There are plenty of store-bought marinara sauces out there, but there’s nothing quite like the delicious smell of simmering tomatoes and spices on the stove top. This classic marinara sauce will not only leave your kitchen smelling fantastic, but it will take your Italian recipes to another level!
Must-Know Cooking Skills to Level Up your Kitchen Game
To make this recipe even easier, check out these videos to master the basics:
Plus, we’ve got an awesome Knife Skills 101 course to help you slice and dice like a pro!
Culinary Tips for the Best Marinara Sauce from Scratch
If you plan to puree the sauce, don’t worry about dicing the vegetables finely. If you intend to leave the sauce as is, think about biting into the sauce – how big do you want the vegetable pieces to be? We recommend using a small dice size.
Fight food waste! Don’t waste any of the tomato stuck in the cans; swirl a small amount of water in them and add to the pot!
Simmering with the lid partially covering the pan allows the sauce to reduce slightly – allowing it to thicken and develop flavor flavors. As it reduces, a thick rim of tomatoes will remain around the edge of the pot. Scrape it down periodically to not lose any of that delicious flavor. If you want to get fancy, dip a pastry brush into a bowl of water and brush the edge to slide it back into the pot.
You might be tempted to leave out the sugar, and while you are certainly welcome to, but be aware that its role is to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, providing a more balanced flavor.
Ingredient Swaps & Substitutions
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Substitute regular olive oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Extra virgin or regular olive oil are best for flavor.
- Onion: Substitute yellow or red onion.
- Garlic Cloves: Substitute ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic, or 1 ½ teaspoons pre-minced garlic.
- Marsala or Red Wine: Substitute cooking wine, but cut back on the salt (it contains sodium). Water can be used if alcohol is not an option.
- Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes: Substitute regular tomatoes, crushed, puree, or whole.
- Italian Seasoning: Substitute equal parts dried basil leaves.
We love buying our spices from The Spice House. They have great quality, variety, and flavor!
Recipe Variations: Make it Your Own!
To make a spicy marinara sauce from scratch, add more red pepper flakes to taste.
If you want to sneak more vegetables into the sauce for a picky eater, add some shredded zucchini or more carrots and celery.
Equipment Recommendations: The Essentials
You just need a few basic tools for this recipe. Here’s your shopping list:
- Cutting board & Chef’s knife – to cook like a chef, of course!
- Can Opener – automated for ease!
- Spatula – for scraping up every last drop of flavor
- Liquid Measuring Cup – for a faster more accurate measure.
- Measuring Spoons – precision makes a difference.
- 4 Quart Saucepan or Dutch Oven – for simmering sauce and so much more!
- Wooden Spoon – to mix like a real Italian!
Want to level up your kitchen game? Check out our Essential Equipment Guide for all the must-have tools!
Is Marinara Sauce Healthy?
Absolutely! Marinara is a powerhouse of nutrition, bursting with anti-inflammatory benefits and incredible flavor. This homemade marinara recipe brings it all together with juicy tomatoes, heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil, and a perfectly balanced blend of dried herbs. Delicious and good for you—what’s not to love?
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a phytochemical that helps protect against heart disease and prostate cancer. Canned and/or cooked tomatoes are higher in lycopene than their fresh counterparts.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil is a key component of the Mediterranean Diet. It contains high amounts of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols which may reduce inflammation.
Dried Herbs
Packed with phytonutrients, they might help reduce disease risk while sprinkling a bit of health into your meals. Plus, they’re perfect for cutting back on salt—delivering bold flavors to lessen the amount of salt needed. Your heart and kidneys will thank you!
Looking for some delicious quality extra virgin olive oil? We love Enzo’s Table and it’s not just because Enzo is the name of Chef V’s oldest son!
Dive into our ingredient guide to discover the freshest, tastiest picks for all your recipes—because great ingredients make all the difference! 🌟🍎
Serving Suggestions for Classic Marinara Sauce
Serve this classic marinara sauce for pizza on our homemade dough, with pasta, as a dip, or in any other application you can think of! When Enzo (Chef V’s oldest son) was 2, he used to eat it by the spoonful!
Learn how to build a healthy balanced meal with our Whole Life Plate, meal plan, and book!
How to Store Homemade Marinara Sauce
The flavors in this sauce continue to develop over time, so it tastes even better the next day! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
This batch of sauce is fairly large, so you most likely won’t use it all in one recipe. Don’t worry though because it freezes great! Cook the sauce, let it cool completely, then place it in several freezer-safe containers to help build easy Italian dinners when you need it. Consider freezing the sauce in 1-2 cup quantities – whatever makes sense for your household.
Looking for Recipes to Use Your Sauce?
Serve this marinara over our homemade pizza dough, or serve it with whole grain pasta.
Watch this video to learn how to make pizza dough from scratch!
Share the Love – Leave us a Review!
Unlike many other recipe blogs, we actually encourage you to tweak our recipes. Not because they’re in need of change, haha, but because we believe one of the secrets to success in the kitchen is cooking to YOUR taste. Make the recipe, leave us a review, and tell us if you made any changes! We love hearing how you’ve made it your own.
Checkout our more Recipes:
Pasta Marinara
Classic Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small white onion, diced ¼” (~1 cup)
- 1 medium stalk celery, diced ¼” (~½ cup)
- 1 medium carrot, diced ¼” (~½ cup)
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped (~1 Tablespoon)
- ¼ cup Marsala or red wine
- 2, 28-ounce cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes*
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt to taste (~2 teaspoons kosher salt recommended)
Instructions
- Heat a 4 quart saucepan over medium low heat. Add olive oil. Once shimmering, add onion, celery, and carrots and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Sauté for ~8 minutes or until onions turn translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add wine to the pan and scrape up any brown bits that are stuck to the pan. Simmer 2-3 minutes or until wine is mostly evaporated.
- Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, sugar, red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Use ¼ cup of water to rinse out the tomato cans and add to pan. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes.
- Season with additional salt to taste. Blend for a smooth sauce or leave as is, and use for pizza, pasta, and more. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
