Pasta sauce is a breeze to make at home and SO worth it when you make this deeply flavorful weeknight red wine pasta sauce! Perfect for tossing in your favorite pasta dish plus it freezes and cans beautifully.
Red wine pasta sauce is currently the weeknight move because what’s the one thing a weeknight needs most?
The answer is wine.
Spoiler alert: once you’re done making this pasta sauce, you’ll have roughly about a half bottle of wine you’ll need to polish off.
Pasta + wine, name a better weeknight scenario. ♥♥
This red wine pasta sauce is one of our favorite red sauces for several reasons >>
- It’s one of those set-it-and-forget it kinda deals. 5 minute prep + about 1.5 hours of inactive cook time.
- You can store it in the fridge for up to 6 days in the fridge, freeze it for up to 3 months, and also can it for shelf storing.
- The flavors are insane. Herby from the fresh rosemary + basil, deeply flavorful from the red wine.
- You can throw it in just about any recipe that calls for pasta sauce or just keep it simple with a big bowl of pasta!
Cooking the Sauce
First off is sauteeing the aromatics. A whopping 6 cloves garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and tomato paste get a quick toss in olive oil.
Then red wine goes in the pan and we’re going to let this reduce for about 10 minutes until it’s reduced in half.
From there, we’re just building the rest of the sauce! 2 cans whole peeled tomatoes, (28 oz each) a few basil leaves + a sprig of rosemary go into the pan.
Season the sauce well with salt and pepper then let it simmer around medium-low for 60-90 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes occasionally.
The sauce is done once the tomatoes are broken down completely and the sauce is reduced and thickened.
Pureeing the Sauce
You can use either a handheld immersion blender or a high-speed blender for pureeing the sauce.
If you prefer a chunkier sauce, I would recommend using the immersion blender as this gives you more control over pureeing.
Sometimes I like to throw in a little extra basil at the end just for an extra herby kick, but other than that, we DONE!
Pasta sauce is literally the easiest thing to make at home, guys. Totally weeknight worthy and I definitely recommend making a double batch for long term storing.
Cheap, easy, hands-off, and beats the jarred stuff by a long shot.
Plus wine in the sauce and in your glass, uhhhh name a problem with that.
You’ll love these other weeknight dinner favs!
- Instant Pot Shiitake Mushroom Beef Stroganoff
- Hawaiian Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Tenders
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Fried Rice
Weeknight Red Wine Pasta Sauce
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 (28 oz each) cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 4-6 fresh basil leaves plus more for garnishing
- 1 sprig rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or medium saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil until shimmery. Add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add red pepper flakes and tomato paste and saute 1 additional minute.
- Slowly add wine to mixture, stirring until smooth. Bring wine to a simmer and cook until reduced in half. Add tomatoes, basil leaves, and rosemary. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking tomatoes up against side of pan. Cook until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened.
- Remove basil leaves and rosemary sprig from sauce and discard. Stir butter into sauce until melted. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer sauce to a high-speed blender or use an immersion blender to blend sauce until completely smooth. Stir additional minced fresh basil into sauce if desired. Serve sauce immediately or cool and store in fridge up to 6 days.
Leave a Reply