family enjoys. 🙂
Martyn
I love making my own sauces, they are so much better than store brought. This recipe looks like it would make a really tasty sauce 🙂
Christine
So much better than store-bought! This one is definitely fresh - It's perfect during late summer when tomatoes are in season.
Kris Oien
I have twice as many tomatoes, not Roma. Could this sauce be froze for use later in the year?
Christine
Hi Kris - I've never tried freezing this spaghetti sauce. It's definitely more of a 'fresh' sauce with the tomatoes and fresh herbs. I think it would be fine to freeze - Make sure to let the sauce cool first and then use an airtight container. Let me know if you try it!
P
DELICIOUS
Christine
Awesome - So Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Adriana
I had fun playing “chef” making this sauce! It is so good! Thank you!
Christine
Hi Adriana - That's awesome! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Mo
Thank you for such an easy,well written and delicious recipe.
No problems to put this together; I used my Instant Pot and that was the only pot I needed so very little to clean.
This is a terrific and very beautiful taste and I made it just as you wrote it.
Thank you again!
Christine
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the feedback! Great idea to use the Instant Pot! 🙂
Dawn
Came out very good! I Didn’t add sugar but added a couple of port wine. Also, added half a cup of ground Parmesan cheese. Came out wonderful thanks much!
Christine
Hi Dawn - So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the feedback! I love the addition of port wine - I'd love to give that a try next time! 🙂
Judy Beal
This was my first time making sauce from scratch and this recipe is easy and absolutely delicious! I’m Italian and have always used canned tomatoes. But Momma Mia we so enjoyed this recipe. I did not have fresh herbs so had to use dried. I loved the flavor and honestly it brought back some wonderful memories. I just know my little Italian grandma made something similar. Thank you for this yummy recipe.
Christine
Hi Judy - I take that as a high compliment and really appreciate your kind words. So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Becky Clark
This sauce just became a favorite! I might try freezing it. I know fresh is better. But Roma’s are over running our garden and want to make good use of them before cold hits here in Vermont. Using it again for spaghetti tomorrow. With a touch of Merlot!!
Christine
Hi Becky - So glad you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for the feedback! Freezing it should be totally fine. I do recommend that people not can it as additional steps are needed in order for it to be safe but freezing is a great option. The Merlot will be a great touch - Enjoy! 🙂
Alix
I made this yesterday after receiving 5 pounds of varying size of tomato’s. I went looking for an easy way to make sauce. I’ve never made it homemade. I did not use oil, sugar or salt. But did use Italian seasoning, salt substitute. The whole house smells terrific and I was hungry. I made the zucchini into noodles and I made the best dish!
Christine
Hi Alix - So glad you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for the feedback! I'm definitely getting excited for garden tomato season! 🙂
Katie
Can you freeze this recipe?
Christine
Hi, Katie - Yes, this sauce is fine to freeze. Simply prepare according to instructions and allow the sauce to cool completely. Once cooled, place in freezer-safe storage containers or heavy-duty freezer bags. To thaw, place the bag of frozen sauce in the fridge for a few hours before reheating. It should last up to 3 months in the freezer. This recipe should not be canned or jarred, though, as that process requires a few extra steps in order to be safe for consumption. Hope that helps! 🙂
Megan
I just stumbled across this recipe and loved it. I used tomatoes from the garden. If I were to make this is the winter with canned tomatoes, do you know how many cans to substitute for fresh?
Christine
Hi, Megan - So glad you enjoyed it! This recipe is great with fresh garden tomatoes - I'm hoping to make a batch myself this week. 🙂 This recipe calls for 12 large roma tomatoes which equals roughly 3 lbs. I would probably substitute 3 16 oz. cans or 2 28 oz. cans of diced or whole canned tomatoes for the fresh romas. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
Allyssa
Thanks a lot for sharing this very helpful recipe! Will surely make this again, it tasted so amazing and easy to make! Highly recommended!
Christine
Hi Allyssa - So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Liz
I have so many garden fresh tomatoes to use for this recipe!
Christine
Hi Liz - Awesome! Garden tomatoes are the best! 🙂
Nicole Washington
I am here for this! I bet you can't even tell there isn't any meat in this sauce.
Christine
Hi Nicole - So true! You don't even miss the meat! 🙂
Sandy Newland
haven't made it yet. was wondering how many regular tomatoes to use? I dont have Roma's. mine are whoppers. about how many pounds should I use?
Christine
Hi Sandy - This recipes uses 2 - 2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes (it's a relatively small batch), but you can definitely double or triple the recipe if you've got a lot of tomatoes that you'd like to use up. Enjoy! 🙂
Donna Braun
How can this be listed as healthy when it has sugar in it?
Christine
This recipe contains a bit of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. It can certainly be omitted if you prefer.
Suzy
This was so amazing! Absolutely delicious! We got an abundance of Roma’s this year from our garden and I was searching for a new pasta sauce recipe. Lucky me I found this one! Easy to tweak the flavors to your liking since I used about 40 Roma’s! So flavorful! Literally felt like an authentic Italian restaurant recipe! When your 25 year and of texts you and says “very good sauce mom”, you know you did good! Thanks for sharing this. This is a keeper!!
Christine
Hi Suzy - Thank you so much for your kind words and I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed this sauce! 🙂