My Marinara Sauce is so bomb y’all. My trick is using San Marzano tomatoes along with basil and a ton of garlic! I’ve been making my marinara recipe for the last 10 years and, after lots of trial and error, I love how it has turned out. And I make it in only 30 minutes of slow and low simmering. This isn’t authentic Italian marinara sauce but it’s got so much bold flavor and is so easy to make, you will love it anyway. Serve them with my mozzarella sticks and get your life.
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How to Make Marinara Sauce
Step 1: In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-heat. Add the diced onions and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until translucent and tender. Add garlic cloves, oregano, salt, black pepper and red pepper. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Step 2: Pour in the tomatoes, then add in the bay leaf and sugar. Stir until fully combined.
Step 3: Bring the sauce to a low-boil then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Remove the lid, carefully remove the bay leaf, and allow the sauce to cool for about 10 minutes. If using basil, add it here. Add sauce to the blender, blend until smooth, and pour into a heat-safe bowl.
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Marinara Sauce Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 whole garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 28 oz San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf plus 2-3 more optional
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-heat. Add the diced onions and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until translucent and tender.
- Add garlic cloves, oregano, salt, black pepper and red pepper. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in the tomatoes, then add in the bay leaf and sugar. Stir until fully combined.
- Bring the sauce to a low-boil then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Remove the lid, carefully remove the bay leaf, and allow the sauce to cool for about 10 minutes. If using basil, add it here.
- Add sauce to the blender, blend until smooth, and pour into a heat-safe bowl.
- Stir sauce into pasta, layer into lasagna, or serve as a dipping sauce! It’s a perfect versatile sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Help
Yes! During tomato season (May-October), you can find some delish varieties at grocery stores and local farmers markets. I love using fresh, ripe tomatoes to make sauce, then freezing it for using up in the winter. San Marzano and Roma tomatoes are ideal for marinara sauce.
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This was delicious and easy. Reminded me of the excellent marinara sauce that we had in the old Italian neighborhood we lived in. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
This was delicious! Reminded me of the excellent marinara sauce in the old Italian neighborhood we lived in. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Love homemade marinara sauce and this recipe was no exception! So bold and flavorful; was perfect with our spaghetti dinner tonight! Way better than any store bought version, indeed!
I love making homemade recipes! So much better than store bought! Excited to make this soon!
Simple and amazingly good! Awesome marinara sauce recipe!
Love how flavorful this sauce is, nothing beats homemade pasta sauce!
This is my new favorite marinara sauce recipe! So tasty and easy to make!