If your garden is overflowing with tomatoes, or you couldn't resist buying a few extra at the farmers’ market, this might become your favorite summer dinner. Instead of chopping or blending the tomatoes, grate them on a box grater. In just a few minutes you'll have a fresh tomato sauce that's sweet, bright, silky, and ready to toss with hot pasta.
Because the tomatoes only cook for a few minutes, they retain their fresh flavor rather
than developing the deeper, richer taste of a long-simmered sauce. It's an easy weeknight meal that lets great tomatoes do all the work.
Why Grating Tomatoes Is the Way to Go
If you’ve never used this method before, here’s why you should give it a go next time you’re making tomato sauce.
It's incredibly fast: Grating a few tomatoes takes just a couple of minutes, making this one of the quickest homemade pasta sauces you can make.
The flavor stays fresh: Cooking the tomatoes takes only a matter of minutes, which preserves the bright, naturally sweet taste of ripe summer tomatoes.
No peeling required: As you grate the tomato, the flesh passes through the large holes of the grater while the skin stays behind in your hand. Simply discard the skins when you're finished.
The texture is perfect: The grated tomatoes create a light, silky sauce that coats pasta beautifully without being chunky or watery.
How to Grate Tomatoes for Sauce
Choose tomatoes that are ripe but still slightly firm. Roma tomatoes work well because they're meaty, but most garden slicers and vine-ripened tomatoes are excellent choices, too.
Slice each tomato in half across the equator, making them easier to hold. Set a box grater inside a shallow bowl or baking dish to catch all the juices; they're full of flavor and should go into the sauce. Holding the cut side of the tomato against the large holes of the grater, grate until all that's left is the flattened skin.
Once you have your grated tomatoes, put them to use in this Spaghetti with Grated Tomato Sauce.
What to Avoid
Overripe tomatoes: Very soft tomatoes collapse instead of grating cleanly.
Watery grocery-store tomatoes: Peak-season tomatoes have the best flavor and will create a better sauce.
Using the fine side of the grater: The large holes create the ideal sauce texture.
Cooking the sauce too long: Just a few minutes is enough. A quick simmer is all it needs because longer cooking will mellow the bright, fresh flavor that makes this technique so special.
Once you've tried grating tomatoes, you may never go back to chopping them for fresh pasta sauce. It's a simple trick that lets peak-season tomatoes shine—and turns a handful of ripe tomatoes into an easy weeknight dinner in just a few minutes.
