Homemade Marinara Sauce made from scratch with only 5 basic ingredients! This easy tomato sauce will be perfect to serve with pasta, meatballs, pizza, and many others!
There is no reason to buy a premade marinara sauce when you can make it at home. Using just a few simple ingredients, you can make this healthy sauce in just 40 minutes. I like to double the batch and keep it in the fridge for quick weeknight meals, like pasta, chicken parm, pizza, and many others.
One of my favorite ways to use this sauce is with Oven Baked Meatballs that perfectly compliment each other.
Ingredients:
- Peeled Tomatoes. I highly recommend to use San Marzano peeled tomatoes. They are less acidic, which is crucial for this recipe.
- Onion. After we caramelize the onion, it will bring the most flavor and sweetness to the sauce.
- Garlic. Provides beautiful aroma. You can add more garlic, depends on how garlicy you want your sauce to be.
- Oregano. You can use fresh or dried oregano. Just remember that dried oregano has more intense flavor.
- Basil. I prefer to use fresh basil. If you don’t have it, you can easily use a dried one. Although, like oregano, dried basil is more intense, so use less of it.
- Salt. Use good quality salt. Depending on your tastes, you can adjust the amount of salt.
- Sugar. Sugar helps to reduce the acidity in the tomatoes. If you are trying to keep the recipe Whole 30 compliant, just skip this ingredient and reduce the sauce a bit longer.
- Red Pepper Flakes. I like my sauce to be a bit spicy. You can adjust the amount of red pepper according to your taste. Also, remember that the longer you simmer the sauce, the more spice the flakes will release.
How to make Marinara Sauce
- Sauté.
To start, we need to finely chop a yellow onion. Also, pour the peeled tomatoes in a large bowl and using your hands, crush them, taking out the tomato’s hard cores.
Then preheat a shallow heavy bottom pan over medium/high heat and add olive oil (Photo 1).
Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 10 minutes, until it’s softened and golden color (Photos 2-3).
Then add minced garlic and stir for 1 more minute (Photo 4).
- Simmer.
Add the rest of the ingredients (peeled tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes). Stir bring and bring to boil (Photos 5-7).
Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring (Photo 8).
Why is this the best Marinara Sauce?
- Less is more. To make the best marinara sauce you need only a few basic ingredients. And you probably already have them in your pantry!
- Easy to make. You don’t need to cook it for hours. It will be done in just 40 minutes from start to finish!
- Perfect for meal prep. I like to make a double batch and keep it in the fridge. It’s quite handy to use it during a busy week in different recipes.
- It’s versatile. You can use this sauce in so many recipes, like meatballs, pasta, pizza, tortellini, zoodles, chicken parm, and so many more!
Tips for best results
- I would highly recommend to use San Marzano canned peeled tomatoes! They are the whole base of the recipe. Because they are less acidic, they make the sauce taste better!
- Heavy bottom shallow pan is my go-to pan to cook this sauce for two reasons.
- Heavy bottom will prevent the sauce from burning.
- Shallow pan will make the simmering process faster.
If you don’t have such pan, use a regular large sauce pan. Just make sure you will stir the sauce more often and simmer it a bit longer.
- Sauté the onion until it’s caramelized. It will provide more flavor and sweetness.
- Always taste it while cooking. You might want to add more salt or sugar to balance the flavors.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
How long does it last in the fridge?
You can keep the sauce in a mason jar or an air tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Can I freeze it?
Yes! You can freeze it for up to 3 months! To thaw, just put it in the fridge overnight, then reheat it in a sauce pan.
What can I serve with it?
- Pasta
- Meatballs
- Tortellini
- Pizza
- Chicken Parm
- Zoodles
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Homemade Marinara Sauce from scratch
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz peeled tomatoes I prefer San Marzano
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- To start, we need to finely chop a yellow onion. Also, pour the peeled tomatoes in a large bowl and using your hands, crush them, taking out the tomato’s hard cores.
- Then preheat a shallow heavy bottom pan over medium/high heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil.
- Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 10 minutes, until it’s softened and golden color.
- Then add 3 cloves minced garlic and stir for 1 more minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (28 oz San Marzano peeled tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano, ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes. Stir bring and bring to boil.
- Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring.
My boyfriend said, “WOW, DELICIOUS”.
Can this recipe be canned?
Hi Zara. I never tried to can this Marinara Sauce but it’s a good question. Let me know if you decide to can it and if that works.
I love finding homemade recipes for items I would normally buy in the store. This looks amazing and easy to make, thank you!
We always make marinara sauce at home and almost the same way. And I can tell this marinara sauce is simply the best, nothing beats homemade sauces.
This is honestly the best marinara sauce I have ever had. It is so easy thanks to your step by step photos. I will never buy the already made marinara again.
This homemade marinara is the bomb! I love how easy it is and it just tastes so much more flavorful and fresh than store-bought sauce. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Homemade sauce is the best. This recipe sounds so fresh and easy to make!
What beautiful pictures! I love making big batches of homemade marinara and freezing it. And I completely agree with using San Marzano too! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Great step-by-step and a gorgeous recipe! I agree that there’s no reason to buy it if you have a recipe such as this one!
I absolutely love this recipe. It’s similar to one I’ve had in my recipe box for years, but I really like the flavors you’ve got here. And I love the idea of freezing it, I’ll try that.
This looks like the best marinara I’ve ever seen! I bet the taste is just amazing and sooo much better than anything you buy in the shops! Perfect to make a big batch of this and freeze it to have it ready whenever needed!