Fresh Tomato Sauce in the Slow Cooker

This fresh tomato sauce in the slow cooker is so easy to make. It makes a large batch that freezes beautifully, which is great for quick meals. Once you make it you’ll never want store bought again.

Make Now. Easier Later.

I really like recipes that you can make ahead and freeze for later. It makes meal planning and prep so much easier knowing you have different meats, sauces and other items in your freezer that are ready to go.

As far as tomato sauce, it’s great to have on hand when you need a quick meal. Just mix with cooked pasta, add in a salad and you’re ready to go! However, it’s equally great when you’re making a more complicated dish, like lasagna, because it’s one less step for you.

As far as tomato sauce goes, jarred sauce is certainly easy to find. And, while the selection is getting better, it’s hard to find a good tomato sauce that doesn’t have a lot of sodium and other things you just don’t need a lot of in your diet. That’s why I think a homemade tomato sauce is the best tomato sauce.

I do like making my own sauce and I’ve got a number of tomato sauce recipes that I like (including this Easiest Ever Tomato Basil Sauce). However, for this tomato sauce recipe, I decided to make it in a slow cooker.

Making the Fresh Tomato Sauce in the Slow Cooker

Why use a slow cooker? Because slow cooking is so easy! While the cook time may be longer, prep requires little effort and you can basically set it and forget it.

When I say prep is easy, I mean it! All you need to do is rough cut the tomatoes and onions and drop all the rest of the ingredients (except the fresh herbs) into the slow cooker.

Once that is done, you let the slow cooking process take over. By the end of the cooking time (about 7-8 hours), your tomatoes should be very soft and breaking down. That is your desired consistency.

At this point, you puree the sauce. I use an immersion hand blender. If you don’t have one, a food processor or blender also works.

I like to get a nice, smooth consistency to the sauce. Once that is done, add in the fresh herbs and you are ready to go! The end result, is that you have a delicious, rich tomato sauce you can use any time of the year.

The sauce has a lovely deep tomato flavor and depending on how much red pepper flakes you add, it also has a nice little spicy kick. Your kitchen will have an amazing aroma when it’s done!

It makes about 3 quarts of sauce that you can refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.

Ways to Use Fresh Tomato Sauce in the Slow Cooker 

This homemade tomato sauce is really a great base for so many things.

• It’s a delicious spaghetti sauce all on its own. Actually, it’s a great start for pretty much any pasta dish.
• One of my favorite ways to use this sauce is to add in ground beef or Italian sausage to up the protein. I’ve also used ground turkey as a leaner protein if you are following a lower calorie diet.
• I really love this as a simple homemade marinara sauce. For example, it’s great as a dipping sauce for these Fried Ravioli.
• You can also use this as a pizza sauce.

Freezing and Reheating Fresh Tomato Sauce

If you are making a large batch of this homemade sauce, or won’t be using it all for a while, you want to freeze for use later. I found that this sauce will freeze well for up to 6 months.

Once you have the finished sauce, I put 1-2 cup portions into freezer bags or some type of airtight container. Having consistent portions of the tomato sauce makes it easy to know how much you need to take out of the freezer when ready to use.

There are two ways I like to reheat the frozen sauce and they both use the microwave.

First, if you are pressed for time or forgot to take the frozen sauce out of the freezer earlier in the day, I defrost for about 10 minutes (or until it is no longer frozen and around room temperature). At this point, if it is in a freezer bag, I take it out of the bag and put into a serving bowl. I then bring it up to full heat with another 1-2 minutes in the microwave on high.

If you have frozen the slow-cooked tomato sauce in a microwave safe dish, I do the defrosting and final heating all in the same dish. I then transfer to a serving dish.

If you remember earlier in the day, simply take the frozen sauce out of the freezer and leave on your countertop until it has defrosted. Once defrosted, if you are ready to serve, simply put in the microwave for 1-2 minutes on high. Less time in the microwave this way.

If the tomato sauce is defrosted before you are ready to serve, just put it in the fridge until you’re ready for the final heating.

Tips and Tricks

• There is no need to peel or cut the tomatoes into small pieces since once it’s cooked down it gets pureed into a smooth sauce.
• If you are able to shop at a farmer’s market I would suggest buying the tomatoes there. They’re going to be fresher and more flavorful than grocery store tomatoes.
• The sauce can be frozen for up to 6 months. I suggest freezing it in 1 to 2 cup portions. That way you only have to thaw as much as you need.

Ingredients Needed to Make Fresh Tomato Sauce

Full instructions can be found below in the printable recipe card

• Fresh tomatoes – Farmer’s market tomatoes are recommended because of their extra freshness and flavor, but you can use grocery store tomatoes as well.
• Onion – I prefer red onions, but a yellow onion or white onion works just as well.
• Fresh garlic – I prefer the flavor of fresh over garlic powder in this recipe.
• Dry red wine – This will add depth to the flavor of the sauce.
• Olive oil – I recommend this rather than vegetable oil because of the flavor it imparts in the sauce.
• Balsamic vinegar – This adds more depth to the flavor and a little “something-something”.
• Dried Italian seasoning
• Red pepper flakes – This is optional, but it does add a nice little kick to the sauce.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh basil leaves – Fresh is a must, trust me.
• Fresh parsley – This will add brightness to the flavor of the sauce.

How to Make Fresh Tomato Sauce

• Roughly chop the tomatoes and onions.
• Add all ingredients to slow cooker, EXCEPT for 1/2 cup torn basil and 1/4 cup chopped parsley.
• Stir until ingredients are well combined.
• Cook on high for 7-8 hours, until tomatoes are very soft and breaking down.
• Puree sauce with an immersion blender, if you have one. Otherwise, puree in batches in a blender of food processor.
• Stir in remaining basil and parsley.
• Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.

Recipes That Can Use Fresh Tomato Sauce

• Sicilian Meatloaf
• Easy Traditional Lasagna
• Crispy Baked Eggplant Slices

Enjoy!