Easy Vegan Tomato Sauce

This vegan tomato sauce is completely homemade and is easy to make. If you have never made vegan marinara sauce before, you may be worried that it is difficult, but I promise that it isn’t!

Making tomato sauce vegan at home is way healthier than buying it from the store and all of the ingredients are whole foods and good-for you. It is also EASY!

While we do use store-bought pasta sauce from time to time, this is our go-to vegan tomato sauce recipe that my mom has made ever since I was little. You can use it for pasta, Vegan Gnocchi, or even on top of our Vegan Stuffed Peppers!

The vegan tomato pasta sauce recipe uses FRESH tomatoes. Many tomato sauce recipes call for canned and peeled tomatoes. This recipe uses neither. It uses 100% fresh tomatoes.

The only canned thing in this recipe is a bit of tomato paste, but otherwise, it is all fresh. If you have never made homemade vegan tomato sauce before, you are in for a real treat as you pour this over a tasty dish once it is finished!

Why You Will Love This Vegan Tomato Sauce Recipe

• You get to choose the tomato. This recipe for making tomato sauce vegan at home allows you to choose the perfect tomatoes for your recipe. So you know exactly where they are coming from when making the vegan spaghetti sauce.
• Perfect for new cooks. If you are new to cooking and want something that sounds fancy but is super easy, this is the recipe for you! It is truly hard to fail when making this tasty spaghetti sauce vegan.
• You can sneak in extra veggies. You can easily modify this tomato sauce recipe to include hidden veggies such as zucchini or peppers. If you are trying to get the kids to eat more veggies, this is the perfect way to go about it.
• Layered flavors and versatile. The different ingredients in this vegan tomato pasta sauce add for a deliciously layered flavor that has different notes. It is also versatile and can be used for a variety of dishes, not just as vegan red sauce for spaghetti!

Choosing The Tomatoes For Vegan Marinara Sauce

The tomatoes are the star of the show. You are NOT using canned tomatoes and you will NOT be peeling these tomatoes. They are the centerpiece of this recipe and therefore, you are going to want the best of the best if you are making vegan tomato pasta sauce.

I have tried making vegan tomato sauce with a variety of different types of tomatoes. Roma tomatoes have 110% been the best of the best for making sauce with.

Something about the flavor and the way they cook down make them perfect.

You can halve this vegan marinara sauce recipe, but if you are making the whole batch, you will need 5 pounds of tomatoes which comes out to be about 15-20 medium size roma tomatoes.

Choose high-quality and firm tomatoes from your store that don’t have any age spots on them. Remember, you want the best of the best so this recipe shines!

How To Prepare The Tomatoes For The Vegan Spaghetti Sauce

First, you will wash your tomatoes and then cut them in half.

In order for the vegan spaghetti sauce to come out correctly, you are going to need to remove the seeds from the tomatoes. You don’t have to get every single seed, but you should try to get the majority out.

The seeds and insides of a tomato have a weird texture, so if texture bothers you this may not be your favorite part of the process, but it is necessary.

Simply press your fingers inside the tomato and scoop out the seeds. The sees are held in the tomato by a very thin liquid-like texture so it is very easy to remove them.

It is essential to remove these bits so that they do not water down the vegan tomato sauce. We are not making a tomato soup where water is okay and even included in the recipe.

In order to make this recipe work, all the liquid parts of the tomato and the seeds should be removed to the best of your ability!

How To Make Tomato Sauce Vegan

As I mentioned above, making tomato sauce vegan has never been easier.

Once you take the seeds out of the tomatoes, as explained above, heat olive oil in a large pot and add your onions. You will saute the onions until fragrant, usually for a few minutes.

Then you will add in the garlic and the tomato paste as well as all of your spices and continue to cook until combined. If you are wondering if tomato paste is vegan, it sure is! If you are feeling concerned, just check one out at the store in the future.

Now, you will add the fresh tomatoes that you prepared above. You will NOT add any liquid to this recipe. I know it is hard to conceive how a bunch of mushy tomatoes will become delicious vegan tomato sauce, but stay the course!

You will simmer the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients for about 10 minutes and then you will transfer the mixture to a blender to blend until smooth.

You can also use an immersion blender to puree the mixture right in the pot if you have one on hand. If you are using a bay leaf for seasoning, take it out before you blend up the mixture and return it to the pot once you are done.

If you want a chunkier plant-based spaghetti sauce, you can use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes right in the post. I often go this route and it is really tasty.

Finally, continue to simmer the vegan spaghetti sauce for an additional 20-30 minutes until fully cooked.

That is all there is to it! Vegan marinara sauce is so easy to make with just a few steps! Prepare the tomatoes, saute everything in a pan, cook the tomatoes in the pot, and blend it up and let cook until the flavors combine.

I hope you enjoy this easy vegan tomato sauce recipe on your next plate of pasta or to accompany your next entree!