Skip Jarred Pasta Sauce In Favor Of 3-Ingredient Magic Sauce With No Chopping Required

Browse the aisles of any grocery store, and you can become convinced that pasta sauce must be a complicated affair. Why else would there be so many choices? The truth is, however, that many of the most beloved recipes for tomato sauce are made with only a few simple ingredients. Take, for instance, Marcella Hazan's three-ingredient sauce, which is one of the most famous recipes in her impressive repertoire of Italian eats. It's incredibly simple to make, and so unbelievably flavorful that it's hard to believe that there's no chopping or measuring required. All you need is a can of sauce tomatoes, a chunk of butter, and half of an onion. That's really all it takes!

When any recipe like Hazan's only calls for a few minimal elements, this should always be your cue to choose your ingredients carefully. This is not the time to grab whatever's left in your pantry or fridge. There are no herbs and spices to hide behind here, and the whole process takes less than an hour, so you won't be able to reduce the sauce down for more flavor. Instead, you need to start with high-quality sauce tomatoes, choose a brand of butter with plenty of fat, and use a flavorful yellow onion.

Despite the fame of Marcella Hazan's three-ingredient magic sauce, you really don't need a recipe to make it. All you need to do is memorize the ratio, which is one 24-ounce can of whole, peeled tomatoes, 5 tablespoons of butter, and a yellow onion (peeled and cut in half).

Marcella Hazan was Italian, so it should probably go without saying that she would have used the king of sauce tomatoes, so now is the time when you should splurge on real San Marzano tomatoes. This variety has lower moisture and acid than other sauce tomatoes, which creates a thicker, sweeter sauce. Now, go for a high-quality variety of butter. The difference between Irish, European, and American butter is important here, and you'll want to opt for something like Kerrygold or another European butter, which has a bit more fat than American-style butters. This extra fat will give the sauce more mouthfeel. Finally, when it comes to choosing a yellow onion versus a white onion, opt for the yellow variety, which has a stronger aroma and flavor compared to the white ones.

Simply combine the ingredients in a saucepan and let them simmer for around 45 minutes until the tomatoes break down, then remove the onion and it's ready to eat. The butter mellows out the acidity of the tomatoes and gives the sauce a silky texture, while the onion adds sweet and savory flavors. Not only is Hazan's recipe a secret weapon when you don't want to cook something extravagant, but it's also a reminder that you don't need a complicated recipe to make truly great food.