Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe

Serve over spaghetti or tortellini with Parmesan for a simple, tasty dinner!

Easy Marinara Sauce Recipe

What does summer really mean? If you’re lucky, it means you have an abundance of fresh basil growing in your garden so you need to find lots and lots of different things to do with it. I finally have a garden — er, well it’s more of a little box garden but it’s a garden all the same. So I’ve grown peas, tomatoes, pumpkins, basil, cilantro, oregano, and thyme and I’m still waiting on the green onions and rosemary (those two haven’t thrived like everything else. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I tried to grow way too much in a fairly small space. At least I kept the tomatoes and pumpkins growing elsewhere on their own). I’ve grown herbs in my windowsill for many years, but they’ve just never thrived the way they do in a garden. I’m loving being able to go out and just snip what I need as it keeps growing! One of my favorite things to do with fresh basil is make homemade marinara sauce. I fall head of heals for a good marinara sauce and it’s so easy to make a good batch at home from scratch! I used to go all out and make the fresh tomato marinara sauce. I’d have to boil and peel the fresh tomatoes, then seed them, and then crush them — it was a lengthy, tedious process. Then I realized the canned San Marzano tomatoes are just as good for marinara sauce, and life got a whole lot easier. Really though, canned tomatoes are where it’s at in my opinion. It’s like how it goes with canned pumpkin — you just get consistent results with the canned San Marzano tomatoes. This marinara sauce recipe is very easy to prepare, yet the end results are truly so delicious! You’d think with its fairly short list of ingredients it couldn’t be this tasty but oh how it is! Toss it with pasta, add a fair sprinkling of shredded Parmesan and final touch of fresh basil ribbons and you’ve just reached dinner goals! Just don’t forget the fresh crusty Italian bread of some kind (even if it’s store bought) and some good olive oil and freshly cracked pepper to dip it in. Good carby meals like so are some of my favorite!

Marinara Sauce Ingredients

You only need a handful of basic ingredients for this recipe:

Canned San Marzano tomatoes Butter Yellow onion Garlic Extra virgin olive oil Salt Fresh basil Shredded Parmesan or Romano

How Make Marinara Sauce From Scratch

Crush tomatoes: Pour tomatoes into mixing bowl, then crush with your hands. Saute aromatics: Melt butter in saucepan, then add diced onions and sauté until softened.

Add garlic and sauté for a minute. Add remaining sauce ingredients and simmer: pour in tomatoes and olive oil, then season with salt and add in fresh basil.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Remove basil with tongs, then serve marinara sauce.

Can I Add Meat?

You can definitely add ground beef or Italian sausage or even ground turkey to this recipe (about 1 lb total. Brown it first, then simmer with the sauce). If I do add meat, I usually cut the fats in half (1.5 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil).

Can I Freeze Marinara Sauce?

Yes, homemade marinara sauce freezes incredibly well for up to 3 months. I prefer freezing it in smaller jars so I can thaw exactly what I need in the future. It makes a delicious lunch! To thaw marinara sauce, simply place it in your fridge overnight then reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

What Should I Serve It With?

Pasta! (Any kind) Cheese tortellini Spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles Chicken parmesan Use it as a dip (for pizza, bread, breadsticks, garlic knots etc).

Tips for the Best Marinara Sauce:

Use only fresh garlic, not bottled, for best flavor. Use San Marzano tomatoes for best flavor. If you can’t find them, canned Roma tomatoes work too. Fresh basil is highly recommended here. Dried basil has quite a different flavor and it won’t be as good. Don’t skip the butter, just a few dabs adds a delicious light richness. For more flavor, simmer it with a parmesan rind. Add red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. If you like a smooth sauce, puree with an immersion blender after simmering.