Cooking Techniques 10 Essential Tomato Sauces Nothing beats the rich, pure flavor of homemade tomato sauce. By F&W Editors Updated on November 15, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Con Poulos Everyone needs a go-to tomato sauce recipe, but why have just one? From pure concentrated tomato to spiced and meaty, tomato sauce can take on myriad flavor-texture combinations uniquely suited for a variety of dishes. Regardless of what you're looking to slather in tomato sauce, we've gathered 10 recipes to cover the bases. Puttanesca Sauce Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen The combination of anchovies, olives, and capers gives this Napoletana sauce a robust flavor. Get the Recipe: Puttanesca Sauce All'Amatriciana Sauce © Simon Watson This spicy, pancetta-studded sauce is great with shellfish and bucatini, the hollow, spaghetti-like pasta. Get the Recipe: Bucatini all'Amatriciana Sunday Sauce © Con Poulos This ultra-meaty tomato sauce is quintessential Italian comfort food. Get the Recipe: Sunday Sauce Vodka Sauce Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Vodka and crushed red pepper add spicy flavor to this lightly creamy Italian-American sauce. Get the Recipe: Vodka Sauce Tomato Ginger Sauce © Bobbi Lin Though you can put this simple tomato sauce together in a matter of minutes, it has surprisingly complex flavor. Try it on firm white fish like cod, grouper, or halibut. Get the Recipe: Cod with Tomato Ginger Sauce Garlicky Tomato Sauce © Con Poulos Used for a dish called tagliatelle all'aglione in Tuscany, this sauce is named for the generous amount of garlic (aglio in Italian) in the sauce. It's simple but full of Mediterranean flavor. Get the Recipe: Tagliatelle with Garlicky Tomato Sauce Basic Tomato Sauce © Abby Hocking This all-purpose tomato sauce is flavored with a little shredded carrot and fresh oregano. Get the Recipe: Basic Tomato Sauce Summer Tomato Sauce William Meppem This light, uncooked sauce makes use of perfectly ripe peak-season tomatoes. Be sure they're at room temperature, not cold. Get the Recipe: Fusilli with Summer Tomato Sauce Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter Photo and Styling by Julia Gartland "This is the simplest of all sauces to make, and none has a purer, more irresistibly sweet tomato taste," said late cookbook author Marcella Hazan. Get the Recipe: Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter Spicy Tomato Sauce © Christina Holmes Paprika, cumin, and ginger lend their aromatic alchemy to a simple, no-cook tomato sauce. You can use the sauce with a wide range of ingredients, including penne with shrimp, mozzarella, sausage, or grilled vegetables. Get the Recipe: Penne with Shrimp and Spicy Tomato Sauce Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit