This homemade vegan spaghetti sauce is richly flavored and so delicious. It’s hands down the best tomato based vegan pasta sauce you’ve ever tasted!
It might be really easy to buy bottled pasta sauces, but once you’ve tasted this homemade vegan spaghetti sauce you’ll never buy store-bought again!
It’s worlds better than anything you can buy ready made and SO worth the time it takes to prepare. And it’s actually really easy to make too, we just need to be patient and let it simmer for at least an hour so those flavors get really beautiful and rich.
It’s the perfect make ahead sauce because the flavors only get BETTER over the next few days. It’s divine over spaghetti (of course!) but it’s also amazing on pizza. Or use it as a sauce for vegan meatballs or chickpea meatballs.
What Goes Into This Vegan Pasta Sauce:
Ingredient Notes
- Crushed tomatoes – use canned crushed tomatoes or substitute it for Passata.
- Light brown sugar – simply balances the acidity of the tomato. You can also use coconut sugar.
- Chopped tomatoes – use canned chopped tomatoes.
- Red pepper flakes – bumps up the flavors and adds a hint of heat, but it’s extremely mild.
- Vegetable stock – or vegetable broth.
How To Make Vegan Spaghetti Sauce
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Heat a large pot on the stove over medium heat.
- Add olive oil, chopped onions and fresh rosemary and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic and sauté for about a minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Remove the rosemary.
- Add vegetable stock, crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, light brown sugar, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, ground black pepper, fresh chopped basil and fresh chopped parsley and mix in.
- Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low and leave it to simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring from time to time.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce to your desired consistency. You can blend it until completely smooth or leave it a little chunky or however you prefer.
- Your sauce is ready to serve!
Chef’s Tips
Simmer uncovered. Let your sauce simmer uncovered for a minimum of 1 hour for the flavors to really develop. You can leave it to simmer for longer, but don’t cut the time short. You need at least 1 hour.
Keep an eye on it as it cooks. You do want to give it a stir from time to time and make sure your heat is low enough so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom, and keeps a gentle simmer going the whole time. The sauce reduces and thickens as it cooks.
Immersion blender. The most handy kitchen tool for soups and sauces is an immersion blender. You can blend your soups and sauces right in the pot. If you don’t have one though, then you can let your sauce cool and then transfer it in batches to your blender jug and then return it to the pot. If you prefer a chunkier sauce then you may only want to blend half the sauce and mix it back into the sauce still in the pot.
Storing and Freezing
This vegan spaghetti sauce lasts up to a week in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat it over low heat on the stovetop until heated through. Or add it to pasta and reheat it in the microwave.
It freezes very well for up to 3 months. Let the sauce cool completely and then freeze it in freezer safe bags or a container. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat on the stove over low heat.
More Delicious Vegan Pasta Sauces
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Finely Chopped
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml) or Vegetable Broth
- 28 ounces Canned Crushed Tomatoes (800g) Or Passata
- 14 ounces Canned Chopped Tomatoes (400g)
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ½ cup Fresh Basil Chopped
- ½ cup Fresh Parsley Chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large pot on the stove over medium heat.
- Add olive oil, chopped onions and fresh rosemary and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic and sauté for about a minute until the garlic is fragrant. Remove the rosemary.
- Add vegetable stock, crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, light brown sugar, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, ground black pepper, fresh chopped basil and fresh chopped parsley and mix in.
- Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low and leave it to simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring from time to time.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce to your desired consistency. You can blend it until completely smooth or leave it a little chunky or however you prefer. Your sauce is ready to serve.
Notes
- Simmer uncovered. Let your sauce simmer uncovered for a minimum of 1 hour for the flavors to really develop. You can leave it to simmer for longer, but don’t cut the time short. You need at least 1 hour.
- Keep an eye on it as it cooks. You do want to give it a stir from time to time and make sure your heat is low enough so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom, and keeps a gentle simmer going the whole time. The sauce reduces and thickens as it cooks.
- Immersion blender: If you don’t have an immersion blender then you can let your sauce cool and then transfer it in batches to your blender jug and then return it to the pot. If you prefer a chunkier sauce then you may only want to blend half the sauce and mix it back into the sauce still in the pot.
- Storing: It lasts up to a week in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat it over low heat on the stovetop until heated through. Or add it to pasta and reheat it in the microwave.
- Freezing: It freezes very well for up to 3 months. Let the sauce cool completely and then freeze it in freezer safe bags or a container. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat on the stove over low heat.
- Servings: Depending on how generous you are with your serving sizes, you could get anywhere from 8-12 servings.
I have made this 4 times in the last month it is that delicious! I add a couple of cans of beans right at the end but have tried it over different pastas and I have thoroughly enjoyed it, as has my family, each time. I have another pot of it simmering on the stove top right now 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe!
That is so awesome Sarah! Thanks for the amazing review!
Loved this recipe. My 7 year old actually picked it when we were doing our meal planning and it was a hit with the whole family. I did leave the Rosemary in the whole cook time and I ended up with 2 tins of tomatoes as The kids somehow took my phone whilst playing hide and seek. But it still ended up amazing! Will definitely cook again.
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great review Jessica!