Artificial Food Coloring Free Pomarola Fresh Tomato Sauce
This is the kind of sauce that makes you question why you ever reached for a jar. Ripe plum tomatoes, a handful of garden vegetables, fresh basil, and good olive oil are all it takes — no shortcuts, no mystery additives, and absolutely nothing artificial hiding in the ingredient list. Store-bought tomato sauces are notorious for sneaking in dyes, color stabilizers, and other additives you'd never choose to put in your food, so making your own is genuinely the cleanest path forward. The technique here is beautifully simple: everything simmers low and slow until the tomatoes completely break down, then the whole pot gets passed through a food mill for a silky, restaurant-quality finish. That deep, brick-red color you see in the final sauce? It comes entirely from the tomatoes themselves — no enhancement needed. A finishing drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil rounds out the flavor and gives it a gorgeous sheen. Toss it with pasta, spoon it over polenta, or freeze a batch for the weeks when cooking from scratch just isn't happening.
About FigFig is a food discovery app that helps you find foods and recipes that fit your dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, intolerances, or follow a specific diet, Fig makes it easy to eat with confidence.
Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 3 lbs ripe plum tomatoes (about 10–12), roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 8 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- 1
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and the onion is translucent, about 8–10 minutes.
- 2
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Want the full recipe?
Create a Fig account for step-by-step instructions, access to our full recipe library, and more!