Marinara Sauce

Classic Italian Marinara Sauce is perfect for topping traditional spaghetti and meatballs or Vegan Meatball Bowls! It's easy to make this recipe from scratch with 8 simple ingredients. And tastes so much better than store-bought sauce from a jar!

This sauce is naturally gluten free and vegan. You can use it as spaghetti sauce, dipping sauce or with your favorite pasta. It's easy to freeze, so you'll have some on hand for pasta night anytime!

The BEST marinara sauce is easy to make with high-quality canned tomatoes, garlic and spices. Just like in Italy, it's not complicated to make and it always tastes the best when it's homemade!

This marinara sauce recipe is so simple, but is guaranteed to add so much flavor to any pasta dish and all of your favorite Italian recipes. I used the sauce to top this Italian Bowl with Vegan Meatballs.

It was the perfect vegan marinara sauce to compliment this plant based bowl. Flavorful, easy to make and delicious served with broccoli, pasta and meatballs!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step by step instructions
• Frequently asked questions
• Ways to use marinara sauce
• More homemade sauces to try
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Minced garlic
• San Marzano peeled tomatoes - San Marzano tomatoes are famous for their sweetness, delicate acidity and their rich tomatoey flavor. This is what makes them THE BEST for making homemade marinara sauce. I personally prefer the Cento brand of San Marzano tomatoes. I buy it by the case on Amazon to make this marinara sauce and pizza sauce. Feel free to buy it online or pick up whatever brand your local grocery store offers.
• Dried oregano
• Sugar - you always want to add sugar to a tomato-based sauce as it balances out the acidity from the tomatoes.
• Salt - the combination of salt, sugar and acid balance out this sauce and give it the perfect flavor.
• Red pepper flakes - these crushed peppers add just a hint of spice and flavor to the sauce.
• Fresh basil leaves - added at the end of the cooking process, basil adds a bright, fresh flavor to the sauce.

Step by step instructions

1. Crush the tomatoes. Because I recommend starting the recipe with whole San Marzano peeled tomatoes, you'll want to begin the recipe by hand crushing the tomatoes. Pour the tomatoes from the cans into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to crush the tomatoes. It's okay if some small chunks still exist. If you wish, you can always puree the sauce at the end so that no chunks exist.
2. Saute the garlic in olive oil. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds. You want the garlic to just begin to brown and become fragrant before adding the tomatoes.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes. Pour the hand-crushed tomatoes into the skillet with the sauce.
4. Add the oregano, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir all of the ingredients together, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the fresh chopped basil. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Serve the sauce immediately or place in mason jars and freeze. If freezing the sauce for later, you'll want to let it cool completely in the mason jars before transferring the sauce to the freezer. You also want to leave at least 1 inch of space open at the top of the jar to allow the sauce to expand in the freezer.

Frequently asked questions

• What is the difference between marinara sauce and spaghetti sauce? Marinara sauce is a simple tomato-based sauce that can be used as spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti sauce can also contain other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, like ground beef or sausage.
• What is the difference between marinara sauce and pizza sauce? Marinara sauce is cooked on the stove, whereas pizza sauce is generally uncooked. However, pizza sauce and marinara sauce generally contain the same ingredients, therefore marinara sauce can be used for pizza.
• How long does marinara sauce last in the fridge? This marinara sauce can be refrigerated for up to 7 days. After 7 days, it can be moved to the freezer and stored for up to 6 months.
• How do you unfreeze marinara sauce? If you've been storing the marinara sauce in the freezer, I recommend moving it to the refrigerator for 24-36 hours to defrost. If you don't have that much time, place the sealed jar of sauce in a bowl in the sink and run cold water over the jar until the sauce is thawed.
• How do you thicken marinara sauce? If you want to thicken the sauce, I recommend adding tomato paste, ¼ cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. The tomato paste should be added at the same time as the fresh basil.

Ways to use marinara sauce

Marinara sauce is most commonly used with pasta, but there are actually tons of different ways to use the sauce for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Make a triple batch and try it in each of these delicious recipes.

• Italian Meatloaf
• Cheesy Mozzarella Chicken Bake
• Italian Meatball Soup
• Low Carb Lasagna Stuffed Peppers
• Italian Enchiladas
• Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Creamy Italian Baked Eggs
• Pizza Zucchini Noodles with Pepperoni
• Spaghetti Squash and Meatball Bowls
• Keto Pizza Bowls

Looking for a low-carb option? Try pairing the sauce with shirataki noodles and keto meatballs!

More homemade sauces to try

• Harissa Tahini Sauce
• Creamy Vegan Chipotle Sauce
• Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream Sauce
• Zhoug Sauce (Spicy Cilantro Sauce)
• Whole30 BBQ Sauce
• Sweet Sesame Sauce

Recipe