Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
on Feb 25, 2023, Updated Aug 09, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
I can’t think of anything better than an Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce. Sugo and sugo Sundays are a staple in every Italian household. Sometimes we make the sauce plain and use it for 🍲 soups, stews, lasagna, rollatini, or any dish that requires tomato sauce. Other times we make it with meatballs, ribs, breaded cutlets, or Osso Buco (veal shanks) as I show you below. This is the essence of slow cooking. The sauce simmers slowly for a few hours until the meat is tender and melts in your mouth. This traditional Italian 🍅 tomato sauce has been passed down from Steve’s family (from Calabria). I hope his Nonna Vittoria and Nonno Giovanni are watching down on us and we’re making them proud as we continue to carry on family traditions that have been around for generations.
Why You’ll Love Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
This Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce is a great recipe to have in your repertoire and will instantly transport you to an Italian 🍴 kitchen. The ingredients are simple and classic, while the flavors are deep and robust. The tomatoes are earthy and sweet, and the parmesan rind brings a cheesy goodness that just cannot be replicated any other way. Your family will love this recipe as is (use whatever meat you love), or simply remove the meat altogether and have a wonderful base for any 🍝 pasta, stew, pizza and more. It’s simplicity at its best and your family will absolutely taste the love and time you dedicated to your Sunday sugo.
How to Prepare Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
🫒 In a big pot on the stove, add the olive oil or any oil of choice. Let it heat up on medium-high heat.
🥩 Add in the meat and sear it for a few minutes on each side or until golden and then remove from the pot and set aside.
🔪 Use a sharp knife to finely chop an onion and mince 4 cloves of garlic.
🧅 Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and garlic. Sauté for a minute until translucent.
🍅 Stir in the tomato paste and cook off that raw taste for about a minute then add in the tomato sauce and water.
🧂 Add salt to taste.
🫧 Let the sauce come to a boil and then add in the veal shanks back in.
🌶️ Add a few whole jalapenos and one Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind.
♨️ Reduce the heat to LOW and then cover it with a lid leaving a small opening for the steam to escape. Let the sauce cook and thicken for 2 hours.
⏲️ After two hours, the sauce should be thick and the meat falling off the bone and fork tender.
🍝 Enjoy on top of pasta, with a fresh baguette or use for any other recipe if you make it plain!
Nonna’s Tip 🍅
Please use good quality Passata or plain tomato sauce as the base for this sugo. We use our homemade tomato sauce which is only made with tomatoes, salt, and basil. Get the recipe here: Italian Tomato Sauce.
Variations and Substitutions for Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
- You can make sugo with ribs, any cut of veal, meatballs, breaded cutlets, or even plain. I used Osso Buco which are veal shanks, but any cut of veal with a bone will work.
- If you want this sauce plain, simply skip the meat and proceed to sautéing the 🧅 onions instead. The rest of the steps are all the same.
- The jalapenos are optional and won’t break open as long as you don’t move them around or vigorously boil the sauce. They are spicy once you cut them open on your plate but not while boiling in the sauce.
- If you want to make a sauce with meatballs, form the meatballs, fry or bake them. Take them out of the pot if frying, proceed with the following steps, and add them back in.
- The Parmigiano Reggiano rind is optional but adds a ton of flavor. We like to freeze all of our rinds and use them to flavor soups, stews, sauces, etc.
- If you use Passata and it doesn’t have anything else in it you can add some fresh 🌿 basil to the sauce as well.
Similar Recipes
Italian Tomato Sauce
2 hrs 45 mins
Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
35 mins
Marry Me Chicken
15 mins
Cherry Tomato Pasta
15 mins
Best Served With
- Serve this with any of your favorite pasta shapes and varieties, such as penne, spaghetti, ravioli, or gnocci.
- If you don’t add the meat to the sauce, use this Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce in a lasagna or on top of 🍕 pizza.
- Serve this hearty dish with a side 🥗 salad, such as my Panzanella Salad, Simple Green Salad or Caprese Salad.
Common Questions
Please use good quality Passata or plain tomato sauce. We use our homemade tomato sauce which is only made with tomatoes, salt, and basil. This is our recipe: Italian Tomato Sauce.
Not at all. The jalapenos are totally optional. Keep in mind that the peppers will not break open as long as you don’t move them around or vigorously boil the sauce. They add spiciness if you cut them open on your plate, but not while boiling in the sauce.
Oh, you certainly can and they will come out delicious. We like to first form the meatballs, then fry or bake them in the oven until nicely seared. Then proceed with the following steps and then add them to the sauce to simmer until fully cooked.
If the tomatoes you use are acidic, I prefer to add a small, peeled carrot to the sauce (which can be blended in after) to offset the acidity. I don’t like to add sugar to sauce but you can if you wish.
If your sauce is too thick after simmering, simply adjust by adding more or less water depending on your preference.
Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a big pot on the stove add the olive oil or any oil of choice. Let it heat up on medium-high heat. Add in the meat and sear it for a few minutes on each side or until golden. If you're not using meat, skip this step and proceed to the next.
- If the meat feels stuck to the bottom of the pot that means it's NOT ready to be flipped over so be patient and listen to what it's trying to tell you :). Once the meat has browned on both sides, remove it from the pot and set aside. We like to discard a little bit of the extra oil from the pot but you don't have to.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and garlic. Sauté for a minute until translucent. Stir in the tomato paste and cook off that raw taste for about a minute. Add in the tomato sauce and water.
- How much water you add will be up to you as it will depend on how thick you like your sauce. We like to add a big jar of sauce and a jar and a quarter of water.
- Add salt to taste. Don't add too much as it's easier to taste and adjust later. Let the sauce come to a boil and add in the veal shanks back in.
- Optionally, we like to add a few whole jalapenos (and no they won't make the sauce spicy) and one Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind. If you don't have a rind, simply skip this step.
- Reduce the heat to LOW and cover it with a lid leaving a small opening for the steam to escape. Let the sauce cook and thicken for 2 hours.
- You can remove the rind after an hour if you don't want it to melt into the sauce. The rind is added for extra flavor but not needed.
- After two hours the sauce should be thick and the meat falling off the bone. The meat should be fork tender. Enjoy on top of pasta, with a fresh baguette or use for any other recipe if you make it plain!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you do anything to tenderize the meat? I made the recipe once cooked the meat for around 7-8h and even though it fell off the bone it was still a bit chewy.. I used Osso bucco from a local (halal) butcher so it was really fresh ♀️
Hi Nina, no I don’t. I wonder if it was the meat you had purchased as I have never had mine be chewy before. 2-2.5 hours is the sweet spot for me
Would this be weird with a pork tenderloin?
should be delicious as I use pork ribs often