How To Make Easy Marinara Sauce

Makes The Perfect Pizza Sauce

Marinara Sauce the Easy Way | Chef Jean-Pierre

For those family pizza nights, how about having homemade pizza sauce on hand? You will because you have this sauce in the freezer. This sauce can also used as a dip for these mini ham and cheese calzone and fried ravioli . So as you can see, the uses are endless.

The recipe yields 6 cups/1.5 quarts/1.5kg of sauce. The recipe can be doubled very easily.

If youve tried this Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce or any other recipe on the blog then dont forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

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How Long Does Marinara Sauce Last

That is to say, if you dont eat it all on day one. If properly sealed, this marinara sauce will last between 5-7 days. If you do go the meat sauce route, be sure to use it up within 3-4 days.

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Ways To Use Marinara Sauce:

There are sooo many delicious ways that you can put this marinara recipe to use! For example, feel free to serve it with

Pasta: Spaghetti marinara is a classic, of course. But you could stir this sauce into any other kinds of pasta, baked ziti, lasagna and more. Or if you really want to go for the gold, make some homemade pasta!

Meat or seafood: You could make Italian meatballs marinara, chicken marinara, shrimp marinara, mussels marinara, or whatever else might sound good!
Parmigiana: Im also partial to using this sauce in my favorite baked eggplant Parmesan and chicken Parmesan recipes.
Pizza: This recipe can also double as a marinara pizza sauce in any of your favorite pizza or flatbread recipes.

Dipping sauce: Its also a fantastic dipping sauce for everything from breadsticks to mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, calamari, toasted ravioli and more.
Subs and sandwiches: You know, Joey Tribbiani style. )

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What Is Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce is a much thicker tomato-based sauce than marinara sauce. Typically, the tomatoes have not only been peeled, but also had the seeds removed. Canned tomatoes dont work as well in this instance. Tomato sauce has more ingredients than homemade marinara sauce, along with a deeper, richer and more complex flavor.

And, believe it or not, traditionally, tomato sauce was not vegetarian. It was based on the French mother sauce, Sauce Tomat, and started with a roux made with pork fat. Its more suited to blanketing or enrobing foods, almost like a gravy. In some areas of the United States, one version is actually called Tomato Gravy.

Most of us think of modern tomato sauce as vegetarian and containing no gluten. It comes in a can and is used as an ingredient, rather than being its own version of a full-bodied, rich and flavorful tomato-based sauce. Its the start of pizza sauce, pasta sauce and other dishes. What a shame. A delectable and truly homemade tomato sauce is mouthwateringly delicious and stands on its own as an extraordinary sauce.

Make The Cocktail Sauce

First, zest and squeeze the lemon. There’s nothing like fresh lemon juice to brighten up whatever dish you are making. “I use fresh lemons in lots of my cooking,” Hahn shares. “I have a lemon tree so I always have a bowl of lemons on my counter, and use them frequently. I think adding the zest gives food an extra tangy flavor to make it pop.”

This step right here is where you realize you are never buying pre-made cocktail sauce again it’s so easy. Simply grab a small bowl, and mix together the lemon zest, lemon juice, ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt, and pepper.

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How To Make The Best Easy Marinara Sauce

Learn how to make the best authentic Italian marinara sauce from scratch with this simple recipe – 5 minutes prep time and healthy whole food ingredients only. The best simple weeknight dinner – can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer!

I feel, as a lover of food in general, and pasta in particular, there just GOTS to be one really good marinara sauce recipe in your repertoire.

Oh, marinara – that sounds like one of those “simmer on low heat for at least 12 months” kinda recipes. I mean, there has to be a reason why everyone goes for the store-bought version, right?

Now, if I told you can get that lovely, authentic Italian flavor in under an hour? YES, it can be done, you guys. After some experimenting, I found a way to reduce the cooking time to 45 minutes only. And those are pretty much hands-off, a couple of stirs here and there – DONE!

With a prep time of 5 minutes, this marinara is really exceptionally easy to make, too, so its perfect for busy weeknights. All you need to do in terms of prep work is chopping an onion and dice some garlic.

The marinara recipe only needs the most basic pantry ingredients: good canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, dried oregano, fresh basil and olive oil. Thats it!

Top Tips For The Best Marinara Sauce

The tomatoes. Since there are so few ingredients used in marinara sauce, I recommend using the best quality tomatoes your budget allows, such as San Marzano tomatoes. If you’re using whole canned tomatoes, be sure to hand crush or lightly pulse the tomatoes. Over blending will add oxygen to the tomatoes and turn them orange. You can also use good-quality crushed tomatoes such as Mutti or Sclafani brands.
The paste. Tomato paste will add more depth to this quick marinara sauce. That being said, you can omit the paste entirely. If you skip the paste, the sauce will be looser so you may need to cook a little longer to thicken it.
The herbs. The only herb I use in a quick marinara is fresh basil. If you don’t have fresh basil, you can omit it entirely. I do not recommend replacing it with dried basil, dried oregano, or anything labeled “Italian seasoning”.

