Skip the jarred stuff, a homemade marinara sauce is the way to go!

This simple sauce has many uses and it’s incredibly simple to make!

This homemade marinara sauce is a game-changer. The other day I was talking in my Ramen Noodle Soup post about my college staples.

Ramen noodles were certainly a college staple, but so were jars of spaghetti sauce.

As the saying goes, with age comes wisdom. It took me a while to realize that there is rarely a need to buy jarred pasta sauce.

Homemade marinara is so easy and so good and only requires a few readily available ingredients.

What Is Marinara Sauce?

Marinara sauce is the most basic sauce. It is a tomato-based sauce that can be used for all sorts of pasta dishes.

 

This recipe uses a few canned ingredients, garlic, and spices. It takes very little time to prepare.

What Do I Need For This Homemade Marinara Recipe?

Olive Oil – I always use extra virgin

 

Minced Garlic – Fresh or jarred

 

Crushed Tomatoes

 

Diced Tomatoes– I prefer the petite diced, but you can use what you prefer

 

Tomato Sauce

 

Sugar – Cuts the acidity of the tomatoes

Herbs – Oregano, Basil, and Red Pepper Flakes

How Do You Make This Homemade Marinara Recipe?

You are going to love how simple it is to make homemade sauce, you really won’t buy jarred again!

 

To start, heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for one minute. 

 

Add crushed tomatoes, diced, tomatoes and tomato sauce. 

 

Stir in sugar, salt, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper. 

Cook until the mixture begins to simmer. Reduce heat to low and cover until ready to serve.

 

Tips On Make Homemade Marinara Recipe

I like to use a large can of crushed tomatoes, and a smaller can of petite diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

 I like to have only a little to zero”chunks” to my canned tomatoes or else my son won’t eat it. But honestly diced tomatoes, chopped fresh tomatoes would be fine in this recipe.

 This is your preference, the tomato style will not affect the taste.

I like to season my sauce with dried oregano, Those seasonings are pretty standard, but I say use what you have at home.

Fresh herbs are always good, but I would add those at the end of the process.

I think adding them just before serving the sauce would really maximize the flavor. basil, salt, pepper, and few red pepper flakes. 

You can omit the bit of sugar, but it is a minimal omit and will help reduce the acid in the sauce.

 You can also add chopped onions – cook those down first with the olive oil

 

 

How To Thicken Marinara Sauce

There are a couple of ways to thicken your pasta sauce. The first way is to add tomato paste. If you add tomato paste, I may add a touch more sugar, as you are adding to the acidity in the sauce. Taste as you go.

 

The second option is to add a small amount of water from the cooked pasta. Pasta releases quite a bit of starch as it cooks which is great for thickening sauces. You can see how I use pasta water in this Stove Top Pastitsio. It really is a simple cooking hack.

 

You can reduce the amount of liquid; use less tomato sauce and then allow the sauce to simmer longer so that it cooks down.

 

Lastly, you can add a small amount of cornstarch to your recipe. It dissolves easily and is tasteless.

Can Homemade Marinara Be Used For Pizza Sauce?

This homemade marinara recipe is well-suited for so many recipes like this Pork Parmesan or this Basil Ricotta Dumpling recipe. 

 It works a base for both these Homemade Parmesan Soft Pretzel Bites, this crockpot lasagna, and this meaty marinara. Basically, this sauce will work anytime you need a red sauce. It is an extremely versatile sauce!

Can I Freeze This Homemade Marinara Sauce?

 Yes, this sauce freezes well so there is no reason you cannot make a double batch each time.

 

Place your cooled sauce in an airtight container or a freezer-safe bag. Marinara sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.

 

When the craving for spaghetti hits, you will always have the sauce ready!

Leftover sauce? This sauce is PERFECT for these meatball subs, this meatball pizza, baked risotto balls,  and these pretzel bites! You can even stir in leftover marinara sauce into this Minestrone Soup!

More Pasta Sauces:

Ragu Sauce

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Alfredo

Pumpkin Chipotle Cream Sauce

Pasta with Yellow Pepper Sauce

 

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