Cuopom: Martha Stewart’s Creamy 5-Ingredient Tomato Sauce Is Better Than Anything From a Jar

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In the past when we thought about making tomato sauce from scratch, some of the images conjured included an ancient grandma wielding a wooden spoon as large as a baseball bat, constantly stirring a 10-gallon vat of sauce that simmers for at least a few hours, elaborate secret ingredients thrown in here and there to create the ultimate marinara. And while we have a feeling that the mystery sauce of our brain would be scrumptious if we had a chance to taste it, the reality is that it’s pretty simple to make a delicious tomato sauce at home that will blow any jarred sauce out of the water, and even Martha Stewart agrees. No baseball bat-sized spoon needed.

Though Stewart has developed her share of finnicky recipes, some of our favorites are actually the simplest. Take the meals from her One Pot cookbook — they’re weeknight-friendly, but full of fresh and complex flavors.

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Her 5-ingredient tomato sauce is no different. Stewart shared how to turn a can of whole peeled tomatoes into a sweet, savory, and tangy sauce that perfectly coats pasta, gnocchi, meatballs, and more, and it’s so simple, you’ll wonder why you suffered through mediocre store brand sauce for all these years.

Stewart’s easy tomato sauce recipe starts with sizzling garlic in butter and olive oil, then adding the can of tomatoes to the pan after you’ve chopped them up in a food processor or using an immersion blender.

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It simmers for about a half hour, then gets finished with heavy cream. The cream helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes, and also adds a subtle richness to the mouthfeel of the sauce.

The ingredients used to make it are much less expensive than a jar of premium sauce at the store, which these days can reach up to $10 for a single jar. Pair with a box of pasta and a shower of Parmesan, and you’ve made a surprisingly affordable meal that tastes like something you could get at a restaurant.