Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No Eggs, No Nuts and No Processed Sugar
This is a super simple healthy tomato sauce recipe made with lots of vegetables and can be used for just about anything. I usually make this tomato sauce for my partner, which he loves, the house smells amazing while I am cooking.
I can’t eat tomatoes as they are a nightshade vegetable and this causes issues with my Hashimoto’s thyroid disease, so I make a Nomato Sauce for myself which uses beetroot, watermelon, pumpkin and a bunch of other vegetables instead of tomato’s.
Why do I use tomato passata?
I only use organic tomato passata because it doesn’t have the tomato seeds in it, which can make the sauce bitter and that’s usually why most recipes you see for tomato sauce use sugar. The tomato’s are strained and pureed with no additives or flavourings and sold in glass jars.
Why make your own tomato sauce?
If you think the supermarket sauces are healthy because they are made with tomatoes then you would be wrong, most of them have upwards of 40 teaspoons of sugar and a lot of salt. The best way to make tomato sauce sweeter is to add carrots and onions, even if you use tin tomatoes that have seeds, this will still be sweet enough.
Why do I cook a big batch and freeze it?
I usually make the tomato sauce in one big batch and freeze into glass containers. The sauce will last between 3 to 6 months in the freezer, and 2 weeks in the fridge. I only use glass container because they are better than plastic containers as they can be recycled and not end up in landfill. Unlike plastic containers that degrade over time and break down and end up with plastic particles in your food.
Why I add flavour after being in freezer.
Coming out of the freezer I would recommend adding fresh herbs and some extra fresh tomatoes or another tin of tomatoes to refresh the flavours. This recipe can be used as a base for any other recipe that calls for tomatoes or a tomato sauce.
What else can I use tomato sauce for?
If you add some milk or water you can turn this into a tomato soup.
Adding mince meat or pork mince you can create pasta sauces or use it for lasagna.
Add some capsicum, mushrooms, cucumber, onions and garlic to turn into a salsa sauce for nachos, add some oregano and basil to turn it into a pizza sauce, the possibilities are endless.
Or just use this as a complete tomato sauce replacement for chips, chicken parmigiana, burgers or anything really…
How I use a tomato sauce.
Here are some ideas for the way I use the sauce. I make nachos with corn chips and use the sauce on top of the corn chip as the salsa and heat in the oven. I combine it with meatballs for pasta, lasagna. I use it as the salsa for pizza bases.
Why do you only consume organic food?
I switched to organic foods to aid with my Hashimoto’s symptoms, but I’d advise everyone to do the same. I strive to make everything from scratch and eat clean food with few to no chemicals and little to no processed food. Eating typical food from supermarkets or even farmers markets and not knowing what chemicals are sprayed onto your food can greatly harm your health, especially if you already have health problems like an auto-immune condition.
Food that is organic is fresher, contains more antioxidants and nutrients, and lasts less time because it doesn’t contain any food-preserving chemicals. The alternative is to cultivate your own food without applying any pesticides by utilizing appropriate gardening methods, such as companion planting.
You use a stainless steel frying pan for what purpose?
When I cook soups and sauces I use stainless steel frying pans because you can fit more in and they don’t leave stains, also acidic sauces like tomato can leech chemicals from the pan; like carbon steel or cast iron. They are easier to buy in larger sizes for soups and sauces.
I love this frying pan because it is nice and deep, it comes with a lid and is stainless steel. Its a bit more expensive then other ones but you won’t ever have to buy another one.
Tip: You can also add some of my tomato sauce recipe to this pumpkin soup which will then be a tomato and pumpkin soup.
Tomato Sauce
Let’s start cooking, the first step is to cut up the onion and garlic and fry until slightly brown. I use extra virgin olive oil but you could use any oil you like, such as coconut oil, avocado oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil.
Once the onion is brown, add the rest of the ingredients, tomato passata, carrot, zucchini, cucumber, spinach, basil, salt, pepper.
Bring the mixture to boil and then turn down to the lowest setting and simmer for about an hour.
Tip:
Using a thick bottom pan as shown below is better because it won’t burn your sauce if you forget to stir regularly. Don’t use a lid as you want some of the water to boil away so the sauce will thicken once we blend.
Tip:
Its best to pour into another container and let cool a little bit before blending as things can spit and spill and if it hits your arm while its hot, it hurts… alot.
If you like this recipe you will love my other recipes:
If you try this recipe let me know in the comments below the post.
FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 jars tomato passata
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 medium onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 medium Zucchini
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp basil chopped
Instructions
- Cut up onions and garlic into big chunks and fry in a frying pan with oil. Cook until slightly brown.
- Add the tomato passata, put a little bit of water in the jars and shake to get the remaining tomato out of the jar.
- Cut the carrot, zucchini, cucumbers into big chunks, the spinach doesn't need to be chopped up.
- Add salt and pepper to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes
- Simmer for 1 hour with lid off
- Turn off the heat and let cool then blend with a stick blender
Leave a Reply