From ChatGPT – Prompt – Upscaling our 2022 sauce for freezing, what quantities by weight of ingredients should we use with 7 lbs of fresh tomatoes using the ratios in the recipe at https://cooking.sundown360.com/marinara-cajun-tomato-sauce-to-freeze?
Using the ratios described in your 2022 marinara post:
- Vegetables were red onion : celery : carrot = 1 : 1 : 1
- Tomatoes were the primary ingredient, with the vegetables added as a soffritto base. (Sundown 360 Cooking)
Your later marinara scaling discussions have been very close to a traditional Italian-style ratio of about 5 parts tomato to 1 part total soffritto, with the soffritto split evenly among onion, carrot, and celery. That ratio works well for freezing because the sauce remains tomato-forward while the vegetables provide sweetness and body.
For 7 lb (3,175 g) fresh tomatoes, I would use:
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Fresh tomatoes | 3,175 g (7.0 lb) |
| Red onion | 212 g (7.5 oz) |
| Carrot | 212 g (7.5 oz) |
| Celery | 212 g (7.5 oz) |
| Garlic | 20–25 g |
| Olive oil | 60 g |
| Bacon grease (optional) | 30 g |
| Kosher salt (start) | 32 g |
| Black pepper | 5 g |
| Italian seasoning | 8–12 g |
Total soffritto vegetables = 636 g, which is 20% of the tomato weight and maintains the 1:1:1 ratio noted in the 2022 post. (Sundown 360 Cooking)
If you want it closer to the richer sauce you have been discussing recently (more vegetable sweetness and body), increase the onion, carrot, and celery to 280 g each (about 10 oz.) with the same 7 lb of tomatoes.
For freezing, I would lean toward the 212 g each version because it leaves more room to customize the sauce later when you add meat, sausage, seafood, or vegetables during reheating. Tomato-based marinara freezes very well for several months when cooled and packed properly. (KitchPrep)
Yield will be roughly 4 to 4½ quarts of finished sauce, depending on how long you simmer it down.
