This Tomato Sauce recipe will take you back to a time when the internet, Uber and Insta didn't exist – but tomato sauce tasted a whole lot better.
Remember what tomato sauce used to taste like?
You will once you cook up a batch of this!
Enjoy your homemade tomato sauce slathered on a meat pie, serve it with hot chips or store it away for your next sausage sizzle.

An old-fashioned Tomato Sauce recipe
I'm a long-time tomato sauce fanatic.
As a child, I had it with EVERYTHING. I refused to eat many things without it.
I remember Mum having to go to our neighbour's house one night to borrow a bottle of sauce because we'd run out and I had a meltdown.
I've never quite got tired of tomato sauce and still enjoy it, especially with hot chips or on a sausage sandwich.
One of my kids has inherited my tomato-sauce-loving gene, too.
And I always make sure we have a spare bottle of tomato sauce in the pantry.
So I was quite keen to test out this homemade tomato sauce recipe recorded by my great grandmother at least 80 years ago.
With a haul of lovely locally-grown tomatoes from my local farmer's markets, it seemed the perfect time to cook up a batch of Nana Ling's tomato sauce.
UPDATE - I've made this sauce many times since, and it's one of the most popular recipes on the blog!
Ingredients for homemade Tomato Sauce
To make this sauce, you'll need:
- tomatoes
- white wine vinegar
- salt
- caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- garlic
- ginger
- cloves
- allspice
- peppercorns
- cayenne pepper.
Some people also like to add an onion to this recipe.
I like to make it exactly as Nana Ling recorded it, without the onion – but each to their own!
Cooking up this Australian Tomato Sauce Recipe
Making this tomato sauce is quite simple once you've sourced some lovely, ripe tomatoes and checked to make sure you have all the spices and other ingredients on hand.
The other ingredients, vinegar and sugar, you probably already keep in your pantry.
How to make Tomato Sauce
Chop the tomatoes roughly and place into a large saucepan. Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil.
The sauce takes around 2–3 hours of simmering to reduce. Keep a check on it and watch the how-to video to see the consistency of the mixture you're aiming for.
Given the variability of the tomatoes, it's difficult to give a precise cooking time.
Once cooked, there are two options to process the sauce.
Option 1 – Sieving the sauce
Then you just need to run the mixture through a sieve, pressing down with a spoon, to extract the beautifully rich and tasty tomato sauce.
Bottle it straight away in a sterilised bottle or jar and store in the pantry or fridge.
This is how the sauce is made according to Nana Ling's instructions and this is how I like to make it.
Option 2 – Blending the sauce
Many readers have commented that they simply blend the sauce in a food processor or chopper once it's cooked.
Many prefer this method, since it's much easier.
If you do opt to blend the sauce, just keep in mind that it may have a spicier kick to it given all of the spices are blended into the sauce.
The Tomato Sauce time machine
I hadn't realised how much tomato sauce had changed over the years until I sampled Nana Ling's tomato sauce recipe. A recipe she'd jotted down in her beautiful handwriting back in 1941.
One tiny taste and I was immediately transported back to my family's dinner table in the 1980s.
I could see our old dinner table covered with a seersucker tablecloth. I could also see Mum's hanging pot plant stand in the corner of the dining room (which fell down on the dinner table one night and saved me from eating a meal I wasn't particularly enjoying). And on the table was a glass bottle filled with deep red tomato sauce.
These days, tomato sauce seems brighter and thinner.
And it may be in a super convenient squeeze pack now, but the taste just isn't quite the same. It doesn't pack a tomato punch the way the good old-fashioned tomato sauce did.
If you want tomato sauce that's thick, full of tomato flavour and can even take you back in time, keep scrolling for Nana Ling's Tomato Sauce Recipe.
You can also find other wonderful condiments and conserves from the Cooking with Nana Ling collection here (and if you still have heaps of tomatoes, check out my Tomato Recipes collection).
Recipe FAQs
What are the best tomatoes for Tomato Sauce?
You really can use any type of tomato here, however roma tomatoes and other "paste" tomatoes that have fewer seeds are perfect for making sauce.
I also like to use heirloom tomatoes and have made this recipe up with cherry tomatoes when i had an abundance of those.
How to store Tomato Sauce
"Where do you store tomato sauce?"
It's a controversial question, indeed!
I store my sauce in the fridge once it's opened. Others store it in the cupboard. Which way is the right way?
Well, even the experts at Australia's Choice can't agree.
They say that tomato sauce is high enough in sugar and salt to be shelf stable, even after opening. However, bacteria is more of a risk in a warmer environment.
Some are willing to take the risk, saying cold sauce is a crime and impacts the flavour.
