A watery sauce pools around the bottom of the bowl of pasta, more like a soup than a sauce. It doesn’t cling to pasta, meats, or vegetables, and so it doesn’t add any flavor to the dish.
WHY DO YOU NEED TO THICKEN TOMATO SAUCE?
If you are making homemade tomato sauce from garden fresh tomatoes, you may be frustrated to find that you are consistently left with a watery sauce. Premade, canned tomato sauces are thick, thanks to emulsifiers.
LET THE SAUCE REDUCE ADD A STARCH ADD FINE BREADCRUMBS ADD PARMESAN CHEESE ADD IN TOMATO PASTE ADD IN AN EGG YOLK MELT CREAM CHEESE IN THE SAUCE
Enzymes! Fresh tomatoes are filled with enzymes that break down and eat through thickening agents. You need to deactivate those enzymes before you do anything else. Otherwise, no matter what thickening method you try, you’ll be fighting against the very tomatoes themselves!
So before you go any further, bring your tomatoes up to a rapid boil – stirring constantly to prevent burning – and then bring the sauce back down to a simmer. That burst of high heat will deactivate the enzymes that would work against you.
Adding meat is an easy way to bring thickness to a tomato sauce. A pound or two is perfect for a normal recipe of tomato sauce.