Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce Recipe (2024)

I don't know why you would want to discard the onion. Eating it is one of the highlights of this dish!

The recipe from the first edition of The Classic Italian Cookbook (1973) calls for 2 lbs of tomatoes, 1/4 lb butter, one medium yellow onion, peeled and halved, salt and 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar. I can't imagine why the amount of butter has been reduced from 8 tablespoons to 5 tablespoons. Stick with the original.

Leave the ends of the onion intact and halve it end to end instead of at the equator and the onion will stay together.

Sounds good, but I'm not discarding the onion. That's the best part. I'll eat that all by itself if I have to, or puree it into its own sauce with a little roasted garlic to spread on some good bread.

i didn't have enough butter so added some duck fat. God help us all... BUT it was DELICIOUS.

Folks, recipes are just a guide. As I read the comments I really chuckle at how scared people are to adjust things to their preferences. If you like garlic, add some. A little more butter, why not. I have been making this over the past few weeks with fresh tomatoes from my garden, why not ? I cannot keep up with them otherwise. I have fine tuned it to my liking, half an onion sliced, clove of garlic, hint of fresh basil and oregano, and reduce over several hours at very low heat. YUM.

Just want to put it out there that the "Bianco Dinapoli" brand canned tomatoes from California are better than nearly every brand of canned tomatoes I have tried, from muir glen to various DOP san marzano brands. Best of all they are less than $4/can at whole foods. They work for pizza sauce, tomatoe sauce, and soup, all wonderfully.

This recipe calls for 2 CUPS of tomatoes, not 2 pounds. Maybe that's why there's less butter.

I happened to be out of onions so I used four large shallots, some of which sort of melted into the sauce. I liked it even better.

I am 68 years old. Been adding sweet butter to my gravy since I was old enough to cook. Southern Italians always did this. Many also use red bell peppers as a sweetener in addition to the butter. Never use sugar or salt and never had a complaint. Of course, I simmer for 5 to 8 hours depending on what gravy I am making. By the way, butter is one step away from heavy cream. If you whip cream enough, it will turn into butter. Parmesan is bland. Romano has taste!

It's two cups of tomatoes, plus the juice/liquid. If you stran off the liquid from a 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes, then chop the tomatoes, you will end up with roughly 2 cups tomatoes and one cup juice/liquid from the can.

Identical to this recipe and also listed on NYTimes Cooking is Mark Bittmanʻs Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions. I made a triple recipe the other night so I could have extra for another meal. It was fabulous, and, interestingly, the smell reminded me of Pepeʻs in New Haven where four generations of my family have enjoyed pizza!

I save the onions, freeze them and then use them as a pizza topping. I tried to blend them in once -- disaster!

This was divine. Made exactly as written except one tiny detail - I blended the onion in at the end. I couldn’t bear to throw it away. Super easy and quick and tasted so much better than such a simple ingredient list would suggest. This is now my go to tomato sauce recipe!

This sauce is a good idea. I personally didn't find it that great, but I do make a variation that i find excellent. Instead of the butter i add olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic and oregano. After it cooks i mash everything together (including the onion and the garlic). Using quality tomatoes makes a difference.

Not life-changing. It's pretty good, but not as good as one that takes longer to cook. I found the amount of butter kind of off-putting.

I tinkered a little: added a couple of crushed garlic cloves and used an immersion blender to incorporate everything at the end. Couldn't bear to toss the onions. The result was amazing. This is a wonderful basic recipe.

I just made this recipe and it may become my goto tomato sauce. It’s a simple, but easily customizable to individual tastes. I like a smother sauce. SoI used a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes in purée, and tossed in a couple of bay leaves and some dried basil. (My apologies to any purists who may take offense.) The flavor was perfect. I could have just eaten the sauce right out of the pot. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy jarred sauce again after this.

what's the gram equivalent to a tablespoon of butter please

Delicious. I’m trying to add more vegetables to my diet so I grated a carrot and cooked that then added the garlic tomatoes and onion. Discarding the onion keeps the flavor but maintains the silky texture. The butter makes it creamy and delicious. It’s a keeper.

I have just one question: Would this work with a 28-oz. can of crushed or diced tomatoes and their juices?

I made this for the first time tonight and it was indeed delicious. It says enough for a pound of pasta, however, I found that when simmering on medium for 45 minutes, it lost a lot of volume. I don't see in comments that it's OK to add water (or in recipe) and did not want to alter the taste. Any helpful hints?

Or immersion blender!

I've made this sauce multiple times. It's my family's easy, go to recipe. I typically use an immersion blender to incorporate the onion into the sauce.

I’ll be in the minority by saying I totally do not get the rave reviews. I made it exactly according to instructions and it was decent, but pretty bland.

This is my FAVOURITE pasta sauce! So easy and soooooo delicious - love using it in an eggplant parm, or just tossed on some pasta!

Simplest of Marcella's recipes and so delicious. As she says, cook it her way the first time and then make changes, if you want. Her food is wonderful.