This is the easiest (and laziest) way to preserve summer tomatoes. And it’s also so delicious! This fresh, slow-cooking tomato sauce should inspire you to put some end-of-summer tomatoes. You will thank me this winter!
I got some fresh garden tomatoes from not just one but two friends a few weeks ago. I had also overshopped at the farmers market, so needless to say, I had a TON of tomatoes on my counter. I knew we wouldn’t get over them all before they went bad and I just didn’t have it in me to can them. This fresh slow cooker tomato sauce was the perfect solution. It is a very indulgent recipe, you do not have to take care of a pot on the stove, and the end result is balls of amazement.
These first weeks of school have kicked. I’m usually over the moon when kids go back to school and find that I’m super productive tackling all the projects that weren’t done during summer vacation. But this year? I haven’t had the energy to do anything. I’m doing the bare minimum at work and, for some reason, I find that the days fly by and I’m not really doing anything. I usually make a lot of preserves at this time of year, but I haven’t put anything this year.
I’m doing the minimum (and by something like that, I mean totally) doing the minimum in life and taking all the shortcuts I can. Survival mode, mountain mom’s stye, at its finest. Hence the slow-cooking tomato sauce. It’s the cheating version of canning and I’m very excited about the results. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll get back to the tedious process of putting tomatoes anytime soon. Definitely not this year anyway.
This recipe takes time, but it doesn’t require any real work. You cook the sauce twice, hence the time, but otherwise it’s a bit of preparation and nothing more. You cook the sauce twice, before and after pureeing. It’s the perfect recipe for lazy Saturday. Or a recipe to make when you’re home anyway doing other things around the house because you don’t have to take care of it! You can easily split the cooking time between two days if that’s easier for you.
The recipe makes exactly 3 quarts of sauce. It will last in the fridge for a few weeks, otherwise the sauce freezes beautifully. I froze half of the sauce and I know it will come in handy this winter when I need a quick dinner as soon as possible. The sauce as it stands is wonderful over pasta. It would also be amazing in a slow cooker with a pot roast. It would make a wonderful base for a thick stew or chili and can be easily trimmed if you want to make a tomato soup with it. So versatile!
photos of Kellie Hatcher/ Mountain MamaCooks recipe
