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.
Lynne says
Hi Libby
Do I need to add onions to your recipe?
Lynne
Libby says
Hi Lynne. There are no onions in this recipe. I think I've had one comment that a reader added onions and preferred it with the onions but most love it without. I like it without the onions. It just comes down to personal taste. Best wishes, Libby
Jennifer Westwood says
Fantastic! Best tomato sauce ever!
Libby says
Thanks for the 5 star rating - so glad you loved it, Jennifer 🙂 Happy cooking!
Brianna Webster says
Hi I am about to try out this recipe. How long can I store the made sauce?
And is it better stored in the cupboard or fridge?
Thanks
Libby says
Hi Brianna. I haven't given specific storage times because it depends on so many factors. I prefer to store it in the fridge and it lasts a good few months at least in the fridge. Good luck with the recipe! Libby
Kate Hobbs says
Made this yesterday and love the taste and consistency. I had to boil my batch for longer than stated (including with lid off for last hour or so) to reduce water content. I also kept sieving until almost no solids left, and this helped create good thick sauce. Perfect!
Libby says
Hi Kate. Thanks so much for the rating and feedback. Yes, I might add some additional guidance re: cooking time as I've made it a couple of times and I think it varies depending on the type of tomatoes. Happy cooking and enjoy your sauce!
Marilyn Hylton says
Loved it. Like me mum used to make it. X
Libby says
Brilliant! I've just cooked up another batch last week, too. Enjoy, Marilyn x
Janette says
Great recipe, nice kick to this sauce, thanks
Libby says
You're welcome, Janette. I've just recently made up another batch of this too.
Sarah says
Great recipe and tastes great too. I took off my saucepan lid just 30mins remaining of the cooking time. It thickened beautifully. I also did not strain it, my family and I love it chunky and no waste. Thank you.
Libby says
Awesome - thanks for the feedback, Sarah!
Diane says
Hi Nana Ling. Just a small comment, as a not quite ancient Aussie I would have loved to be able to print the original recipe since I am old enough to follow the lovely hand writing 🙂
Libby says
Hi Diane. Thanks for your comment 🙂 The original recipe doesn't have a print button like the recipe card but you can still print out the original recipe. Just left click on the image and it should give you the option of saving the image to your computer. You can then open it from your computer and print it out. Hope that helps! Libby
Brad Ridley says
Made as described, took 2 hours with the lid off and used cherry tomatoes as I had heaps of them. Tastes great and I think will be better with some age.
Libby says
Wonderful - enjoy your tomato sauce 🙂
Andrew B says
Fantastic recipe thank you just like my mums old recipe but I did make some tweaks to make it more to my liking. I added a onion and rather then straining it, I like it a little chunky so I blended the whole lot and bottled everything (no waste) 5 stars.
Libby says
Hi Andrew. Fantastic! So pleased you enjoyed the recipe and I'll add your variation ideas to the post when I next update it. Happy cooking! 🙂
Claire says
@Andrew B, I have just made this sauce and used your tip by adding a couple of onions (I doubled the recipe), blended it all with stick blender and bottled. Beautiful sauce ❤️
Samme says
You need to include onion , otherwise it is quite bland, sorry not a great recipe.
Libby says
Hi Samme. That's ok if it's not to your liking, no need to apologise. You could always add an onion I guess, however with the fresh tomatoes, garlic, ginger, cloves, allspice, peppercorns and cayenne pepper, I found it quite packed with flavour and enjoyed the original recipe as it was recorded. Someone else said it had too much of a kick for them! Anyway, thanks for the feedback. Happy cooking 🙂
Loved it says
@Libby, Onion works in place of sugar if you're keen to sub 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Libby Hakim says
Awesome - thanks for the tip 🙂
Brenton Stone says
just found Nanna's recipe for tomato sauce making it right at this moment from my home grown tomatoes Brenton Australia
Kathy says
Can you send me the recipe if different to nana longs
Amanda Peart says
Hi wow it's a fun recipe to cook I did take the lid off for the last 1/2 hr so the sauce could reduce then after blending I added 2 tsp of Cornflour in 2tsp of water to make it a thicker sauce. I did how ever made the mistake of trying an overload teaspoon of left over cold sauce OMG I wasn't expecting it to have such a kick in it ??
Libby says
Hi Amanda! Thanks for your feedback and glad you found it fun to cook. I'm going to add some notes as I think it might depend on the tomatoes used. There's also a video in the post which shows what it should look like before you put it in the sieve. Glad you found a way to make it work 🙂 And thanks again for the feedback. Happy cooking!
Tammy says
Sauce has a good kick to it. Thoroughly enjoyed making it and it tasted great. Was a bit watery though perhaps needed to simmer uncovered
Libby says
Hi Tammy - thanks for your comments and feedback. I might add a note about continuing to simmer to achieve the right consistency if necessary. Thanks again! Libby
Gabrielle says
@Tammy,
Yes, I found the same. Needed to simmer uncovered however I had followed the instructions to the letter. I saw another comment here that said they added 2 teas cornflour to 2 teas of water to thicken. I did that but it still wasn't thick enough so I just reduced a bit more after straining. So next time will simmer uncovered a good hour or more.