Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

It takes a little time and preparation to make homemade preserves, but it’s time worth taking. Preserves prevent wasted vegetables, provide nutrients over the winter months, and are so much more healthy than store-bought varieties. Once you’ve tried this simple and tasty homemade tomato sauce you’ll never buy tinned sauce again.

If you have access to some cheap (or even better home-grown) tomatoes, make a few batches of this sauce this summer. It takes a bit of time, but it’s really worth it.

Homemade tomato sauce can be used in hundreds of different recipes, from simple garlic and basil pasta dishes, to rich, tomato-based, curry meals, to gourmet canapés.

The recipe can be reduced or expanded according to your needs and the size of your stockpot.

Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

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Homemade Tomato Sauce

If you have access to some cheap (or even better, home-grown) tomatoes, make some of this. It takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it. The recipe can be reduced or expanded according to your needs and the size of your stockpot.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 kg ripe tomatoes
• 1.2 kg apples ones that mush well on cooking are best – Cox’s Orange, Granny Smith, or any apples that pulp well on cooking
• 1 kg onions
• 100 g salt
• 1.2 kg sugar
• 2 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
• 5 cloves garlic
• 50 g whole cloves
• 25 g black pepper corns
• 25 g whole allspice

Instructions

1. Coarsely chop the whole tomatoes and place in a large stockpot.

2. Peel and coarsely chop the onions, peel and crush the garlic, add to the pot.

3. Core and roughly chop the unpeeled apples, add to the pot.

4. Tie the cloves, peppercorns, and allspice in a muslin bag and toss in with the tomato mix.
5. Add the sugar, salt and vinegar and bring the mix to the boil, stirring.
6. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot and allow to cook for 1 hour.
7. Push as much as possible through a large metal sieve (this is the hard work part!) and collect in a large bowl or saucepan. (You should just have a small collection of skins and seeds left in the sieve after a bit of concentrated effort.)
8. Reheat the strained sauce and boil for a few minutes.

Recipe Notes

Bottle in sterilised preserving jars, apply seals and process in a water bath for about 45 minutes. Remove to a board and allow to cool. Check the seals and store in a cool dry place.