Simple Tomato Provençale sauce recipe from France (2024)

This Recipe includes

Main ingredients:

	Can of whole peeled tomatoes
	Olive oil
	Chicken stock
	Butter
	(Optional) chopped onions
	(Optional) crème fraiche or heavy cream

Spices, herbs and flavoring ingredients:

	Parsley leaves
	Basil
	Thyme
	Oregano
	Bay leaf
	Garlic powder or flakes
	(Optional) pinch of espelette pepper or cayenne pepper
	Salt and pepper

Why we love it

Homemade tomato provençale sauce could change your life. That may be a bit a hyperbole, but really, have you seen the labels on those artificial sauces with mysterious ingredients that nobody can make heads or tails of?

With firm tomatoes, fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic, this simple recipe can be prepared in just 30 minutes or less.

And the great thing about sauce provençale is its proven versatility. You can use this tomato provencal sauce recipe for anything you want! From pasta to a pizza, or topping off an omelette, baked chicken or fish, you can use this sauce on just about anything. (And you can make it as spicy as you want!)

The simplest tomato sauce consists just of chopped tomatoes cooked down with olive oil, seasoned with salt, or other herbs or spices, it is then simmered until the sauce caramelises and melds into a beautiful harmony. And there are various varieties as well, as the tomato is quite a hardy ingredient.

There are a lot of spices on the to make a tomato provencal sauce, but in essence this is a French bouquet garni. You don’t need to have every single one, a French bouquet garni involves mixing and matching what you have.

☞ READ MORE: French starter: Tomatoes à la provençale

The Mother Sauce

The basic tomato sauce might sound basic, but it is one of the five mother sauces of classical French cooking. “Sauce tomate” as it is called in French, is one of 5 mother sauces of French cuisine.

It was codified by famed French chef Auguste Escoffier in the early 20th century, consisting of lardons, onions, bay leaves, thyme, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and surprisingly a teaspoon of sugar.

Other Variations

As anyone who has ever had a plate of steaming pasta with tomato sauce knows, that little tomato is one incredibly versatile vegetable. (Or is it a fruit?) Either way, there are a thousand different ways to make a tomato sauce.

The provençale tomato sauce is one that takes that tomato and combines it with ingredients that are popular in provençale cuisine like olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs. It is a lighter sauce than the classic sauce tomato, and can be prepared in a spicier version.

Other variations of tomato sauce are:

• Creole:tomato sauce with white wine,garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, and red bell peppers
• Portugaise:tomato sauce with garlic, onions, sugar, salt, parsley, and peeled tomatoes
• Marinara (Italian):tomato sauce with garlic, onions, and herbs
• Sauce Vierge: a type of French salsa with diced tomatoes and spices.

These are of course the versions that are popular in France and Europe, but many other cultures have their own variations.

What to serve with provençale tomato sauce?

Pasta is always a favorite with a provençale tomato sauce, but you can also serve it with baked chicken or fish like salmon or codfish.

See Also

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You can even use it as a topping on baked eggplant (aubergine) or a sauce withgougères. Other ideas would be to serve it with sautéed calamari.

What drinks to serve with it?

A local wine from the region of Provence will be lovely with sauce tomate provençale to keep with the theme. Try a rosé fromCôtes de Provencefor chicken or fish.

Or if you prefer, a lightCôtes du Rhône will also go well with this dish. You can read more aboutFrench wineshere.

How to store it?

Provençale tomato sauce can easily be kept in the fridge or freezer. Prepare a sauce that is thicker than usual, and wait until the sauce is completely cold before putting it in an airtight glass jars or plastic containers designed for freezing. (The container will have a snowflake which signifies that it can be frozen.)

The entire jar must be thawed out when using, and cannot be refrozen, so keep each portion of the sauce small.

If you enjoyed that, check out our other classic French recipes that are easy to prepare. Bon appétit and à bientôt !