Marcella Hazan’s tomato butter sauce is one of those rare recipes that’s so simple, yet so perfect, it becomes legendary. This sauce is difficult in its simplicity.
With just four ingredients—whole canned peeled tomatoes, butter, an onion, and salt—this sauce transforms into something velvety, rich, and deeply satisfying. It’s a staple in Italian cooking and a must-know for any home cook. When you are using only a few ingredients in a recipe you want to make sure that you get the best quality of ingredients that you can get your hands on.
Marcella Hazan’s tomato butter sauce is easy, foolproof, and incredibly delicious. But beyond its simplicity lies a deep culinary wisdom—the kind that only a master like Marcella Hazan could impart.
What Julia Childs is to French cuisine, Marcella Hazan is to Italian food. If you love Italian food, you have Marcella Hazan to thank. She introduced generations of home cooks to the beauty of real Italian cuisine through her cookbooks, especially Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Her approach? Simplicity and precision. She believed in letting ingredients shine, and this tomato butter sauce is one of her greatest examples.
Hazan’s influence on home cooking is immeasurable. She didn’t just teach people how to cook Italian food—she taught them how to cook well. Her recipes strip away the unnecessary, leaving you with dishes that are pure, honest, and bursting with flavour. This sauce is perhaps her greatest gift to cooks everywhere.
This is hands-off cooking at its finest. No mincing, no sautéing—just a slow, luxurious simmer that does all the work for you.
Unlike olive oil, butter adds a rich, silky texture and balances the acidity of the tomatoes without muting their brightness. It creates an indulgent depth of flavor that feels almost luxurious.
You don’t chop the onion. You just let it simmer, infusing the sauce with sweetness. At the end, you remove it, leaving behind pure flavor without any onion chunks.
That’s right—no garlic, no basil, no oregano. This sauce is all about restraint, letting each ingredient do its job without distractions. It’s a masterclass in simplicity, proving that sometimes, less is truly more.
Absolutely. It’s mild, smooth, and perfect for picky eaters. Add pasta and cheese—you’re golden.
Butter is doing a lot more here than just adding richness. It’s emulsifying the sauce, mellowing the acidity of the tomatoes, and creating that luscious mouthfeel. Meanwhile, the onion imparts flavour without dominating the scene.
This isn’t a loud sauce. It’s soft-spoken but confident. And it plays well with everything.
✔ Use high-quality canned tomatoes – This sauce is only as good as your tomatoes.
✔ Don’t rush the cooking time – The magic happens in the slow simmer.
✘ Don’t add too many extras – Garlic, herbs, or sugar will change the balance.
✘ Don’t overcook the sauce – It should be rich, but still fresh and vibrant.
Yes, but it will change the texture. Most people prefer to remove it.
Absolutely! It actually tastes better the next day.
A little extra butter can help mellow the acidity. Or even a pinch of sugar
Yes! Just use a larger pan and extend the cooking time slightly.
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Find it online: https://blog.theculinarystudio.ca/recipes/tomato-butter-sauce/