Tomato Gravy | Red Sauce
I have been making tomato gravy for years. It’s chunky, hearty and so delicious you could literally eat it by the spoonful, like soup. But save it to make all your pasta dishes scrumptious!
It is so satisfying ladling this pasta sauce onto your macaroni because you know that you are going to have a meal that will be both filling and delicious.
It’s filled with chunky veggies. If you want to add ground beef, you’ll have an even more robust meal.
I will go over quickly why I call the lovely red goodness above ‘gravy’. A lot of people differ on what to call it – gravy or sauce. I think what you call it depends on where in Italy your ancestors came from.
People without the Italian heritage usually call it sauce, unless they knew someone who called it gravy and the word stuck.
One thing I find interesting is that people who call it sauce seem to get irritated with people who call it gravy. At least that is my experience.
But if you ask a gravy type of person how they feel about ‘sauce’ people, they are usually indifferent.
I don’t care what you call it, just let me call it whatever I want.
Free speech and all that!
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Helpful tips
- This is a vegetarian sauce but if you want extra protein, add a ground meat of your choice.
- My mother used to make her gravy with green bell peppers; I prefer red bell peppers, so choose which one you prefer.
- I use Vidalia onions since I like the sweetness, but if you prefer yellow onions, go for it.
- When you add tomato paste, you need to add water to thin it out. The trick is finding the right amount to add. Remember, you can always add more but you can’t take it out.
- When I add the water, I use the tomato paste can to measure it. It also helps clean the can of residual paste.
- Hubby loves when I add extra oil to sauté the vegetables because it makes the gravy velvety. Use what you are comfortable with. Two tablespoons is a good place to start.
How to make tomato gravy
Pre-step
Get a stockpot or Dutch oven.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – red bell pepper, onion, garlic and mushrooms. (A)
Step two
Chop the onion and red pepper in chunks (B) and slice the mushrooms and mince the garlic.
Step three
Heat your stockpot or Dutch oven on medium and once the pan has heated, add 2 – 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
After the oil heats up, add the red bell pepper and onions in the pan and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (C)
Step four
Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté 5 more minutes. (D)
Step five
Gather the herbs – basil, oregano, parsley and thyme. (E)
Step six
Open the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato paste. (F)
Step seven
Add the diced tomatoes, the tomato paste, 1 3/4 tomato paste cans of water, herbs, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
Step eight
Once the tomato mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat down to simmer and let the concoction cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
I pour it into a serving bowl, but you can serve it out of the pan if you prefer.
Look at how chunky that is.
I spoon pasta in a bowl and ladle tomato gravy on it.
I hope you enjoyed this tomato gravy recipe as much as Christopher and I love to eat it.
Other popular Italian recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
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Tomato Gravy | Chunky Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 onion (large, chopped in chunks)
- 1 red bell pepper (large, chopped in chunks)
- 10 ounces portobello mushrooms (package of sliced baby Bellas)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- water (1 3/4 cans full – use tomato paste can)
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or stockpot on medium heat. Add olive oil and once that heats up, add the onion and bell pepper, and sauté for 10 minutes.1 onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 red bell pepper
- Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes10 ounces portobello mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic
- Add diced tomatoes, paste and 1 3/4 cans of water (use the paste can). Stir and until the paste dissolves.28 ounces diced tomatoes, 12 ounces tomato paste, water
- Add herbs, bay leaf, salt, bay leaf, and pepper.1 tablespoon dried basil, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, 1 bay leaf
- Once mixture comes to a boil, lower to simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Ladle on pasta.
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
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- This is a vegetarian sauce, but if you want extra protein, add your choice of ground meat. I usually go with a mixture of pork and beef.
- My mother used to make her gravy with green bell peppers; I prefer red bell peppers, so choose which one you prefer.
- I use Vidalia onions since I like the sweetness, but if you prefer yellow onions, go for it.
- When you add tomato paste, you must add water to thin it out. The trick is finding the right amount to add. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take it out.
- When I add the water, I use the tomato paste can to measure it. It also helps clean the can of residual paste.
- Hubby loves when I add extra oil to sauté the vegetables because it makes the gravy velvety. Use what you are comfortable with. Two tablespoons is a good place to start.
- This recipe is not Southern tomato gravy, which is made in a skillet and consists of diced tomatoes, all-purpose flour, bacon grease, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. It is also usually dolloped on homemade biscuits, rice, grits, and other Southern fare.
