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tomato sauce in instant pot

Instant Pot (or Slow Cooker) Tomato Sauce

Make tomato sauce in your instant pot or slow cooker for a hands-free, deliciously slow simmered sauce that is perfect to eat right away or can for storage.

Equipment

  • Instant Pot You can also substitute a slow cooker.
  • Mesh Screen (or something else to protect the sauce from fruit flies while cooking)
  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting Board

Ingredients
  

  • At least 5 lbs Paste Tomatoes or a mixture of mostly paste with other tomatoes

Instructions
 

  • Set your instant pot to the saute setting.
  • Depending on size, chop your tomatoes in quarters or halves and drop them into the Instant Pot immediately after turning on the heat. There is no need to remove seeds from the tomatoes, but you should remove stems and any damaged parts of the fruit.
  • Once all your tomatoes are in the Instant Pot, leave on the saute setting, uncovered, for about 15 minutes and stir occasionally. This will give you a quick first cook of the tomatoes.
  • Turn off the saute setting if using an Instant Pot. Select the “slow cooker” setting, pressing the button until the “more” light is selected. This will give you a higher temperature simmer. Set the time to 2-4 hours (less time if your pot is not at least halfway full).
    Let the sauce sit in the slow cooker for that whole time, uncovered and stirring occasionally. You may want to place a screen over the top to avoid splattering and keep fruit flies out.
  • After the initial slow cook, puree your softened tomatoes. You can use an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the sauce to a regular blender in batches, then return the sauce to your Instant Pot.
  • Once blended, set the instant pot to low or medium setting and cook (uncovered) until you reach your desired consistency. Check the sauce every few hours, if possible, to stir it and check the consistency.
    If you leave the sauce overnight, ensure the Instant Pot is at least half full and set it to low. It should still be fairly thin when you go to bed if it will be all right for 8 hours.

Notes

Once you reach the desired thickness, you can use your tomato sauce right away, or you can store it. This sauce stores well in the fridge for about a week, in the freezer for up to 6 months, or in canning jars for up to a year.
If freezing, allow space at the top of your container for expansion when frozen.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!