Italian-inspired · Easy
Quick garlic tomato sauce
A weeknight tomato sauce: onion softened in olive oil, plenty of garlic, dried oregano and no-salt-added canned tomatoes simmered for 20 minutes. Use it on pasta, as a pizza or flatbread topping, or as a base for beans and vegetables.
- Prep
- 10 minutes
- Total time
- 62 minutes
- Portions
- 8
Estimated nutrition
| Nutrient | Per portion | Whole batch |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 46 kcal | 370 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 8.4 g |
| Carbs | 5.4 g | 42.8 g |
| Fiber | 2.2 g | 17.8 g |
| Sugars | 3.1 g | 25.1 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 2.8 g | 22.2 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.4 g | 3.1 g |
| Sodium | 11 mg | 87 mg |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
How these estimates work
Per portion and for your whole batch. These are ingredient-based estimates, not laboratory-tested nutrition facts. Optional ingredients are excluded.
Estimate includes all canned tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, oregano and olive oil, divided into eight portions. No salt or sweetener is added, so sodium is low; sugars are natural tomato and onion sugars. Reduction concentrates the sauce but does not change the batch totals. A sauce component, not a meal.
USDA FoodData Central references. Brands, food varieties, preparation and portion size change the result. Added sugars assume plain, unsweetened ingredients; for prepared breads and sauces, a range shows zero to the reference food’s total sugar because the added amount is unspecified.
Ingredients, sources & assumptions
All listed edible food and oil are counted as eaten. Cooking losses and final cooked weight are not measured. Some ingredients use a stated reference food or a proxy for a missing nutrient. No personalized dietary advice.
Oil, olive, salad or cooking · 20 g in the original batch
USDA food referenceOnions, raw · 110 g in the original batch
USDA food referenceGarlic, raw · 12 g in the original batch
USDA food referenceTomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, no salt added · 794 g in the original batch
USDA food referenceSpices, oregano, dried · 1.5 g in the original batch
USDA food referenceCalculation version 2. Source records and method are documented in our nutrition guide.
Nutrition guidancePer portion and for your whole batch. These are ingredient-based estimates, not laboratory-tested nutrition facts. Optional ingredients are excluded.
Estimate includes all canned tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, oregano and olive oil, divided into eight portions. No salt or sweetener is added, so sodium is low; sugars are natural tomato and onion sugars. Reduction concentrates the sauce but does not change the batch totals. A sauce component, not a meal.
USDA FoodData Central references. Brands, food varieties, preparation and portion size change the result. Added sugars assume plain, unsweetened ingredients; for prepared breads and sauces, a range shows zero to the reference food’s total sugar because the added amount is unspecified.
Let’s make it
Steps at a glance 4 steps
Amounts below match your selected batch. Follow each short step, and use timers as reminders to check the food.
Equipment
Kitchen scale that reads to 0.1 g · Cutting board and knife · Can opener · Wide saucepan · Wooden spoon · Immersion blender (optional) · Shallow covered containers
- 1
Prepare the vegetables
Wash hands and produce. Peel and finely chop 110 g onion and mince 12 g garlic. Open 794 g no-salt-added canned tomatoes; if they are whole, crush them in a bowl with clean hands or a potato masher, keeping every bit of juice.
- 2
Soften the onion and garlic
Heat 20 g olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring often, 6 to 8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and stir 30 to 60 seconds until fragrant, lowering the heat if it starts to color.
- 3
Simmer and reduce
Add the tomatoes with their juice and 1.5 g dried oregano. Bring to a gentle bubble, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom, until slightly thickened. Set a lid ajar if it spatters. For a smooth sauce, blend in the pan with an immersion blender, keeping the blade fully submerged.
- 4
Cool, portion and store
Divide the sauce into equal portions, one per serving (eight for the base batch), in shallow containers. Cool about 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate or freeze within 2 hours of cooking.
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Make it work for you
For kids & different preferences
Smooth if blended, soft and slightly chunky if not. Tomato acidity can be strong for some children; serve warm, not hot, mixed into pasta or grains the child already eats. Children can help crush tomatoes with clean hands under supervision; adults handle the stove and blender. Not age-specific feeding guidance.
Storage & packed lunches
Refrigerate in shallow covered containers at 40°F / 4°C or colder within 2 hours of cooking (within 1 hour above 90°F / 32°C) and use within 3 days. This is not a canning recipe; do not store sealed jars at room temperature.
Freezing & reheating
Freeze cooled portions in covered containers with headspace for up to 1 month for best quality. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Reheat only what you need in a saucepan, stirring, until steaming throughout and 165°F / 74°C.
If something looks different
If the sauce tastes thin, simmer a few minutes longer; if it sticks, lower the heat and stir more often. Browned or bitter garlic means the pan was too hot; cook garlic only briefly.
Something wrong with an ingredient or instruction? Tell us
Updated 2026-10-29
Bethany’s Kitchen · /recipes/quick-garlic-tomato-sauce · Original instructions and generated food illustration. General culinary practice informed the combination; no third-party prose or photograph copied. Not physically kitchen-tested or human-reviewed.