An amazing and flavorful sauce for pastas, zoodles, peppers, and rice dishes! If you’re looking for some authentic tasting Italian tomato sauce without the mess and long cook times, this recipe will become a favorite.

It’s easy to make in large batches, and stores well in the freezer. The San Marzano tomatoes are particularly tasty and usually a little sweet, which eliminates the need to buffer the acidic flavor that usually comes through in traditional sauce recipes (which usually require sugar or butter to counter the acid, which isn’t very health friendly, and often alters the tomato flavor). With just a handful of ingredients, you’ll be on your way to making authentic sauce in no time.

Ingredients

2 TBS Olive Oil
1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, chopped
2 cans of San Marzano crushed tomatoes, with liquid reserved
Himalyan salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Set Instant Pot to Sauté and put in olive oil, onions, and garlic. Stir and cook until onions are soft and garlic is aromatic, but not brown.

2. Pour crushed tomatoes with the juice into the Instant Pot, stir and make sure all the onions and garlic are incorporated. Close and lock lid.

3. Set on High Pressure for 40 minutes, once the pot is finished use a natural release.

4. Open lid and allow to cool slightly – use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, or pour into blender once hot liquid has cooled to room temperature. If you like a chunkier sauce, feel free to skip this step. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Put onto pasta or into the dish immediately, or heat when ready to add to other recipes.

This recipe calls for quite a bit of garlic, so you may feel the need to adjust to your tastes! Some tasty herbal additions like fresh basil, oregano, and rosemary add a nice touch, but aren’t necessary to highlight the bright tomato flavor. If you’re feeling lazy, this sauce is tasty even without blending until smooth, so a chunky version might be a nice addition to whatever you’re making. With this sauce on hand, it’s easy to pour some over vegetable dishes, quickly create lasagna, add some depth to stews, and spice up plain rice. Impress your friends with this quick sauce that tastes like an Italian grandmother’s best dish.