Greek Tomato Sauce | FoodByMaria Recipes

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Greek Tomato Sauce

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Prep

10 minutes

Cook

30 minutes

Yield

4 -6

This Greek pasta sauce will take you on an adventure.... a flavorful adventure! You'll notice some spices not usually in a tomato sauce like cinnamon and cloves, but I promise, the will give you a flavor you never thought you needed!

You seriously cannot go wrong with any kind of tomato sauce. It has to be one of the most versatile foods and this Greek tomato sauce is no different. For this recipe, I’ve taken your classic tomato sauce but added a Greek flair to it! However, that doesn’t change how versatile this sauce is. Use it all day, every day, on all your favorite foods and noodles!

Bowl of Greek Pasta Sauce on spaghetti

Why you’ll love this Greek tomato sauce: 

  • Quick: With only 10 minutes to prep this has to be the easiest sauce!! 
  • Versatile: You heard it once, I’ll tell you again, use this all day every day. You won’t regret it!
  • Unique: You’ll notice I’ve added some different spices to this sauce to give it a little more of an exotic spin to your typical pasta sauce 

Ingredients: 

Here are the beautiful ingredients that I used for this Greek pasta sauce recipe: 

Ingredients for Greek pasta sauce

Ingredient Notes: 

Cinnamon: Yep, a weird, not-so-common ingredient in this sauce that I promise you will give you something you never knew you needed. I used Simply Organic Cinnamon for this recipe and I wouldn’t use anything else. Why? Because they just make such quality spices. What comes with quality spices? The best flavors!! You seriously will LOVE this addition to this sauce. 

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Tomatoes: Use what’s fresh or in season, you don’t have to use all the same kind here. Get creative. Try different colors, tomatoes are all wonderful in this sauce. 

Clove: Another weird ingredient but let me tell you the combination of spices in this recipe will seriously make such a difference. It transforms a normal, regular (and boring) pasta sauce into something that has so many complex flavors. 

How do you make Greek pasta sauce?

Olive oil in pot on stove

Onion and oil in a pan on a stove

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot on medium heat.  To the pot, add the onions and garlic and sweat them out on medium heat for around 5 minutes.  Stir often to avoid burning.

Adding spices into a pan on the stove

2. To the skillet or pot, add the oregano, basil, cinnamon, clove, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes. Stir till the onions and garlic are fully coated and continue to cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.

Tomatoes in a pan

3. To the pot or skillet, add the tomatoes and sugar.  Stir till combined and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15-2o minutes.

Bay leaves on a plate

Blended Greek tomato sauce in a pan on the stove

4. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, remove the whole bay leaf, then transfer to a blender or food processor.

5. Enjoy the sauce immediately with rice, pasta, protein, or veggies or cool completed and transfer to a tightly sealed container or jar.

Bowls of spaghetti on a counter

Bowls of spaghetti on a counter

Expert Tips & FAQ: 

Storage: The sauce will last in the fridge for up to 1 week in a tightly sealed container.

Can I freeze tomato sauce? The sauce will last up to 3-4 months in the freezer in a tightly sealed container or air-tight zip-lock bag.

Why cinnamon in tomato sauce? Not only does this add flavor, cinnamon can help temper the acidity of the tomatoes in the sauce to make your sauce less acidic and a bit more sweet. Don’t worry, it won’t overpower your pot! Trust me here. 

Why should I cook the onions first? Yes, onions will cook in the sauce as well but they take MUCH longer to do it this way and you run the risk of having partially cooked onions in your sauce. By cooking them first in the pot releases sugars and makes them taste sweeter versus having a strong onion flavor throughout.

Blending: I don’t like to keep my tomato sauce super chunky, that’s why blending in the end really helps have that smooth consistency. You can really blend your sauce as much or as little as you want. It’s all personal preference. 

Bowls of spaghetti with Greek pasta sauce on it

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Greek Tomato Sauce

4.64 from 11 votes
This Greek pasta sauce will take you on an adventure.... a flavorful adventure! You'll notice some spices not usually in a tomato sauce like cinnamon and cloves, but I promise, the will give you a flavor you never thought you needed!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Vegan Meals
Cuisine Mediterranean-Inspired
Servings 4 -6
Calories 58 kcal

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot on medium heat.  To the pot, add the onions and garlic and sweat them out on medium heat for around 5 minutes.  Stir often to avoid burning.
  • To the skillet or pot, add the salt + pepper,  oregano, basil, cinnamon, clove, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes. Stir till the onions and garlic are fully coated and continue to cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.
  • To the pot or skillet, add the tomatoes and sugar.  Stir till combined and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 15-2o minutes.
  • Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, remove the whole bay leaf, then transfer to a blender or food processor.
  • Enjoy the sauce immediately with rice, paste, protein or veggies or cool completed and transfer to a tightly sealed container or jar.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

Storage: The sauce will last in the fridge for up to 1 week in a tightly sealed container.  The sauce will last up to 3-4 months in the freezer in a tightly sealed container or air-tight zip-lock bag.

Nutrition

Serving: 6 | Calories: 58kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.2g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 4.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.6g | Sodium: 1.7mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 1.1g
Review This Recipe Let us know how it was!
Matthew Weaver

4 stars
When you say 1/2 clove spice, what exactly do you mean what?

Maria Koutsogiannis

oh shoot, sorry! 1/2 tsp!

Patrick

Hey Maria, I thought so. 😉 … Hmm, I think 1 teaspoon is more than enough. I did it with less than that and it came out fantastic. And for the second time I cooked this lovely sauce, I replaced the fresh tomatoes with 400 ml Passata. It was excellent.

Thanks for your recipes and ideas. Keep on with it!
Best regards, Patrick

Maria Koutsogiannis

You are so welcome, thank you Patrick!

Patrick Hunold

5 stars
Love this recipe. But you should add some salt to it.

Greetings from Germany 🙂
Patrick

Maria Koutsogiannis

Hey Patrick! Thank you so much for flagging that! That was an error! I have added salt to the recipe now!

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