So, there seems to be no right and wrong.
If you're risk-averse and don't mind cold sauce, continue to store it in the fridge.
If you're a tomato sauce aficionado who insists on enjoying it at it's room-temperature best, go ahead.
Just keep in mind that if you are making homemade tomato sauce and are not familiar with how to properly can/preserve sauces, store in the fridge to be safe.
What do you store your sauce in?
Go for an airtight glass container to maximise it's shelf life.
Once you've opened it, you can pour it from there or transfer it to a squeeze bottle – yes, the ones we had in the 80s are still around today if you look hard enough.
Nana Ling's Tomato Sauce recipe
Keep scrolling for the tested and tweaked version.
Tomato Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ kilos tomatoes roughly chopped
- ⅔ cup white wine vinegar
- 3 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 1 clove garlic sliced thinly
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated (or ¼ teaspoon ground dried ginger)
- ½ teaspoon whole cloves (or ¼ teaspoon ground cloves)
- ½ teaspoon allspice (ground)
- 3 teaspoons black peppercorns
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 onion (optional, I personally don't add it in and it wasn't in the original recipe but some readers prefer this recipe with onion)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring.
- Simmer for 2-3 hours, partly covered and stirring from time to time.
- Watch the video above in the post to see the consistency of the tomato sauce once cooked. If the sauce hasn't achieved the desired consistency, continue to simmer uncovered until it reaches the preferred consistency.
- Strain half of the mixture through a coarse sieve into a bowl, and then the other half. Use a spoon to push sauce through the sieve and extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.
- Alternatively, blend the cooked sauce in a food processor or chopper (but keep in mind the sauce will have a spicier kick).
- Pour hot mixture into a medium-sized sterilised bottle and seal.
- Store in fridge or a cool and dark place (depending on the process you used to can the sauce). If you are not familiar with how to properly preserve sauces, store in the fridge to be safe.
- Once opened, store in the fridge.
Gretta
I was a bit short of fresh toms, so used half fresh, half frozen from last year. Turned out beautiful, but maybe next lot not so many cloves.
Suzanne Lumsden
OMG this is just the best tomato sauce. so much better that store bought and without all the nasties. I have made 3 batches so far from my own tomatoes, and I'm sad now because my tomato bushes have finished fruiting. My hubby and I love a bit of spice and this sauce fits the bill. I am so happy i came across this recipe. thank you. I would give it 10 stars if I could.
Libby Hakim
Love it - my first 10 star review! So glad you enjoyed it, Suzanne. Happy cooking!
Mike Puskas
Can you use small ripe cherry tomatoes for this recipe. I have 3kg of fresh supply
Mary
must add to my previous comment that i have made it several times and much prefer it without the cloves, i find the cloves overpowers the flavour
Mary
beautiful sauce better than any other one i have tasted
Barbara
Shelf life is ?????
I am planning to make this and it will be going into the pantry after bottled, labelled and cold.
Libby Hakim
This depends on so many things - it is suitable for canning, but please use your own knowledge or research on the topic 🙂
Margaret Pymont
my first batch truly amazing so double the recipe but I put a little too much vinegar in, what will I do?.
Merrill
Fantastic recipe, my ratios were a bit out from having only 1 k of Tom’s.
, but a tiny pinch of bicarbonate fixed that, absolutely delicious, thanks 😊🥫
Libby Hakim
You're welcome, Merrill! Enjoy 🙂
Jodi
Do you need to skin the tomatoes
Carolyn
Hi Libby
Made this sauce in the crock pot as I had other soups cooking and it smells delicious with all the old fashioned ingredients, dying to try. Thank you so much
Libby Hakim
You're welcome!
Naomi
This is actually unreal! Tastes like proper good quality sauce! I can’t wait to have it on a meat pie and fish and chips!
I added half the amount of sugar (I often find sauces can be too sweet, so I start with less sugar and add more later if needed). I also added a large onion. Before bottling, I gave it a quick blend with the hand mixer and then removed most solids. Definitely saving this recipe and making it again next tomato season!
Libby Hakim
Woohoo! It's a great recipe and easily adaptable to suit your tastes. Enjoy your meat pie and sauce!
Marg
Hi Libby I am cooking up my first ever batch and just love the old style flavours used, cant wait to bottle and eat it. Marg
Libby Hakim
Hi Marg. Wonderful. Hope you love it 🙂 I've just bought a heap of tomatoes cheap and will make this recipe and the tomato relish is also wonderful. Happy cooking! Libby x
Sue
Loved this sauce - made with all my fresh tomatoes from my garden.
Will be making it again!