Homemade sauce. Doesn’t that just make you happy thinking about it?! It’s one of the best smells in the world. I practically burst just thinking about coming home to a house smelling like spaghetti sauce and peering over the stove to see that pot of liquid gold cooking. My best friend’s mom made THE BEST sauce and I will never forget us running home from school to sneak a spoonful of sauce and a homemade meatballs whenever we knew it was on the menu. Add pumpkin to the mix and things are even better.

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This recipe makes a huge batch of pumpkin tomato sauce, so you will have plenty to freeze for later. If you want a creamy version add some coconut cream, full fat coconut milk, or heavy cream. I’d start with 1/4 cup and add more until you get to your desired consistency.

You will notice the recipe has fresh basil, but uses dried herbs for the rosemary and parsley. You can swap this out based on what you have on hand. A general rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs = 1 tsp dried herbs.

Serve this over spaghetti squash, zoodles, or your favorite paleo or gluten free pasta.

Pumpkin Tomato Sauce

prep 15 mins
cook 1 hour
total 1 hour, 15 mins

Ingredients

2 TBS ghee or grassfed butter
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28oz can crushed organic tomatoes
2 - 16oz cartons of organic pumpkin
1 bay leaf
1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt + more to taste
1/2 tsp pepper + more to taste

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Instructions

Heat ghee over medium heat in a medium sized pot. Saute onions, carrots, & garlic until softened; about 5-8 minutes.
Add tomatoes and pumpkin and stir until well combined.
Add bay leaves, basil, parsley, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, & pepper. Mix well.
Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it the better the flavor will be. Go for 2 hours if you can.
Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. If the sauce is too acidic add 1 TBS of ghee or butter at a time until the flavor rounds out. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
Process sauce using an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor or blender.
Serve over spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or your favorite gluten free pasta.