Healthy Tomato Sauce Recipes

This easy homemade spaghetti sauce recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, so it's perfect for summertime when you have a bumper crop of homegrown beauties or you went overboard at the farmers' market. Aside from the tomatoes and a sprig of fresh basil, you need just a handful of pantry ingredients and 15 minutes of active time to make this healthy pasta sauce. Serve it over spaghetti or your favorite pasta shape on its own or with the addition of cheese, herbs, meatballs or sausage. Or use it in recipes such as lasagna and eggplant Parmesan.

Store-bought pasta sauce just can't compare to homemade marinara--and the slow cooker makes marinara from scratch much easier. This fresh tomato recipe was developed to preserve the summer bounty from your garden or farmers' market; it freezes well for up to 6 months so you can pull out pasta or pizza sauce anytime. Keeping the skins on makes it even easier, plus they contain pectin, which helps thicken the sauce.

This lean meat sauce is made with ground turkey meat instead of ground beef, and the result is just as delicious! Plus, finely chopped mushrooms are incorporated into the sauce (undetected!) for an easy way to eat more vegetables.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a no-brainer, but pairing meatballs with a pile of creamed spinach topped with marinara and cheese is a flavorful twist. Pick your favorite frozen meatballs--beef, chicken or veggie--for this healthy dinner recipe.

Sure, it's convenient to purchase ready-made tomato sauce at the grocery store, but one look at the label will show you that many brands are high in sodium and added sugars. This easy made-from-scratch tomato sauce uses fresh ingredients and has no added sugar. Make a double batch and store portions for up to 3 months in your freezer. Talk about convenience!

Fiber-rich beans stand in for the beef and pork in this surprisingly rich-tasting vegetarian take on pasta Bolognese. Without the meat, the dish has only a third of the fat and 80 percent less saturated fat. To make the perfect meal, serve with a peppery arugula salad and warm, crusty Italian bread.

Beans stand in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian sauce that's ready when you are—thanks to the crock pot. The prep is quick and easy to do in the morning before heading off to work. When you get home, just cook up some whole-wheat pasta to serve it over and dinner is ready. If you have leftovers, freeze them for an easy meal another day.

This flavorful pork chop dinner recipe is proof that bold Neapolitan puttanesca sauce can liven up more than just spaghetti. Unlike brined olives like Kalamatas, oil-cured olives have a meatier bite because they're coated in salt then macerated in oil. Look for them on olive bars or with other Italian products. Serve with sautéed broccoli rabe and whole-wheat orzo.

There are endless ways to use this sage-flecked roasted cherry tomato sauce recipe: serve with baked fish, spread it on a panini or simply toss it with whole-wheat pasta for an instant, quick and flavorful dinner.

Trapanese pesto is the Sicilian version of the sauce that uses tomatoes and almonds instead of pine nuts. This savory pesto sauce coats low-carb zucchini noodles and heart-healthy seared salmon to create an absolutely delicious pasta dinner.

A multicooker is the perfect vessel for making homemade tomato sauce. You can sauté to develop flavor with the aromatic ingredients, then cook everything under pressure to infuse the tomatoes with garlic, onion, oregano and a splash of red wine. If the tomatoes are sweet on their own, you may not need the optional teaspoon of sugar. Taste before adding.

This is a version of the famous meat sauce of Emilia Romagna, of which Bologna is the capital. Giuliano Hazan's family is from Emilia Romagna, and he learned to make Bolognese sauce from his mother, Marcella, who learned it from her grandmother, Mary. Its classic pairing is with homemade tagliatelle or pappardelle but it's also very good with rigatoni, shells or any substantial pasta shape, preferably one with ridges, that has nooks and cavities to trap the sauce. Adapted from How to Cook Italian by Giuliano Hazan; Scribner, 2005.