Basic Marinara Sauce

Basic Marinara Sauce – don’t let your kitchen be without some in the freezer! So easy to make a big batch, and it has so many uses! .

Basic Marinara Sauce

The making of Basic Marinara Sauce

A printer-friendly recipe card can be found at the bottom of this post

This is a very easy and basic marinara sauce. But it’s so simple and so fresh, it makes one wonder why buy jarred?

Basic Marinara Sauce ready for the freezer!

This marinara sauce freezes well too, so when you do make it, double, or triple the recipe and put it into some Tupperware containers; stick in the freezer and you have an easy go-to sauce. Add some meatballs or sausage to make a great Italian spaghetti, or just toss with some pasta for a tasty side dish.

A little red wine makes a tasty addition. In the sauce, or in your mouth.  I like it both places 🙂

You can make this marinara sauce with your own homemade tomato sauce or canned tomatoes.  When using canned tomatoes, I prefer whole tomatoes, preferably from Italy to using diced.  When you put a whole tomato in a can, you have to use a nice ripe whole tomato. Diced tomatoes can be a combo of good ripe ones and those that are not so ripe.

Ripe tomatoes, of course, have rich tomato taste.

Unripe tomatoes, not so much.

If you do use canned tomato, I prefer Italian canned tomato products as they seem to have a richer, deeper, tomato taste.

To make a chunkier version of this sauce, don’t blend the whole tomatoes until smooth. Once you add them to the pot, use a potato masher or the end of your spoon to gently mash the tomatoes until they are broken into chunks. If not using whole tomatoes you will need to blend them as the process they use for diced tomatoes does not allow them to fully break down. 

Yield: 1 quart

Basic Marinara Sauce

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Basic Marinara Sauce – don’t let your kitchen be without some in the freezer! So easy to make a big batch, and it has so many uses!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups homemade tomato sauce, or 1 (35 -ounce) can Italian tomatoes with their juice, blended until smooth
• 4 large fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dry
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
• Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
• Dry red wine, optional (when I add wine, I use about 1/2 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

Step 1

Heat the oil in a saucepan; add the onion and garlic, saute until soft. 

Add the homemade tomato sauce, or blended tomatoes and remaining ingredients. 

Simmer, uncovered on low heat, until thickened, 30 - 45 minutes.

Notes

If you like a chunkier sauce, use whole tomatoes. After adding them to the pot, use a potato masher or the tip of your spoon to gently mash them until they break apart.