Food & Cooking Recipes 17 Homemade Pasta Sauces You'll Want to Make on Repeat By Madeline Buiano Madeline Buiano Madeline Buiano is the staff writer for MarthaStewart.com, sharing her knowledge on a range of topics—from gardening and cleaning to home and pets. She has five years of writing and editing experience in the digital publishing industry. Editorial Guidelines Published on April 5, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Chris Simpson Next time you're about to add jarred pasta sauce to your grocery list, consider picking up the ingredients to make one of these homemade sauces instead. While it may not be as quick as pouring from a container onto a bowl of pasta, the recipes in this collection will elevate the weeknight dinner staple to new heights. What's more, the pasta sauce recipes featured here make enough for at least one family meal. First and foremost, you need a simple tomato sauce recipe in your repertoire. Not only is it great as a stand-alone option for a simple pasta but it's also used as a base for other more complex pasta sauces. For this, we love our All-Purpose Tomato Sauce, pictured here. It's made with just six ingredients. To start, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes are cooked until fragrant then mixed with puréed tomatoes. The ingredients are simmered together until the sauce is thickened, then a nub of butter is added, achieving a delicate silky texture. We love it served over any dried or fresh pasta. Any pasta lover knows there's more a lot more possibilities than crushed tomatoes and some aromatics. That's why this collection features a range of favorites—think pesto, Bolognese, and Alfredo—as well as some less well known and more creative offerings, such as our Creamy Pumpkin Sauce or Carrot-Hazelnut Pesto. From comfortingly hearty meat sauces to no-cook options ideal for hot days, the following recipes will ensure you always have something delicious (and homemade!) for a weeknight pasta dinner. 01 of 16 Pesto Basil's fresh flavor is on full display in this simple pesto recipe. Mixed with toasted pine nuts, garlic, and two grated cheeses—Parmesan and Pecorino Romano—the herb forms a bright sauce that's ready in five minutes. View Recipe 02 of 16 Pasta Carbonara Bryan Gardner Six ingredients are all it takes to make a bowl of pasta carbonara, sauce and all. For the sauce, eggs and cream are whisked together with a pinch of salt and pepper then poured into a skillet with spaghetti and reserved pasta water. The dish is finished off with Parmesan cheese and crispy pancetta. View Recipe 03 of 16 Grandma's Bolognese The Ingalls Bolognese is one of the best known and loved pasta sauces. Our version of the boldly flavored sauce is made with three types of meat—ground beef and pork plus pancetta. Heavy cream makes the dish extra rich, while porcini mushrooms add an earthy bite. View Recipe 04 of 16 Brown-Butter Sauce Stephen Kent Johnson A stick of unsalted butter is the starting point for this fragrant and silky brown-butter sauce. The butter is melted in a saucepan and simmered until it becomes foamy. Once the frothiness subsides, milk solids from the butter darken and fall to the bottom of the pan, indicating that it's about done. The browned butter is mixed with pasta water, cream, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes for a sauce with a creamy, rich bite. View Recipe 05 of 16 Healthy Tomato Sauce Kana Okada Simple but no slouch when it comes to flavor, this sauce is made by simmering canned tomatoes in a skillet with red wine, oregano, basil, onion, and garlic. We love it with pretty much any kind of pasta, but it's also great spooned over fish and chicken. View Recipe 06 of 16 Quick Alfredo Sauce Bryan Gardner Creamy alfredo is a classic crowd pleaser and this simple version makes it easy to enjoy the beloved dish. All you need are four ingredients; the rich sauce is made by bringing butter to a simmer in a saucepan then mixing in garlic and heavy cream. Once it's removed from the flame, the Parmesan cheese is whisked in until a smooth sauce forms. View Recipe 07 of 16 Carrot-Hazelnut Pesto Johnny Miller Grated carrots give this pesto its bright colorful hue, but it's the toasted hazelnuts, garlic, and pecorino cheese that bring it all together. Once you've tossed the pesto with orecchiette, top with extra hazelnuts for the perfect dose of crunch. View Recipe 08 of 16 Turkey-and-Mushroom Bolognese Chris Simpson This take on Bolognese sauce uses a combination of ground turkey and diced mushrooms in place of beef. Pancetta adds savory pork flavor. The rich sauce comes together in just over an hour, but it tastes like it's been cooking all day. View Recipe 09 of 16 Sausage Meat Sauce Tomato paste and whole peeled plum tomatoes form a balanced base for this pasta sauce recipe. They're simmered with a double dose of sausage—one pound sweet and one pound spicy. Aromatics like carrot, onion, and garlic tie it all together. View Recipe 10 of 16 Creamy Pumpkin Sauce A perfect recipe for fall, this creamy crowd pleaser is made by mixing canned pumpkin purée with half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, and using some starchy pasta water to thin the sauce. View Recipe 11 of 16 Creamy Tomato Sauce Chris Simpson This five-ingredient sauce balances the acidity of canned tomatoes by mixing them with a touch of cream. View Recipe 12 of 16 Cheese Sauce Linda Pugliese A combination of Gruyère, Monterey Jack, and fontina make this simple sauce ultra-cheesy. View Recipe 13 of 16 Arugula-Almond Pesto Johnny Miller There's no right or wrong green to use when it comes to making pesto, as this winning flavor combination of arugula, almonds, garlic, lemon, and Parmesan proves. View Recipe 14 of 16 Bolognese Sauce David M. Russell Italian-American versions of Bolognese often are more tomato heavy than their Italian counterparts. This take skews more Italian; ground beef and pork are cooked with white wine, milk, and chicken stock to balance out the flavor of the puréed tomatoes for a rich and satisfying sauce. View Recipe 15 of 16 No-Cook Tomato-Tuna Sauce Con Poulos Achieve a complexly flavored sauce in just 20 minutes by combining chopped fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, vinegar, and basil in a big bowl until the flavors meld together. After tossing the sauce with cooked pasta, stir in oil-packed tuna and Parmesan cheese. View Recipe 16 of 16 Three-Ingredient Marinara Johnny Miller Jarred sauce isn't the only low maintenance way to flavor your pasta. For this three-ingredient marinara all you need to do is blend whole peeled tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Once the mixture is smooth, let it simmer in a saucepan until it thickens. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit