The homemade Marinara Sauce is made with only 6 ingredients and takes only 20 minutes to make! It has a bright and rich tomato flavor that pairs well with many different dishes, including pasta, chicken parmesan, and mozzarella sticks. Heck, you could probably even use this for pizza sauce.
About This Recipe
I've been making this Italian marinara sauce for YEARS and I've slowly iterated on it to make the best version possible. What I've learned is that marinara sauce does not need to be complicated.
I have experimented with a variety of techniques and ingredients, including adding red wine, extra herbs, various cooking times (from 10 minutes all the way to 4 hours), caramelizing the onions.. you name it. But I always revert back to a very basic recipe.
Simple tastes best. In my recipe, I use only 6 ingredients. All of them are available at your local supermarket year round. Yes, I do not use any FRESH herbs in this recipe. I know that might sound counterintuitive, but I seriously do not believe fresh herbs are needed for a delicious marinara sauce.
I find dried Italian seasoning provides the best flavor. And to further back up this claim, I went to an authentic Italian pasta restaurant recently and I swear their tomato sauce used ONLY dried herbs.
Also, I much prefer using canned tomatoes versus fresh tomatoes. Marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes is not nearly as flavorful unless you use peak-of-the-season tomatoes that are VERY ripe. I highly recommend using canned because they are picked at peak ripeness and will give the tomato sauce the richest flavor.
Key Ingredients
Olive oil: I use 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Onion and garlic: You want to chop these as fine as possible.
Crushed tomatoes: I used a 28-ounce can. If you do not have crushed tomatoes, you could use plain tomato sauce. Or, if you only have diced tomatoes, you could blend up the diced tomatoes and mix it with half a tin of tomato paste.
Sugar & salt: We need some sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes, and of course we need some salt to elevate everything.
Dried Italian seasoning: This is my favorite dried herb to use in tomato-based sauces. It's a combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.
Instructions
STEP 1: Heat the olive oil in a medium pot and saute the onions for 4-5 minutes until translucent.
STEP 2: Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.
STEP 3: Add the canned tomatoes, salt, black pepper, sugar, and Italian seasoning, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
STEP 4: At this point the sauce is ready to be used. It can be used for a variety of applications like pasta, pizza, chicken parm, or fried mozzarella sticks. The sauce can be stored in your fridge for about one week.
Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion (finely diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or dried oregano)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until they're soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. For a smoother texture, you can use a hand blender to blend the sauce.
- At this point, the sauce is ready to be enjoyed! You can use it as a pasta sauce, pizza sauce, with chicken parm, or dipping with mozzarella sticks! The sauce will keep for about one week in the fridge.
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