Homemade marinara sauce is quick and easy to make with only 7 base ingredients. Once you make up a batch of this super flavorful pasta sauce it will become a kitchen staple.
Homemade pasta sauce or marinara sauce as we call it, tastes so much better than store bought. Even though it may seem complicated to make, it’s super easy. The key to the most the most flavorful sauce is to use quality ingredients. When tomatoes are in season, you can be sure there will be fresh New Jersey tomatoes added to my homemade marinara sauce.
Here is what you will need to make homemade marinara sauce: strained tomatoes, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, wine, oregano, and a heavy sauce-pan.
click here to pin this recipe for homemade marinara sauce
This sauce can be made and on the table in about a half an hour, and most of the time involved is hands-off. That’s a little bit longer than it takes to open a jar of pre-made sauce, but it’s worth it.
Jarred marinara sauces contain refined sugar and more salt than necessary. When you make your own sauce, you can control the flavor and use fresh ingredients as well as the amount of salt and sugar. I don’t know about you, but I prefer my tomato sauce with the flavor tomatoes shining through.
If you have the time, I highly recommend that you let this pasta sauce simmer for a bit longer to allow all of the flavors to blend beautifully together. I make a double (or triple) batch and freeze it to use in recipes calling for tomato sauce. It tastes great served plain over pasta, in this eggplant casserole, or on top of these eggplant meatballs . You can even use it as a pizza sauce.
Whats the difference between tomato sauce and marinara sauce?
Even though most of us use the words pasta sauce, tomato sauce and marinara sauce interchangeably, there is a difference! Technically marinara sauce is a an easy red sauce that has a chunky texture. It’s made with onions, garlic and tomatoes. It’s a flavorful sauce that can be made quickly and tastes fresh. Tomato sauce, on the other hand is a smoother sauce and takes much longer to make with more ingredients.
Here’s how to make homemade marinara sauce
- cook the onions and garlic with the red wine
- add the tomatoes and spices
- simmer for at least 10 minutes
Tips to make the best homemade marinara sauce
- Use organic strained tomatoes called passata without any salt added. My preference is bionature brand, there is only one ingredient and that is tomatoes. If you can’t find passata or a pure tomato product, look for low sodium and a short ingredient list.
- Add diced fresh tomatoes to the marinara sauce even if you have to get them from the supermarket. Fresh tomatoes add a fresh flavor to the sauce.
- Add a small handful of chopped fresh basil the last few minutes of simmering for extra flavor.
- There is no added sweetener in this recipe, if you prefer your marinara sauce sweeter, add a small grated carrot to the onions and garlic.
- Use a good quality cabernet or pinot noir in this marinara sauce, or you can leave the wine out and thin the sauce with water or vegetable broth.
Variations and suggestions for homemade marinara sauce
- add one to two teaspoons of hot pepper flakes
- add sliced mushrooms just near the end of cooking
- add a tablespoon or two of pesto
- add fresh vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, bell peppers
- add browned ground beef for a meat sauce
- add meatballs
Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups - 1 serving 1/2cup 1x
Description
Homemade marinara sauce is quick and easy to make with only 7 base ingredients. Once you make up a batch of this super flavorful pasta sauce it will become a kitchen staple.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 to 3 cloves chopped fresh garlic
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
24 ounces of organic strained, no salt added tomatoes (passata)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned organic diced low sodium)
1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
A small handful of chopped fresh basil – optional
Instructions
heat olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook over low heat until they begin to soften
gradually add the wine and allow it to cook down and be absorbed by the onions and garlic – about 15 minutes
stir in the basil and oregano
add the tomatoes and stir in the salt
Simmer for at least 10 minutes and adjust seasonings to your taste
Optional – add a small handful of fresh basil
Notes
Variations and suggestions for homemade marinara sauce
- add one to two teaspoons of hot pepper flakes
- add sliced mushrooms just near the end of cooking
- add a tablespoon or two of pesto
- add fresh vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, bell peppers
- add browned ground beef for a meat sauce
- add meatballs
Nutrition information is provided by Nutrifox, an online calculator and is meant to be used for informational purposes only. Even though I try to provide accurate information, these figures should still be considered as estimates,
- Category: Sauce
- Method: stove-top
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Keywords: marinara sauce, pasta sauce, tomato sauce
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Just the recipe I’ve been looking for! A delicious marinara I can make myself without buying the stuff in the jar… thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Doesn’t it drive you nuts that jarred sauce contains sugar? I can’t stand it and if I have to use jarred (which doesn’t happen often), I look for one without sugar! Your marinara sauce looks so delicious! Everything I want in a marinara sauce!
★★★★★
Home made sauce is so much better for you than store bought, and not as hard as you think either! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
You can’t beat those Jersey tomatoes (Sorry that’s the Jersey girl in me talking)! So much flavor in your beautiful marinara sauce! Yum! 🙂
★★★★★
Easy and so flavorful! I have never bought a jarred sauce, you just can’t beat homemade.
★★★★★
There’s nothing like homemade sauces. I swear once you have them you never want the jar stuff again. Thanks for the inspiration.
Didn’t know the difference between all the sauces. Thanks for sharing! It definitely is a kitchen staple.
★★★★★
We love this homemade marinara sauce!!! It was soo good!! My go-to recipe!
★★★★★
So simple, yet so beautifully done! The thought of tossing al dente pasta through this sauce makes me super hungry!
Your recipe looks yummy! I always have marinara in the fridge. Such a versatile recipe! I eat it on so many things! I’m going to have to give your recipe a try!
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Store-bought sugar-free marinara that actually tastes good can be pretty pricey! Glad I found this recipe! Pinning for when I have an abundance of tomatoes this summer!
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You got me at the hot chilli flakes. I think it makes everything better and would be a perfect addition to this marinara sauce
★★★★★
Yes Ajoke pepper flakes do taste good in this!