Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce with Variations

This is a base sauce that can be used to make a regular tomato sauce, a pizza sauce, a creamy tomato sauce or a meat sauce. It is best with fresh basil, but dried basil works too. It’s pretty easy to make and tastes fresh! It’s basically the same recipe from alexandracooks.com.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or extra virgin olive oil (I like butter better because its a little more sweet, but olive oil works well too)
• 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup diced onion)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic or 3 cloves garlic
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (or about 2.5-3 pounds fresh tomatoes) or crushed tomatoes work well here too
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (omit if using fresh tomatoes)
• salt to taste or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon course sea salt (my sea salt is very course so if you are using a finer salt, add a little at a time to taste)
• Pepper to taste or 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh basil (add more to taste) or 2 tablespoons dried basil (add to taste as well)
• optional: 1 zucchini, diced
• optional: 1 pound ground sausage
• optional: 1/2-1 cup whole milk or heavy cream, or red pepper flakes

Directions

If using sausage, brown sausage in pan and then remove from pan and set aside until sauce is done simmering.

Melt butter or heat oil in a large pan on medium-low heat.

Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened.

Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil and bring to a boil.

Let simmer with the lid on (or off is there is a lot of liquid in the pan from fresh tomatoes) for approximately 20 minutes.

Add optional milk or cream and stir to combine, but don’t let boil.

Add optional sausage and mix to combine.

Serve warm over noodles.