One Of The Best Ways To Thicken Tomato Sauce Just Requires A Little Patience

In our busy world, we're all understandably looking for shortcuts, ways to not only make our lives easier, but to free more time for the people and things we enjoy most. We eat fast food, have groceries delivered, and use machines to chop our vegetables, but sometimes good things truly do come to those who wait, such as a thick, rich tomato sauce.

While there are many ways to quickly thicken tomato sauce, from adding a slurry to tossing in a handful of grated cheese, the best way is to just stand back and let it simmer. Cooking a blend of tomatoes — canned or fresh — with onions, garlic, basil, and olive oil low and slow at a steady simmer, uncovered, not only thickens the sauce, it concentrates flavor as the water gradually evaporates. Taking time out to simmer is also a simple hack that will even level up a store-bought sauce, resulting in a richer flavor and silkier texture.

If you've ever watched a professional chef prepare a sauce, you'll notice it's often all about reduction. The goal is to create a sauce that's full of flavor and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Bringing the sauce to a boil, then reducing the heat to a simmer allows the evaporation of excess moisture. It also enables the natural sugars in tomatoes to caramelize, something which takes time, enhancing that rich umami flavor naturally present in all tomatoes — whether they're canned or fresh. A slow simmer also helps to soften the tomatoes' sharp, acidic flavor.

Adding extra ingredients such as mashed potato flakes or a couple of pats of butter are great tips for fixing thin sauces, as well as adding bulk or a velvety texture to your sauce when you're in a rush. But if you have a little patience, there's simply no need. If you give it some time, the tomatoes will do all the heavy lifting.