Pasta water and pasta. As with all our pasta recipes, I recommend reserving pasta water in case you need to loosen up/reconstitute your marinara sauce. I love penne with marinara sauce so I used it for this recipe but you can definitely use any pasta shape you’d like!

How To Store Leftovers

Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for 5 6 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container.

Freezer: This homemade marinara sauce is freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer safe containers , leaving 1/2 inch head space for expansion. Let thaw before reheating. You can also freeze larger portions in large freezer-ziploc bags.
Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. Alternately, reheat in the microwave using 30 60 second intervals, stirring after each, until warm.

Key Ingredients For Pasta Sauce

Marinara Sauce

Tomatoes. You cant make a traditional red sauce without tomatoes! Whether theyre fresh or canned tomatoes, this ingredient is an absolute must.

Garlic and onions. You could technically leave these ingredients out. But without them, your pasta sauce would have little depth. Garlic and onions give your sauce a rich, fragrant quality thats hard to replace.
Flavor boosters. When youre learning how to make pasta sauce, youll quickly see that its very receptive to herbs, seasonings and spices. Without these flavor boosters, youd have a bland recipe.

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The Secrets To This Truly Easy Marinara Sauce

There are lots of people who claim they have the best marinara sauce recipe. Or even the most traditional marinara sauce. Here, weve used some time-tested techniques and some shortcuts to make this easy marinara sauce that is both delicious and doesnt take an hour to simmer.

Here are some of our secrets to an easy marinara sauce that doesnt even require chopping:

Use fire roasted tomatoes. First rule of a good marinara sauce: if the tomatoes dont taste good, the sauce wont taste good! To make our marinara sauce taste amazing in a very short time frame, use fire-roasted tomatoes: their flavor is sweet and mild. These tomatoes are becoming common in US grocery stores. If you cant find them, see below.

No chopping required: garlic powder instead! Most of our tomato-based sauces use fresh garlic. But as a shortcut for this easy marinara sauce, weve used garlic powder. It melds in perfectly and adds great flavor.

Fresh basil. Of course, fresh basil makes everything taste incredible! Basil is the key to this marinara sauce flavoring. If its not summer, its worth seeking out the fresh herbs in the grocery .

A hint of balsamic. Balsamic vinegar rounds out the flavor here. It makes a subtle yet important difference!

Ingredients For Marinara Sauce:

The ingredients are pantry staples that we always keep on hand so its easy to whip up. Since the ingredient list is very short, make sure to source the best quality ingredients you can find.

We used extra virgin olive oil for extra flavor and San Marzano Crushed Tomatoes. San Marzano is an Italian variety of plum tomato and the gold standard of Italian Marinara.

Also Check: How To Make Tomato Sauce From Tomato Paste

Chill And Serve The Sauce

Cover the bowl, and stick it in your fridge for 1 hour, or a few days if you are prepping this for a party. Once chilled, your sauce is ready to serve. Of course, you are going to serve this fabulous sauce with some fresh shrimp, but you can also serve it with seafood of any kind, like crab cakes or oysters. Hahn says if you have leftovers, you can use it as a dip with onion rings or fried mushrooms, or even drizzle some on a tofu scramble or omelet. The sauce will last up to 2 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge.

The Best Tomatoes For Pasta Sauce:

I grew up in an Italian family and have been testing and tasting canned tomatoes for a lonnnng time.

One thing any grandma will tell you is that because basic marinara is such a simple sauce with few ingredients, it makes sense to use high-quality canned tomatoes. You can drive yourself crazy deciding which tomatoes to buy.

Imported Italian? Authentic San Marzano tomatoes? Or how about non-Italian San Marzano tomatoes, grown in California? It gets confusing.

I recommend buying canned whole plum tomatoes or crushed tomatoes to make homemade tomato sauce. Ive found this widely available brand to be most consistent in quality and priced right.

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Why Make Homemade Marinara

6 ingredients. Yep, just canned tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic, dried oregano and basil, sugar, and salt.
Healthy. This homemade pasta is lower in sugar and sodium than what youll find at the store. Plus, we all know tomatoes are good for you :).
Freezer-friendly. Store it for up to 4 months in the freezer.

Are Italian Canned Tomatoes Best

Dont let anyone tell you that you need imported tomatoes to make a good sauce. Canned tomatoes dont necessarily have to be grown in Italy to be good. When judging canned tomatoes, look for them to be without hard or yellow spots.

They should appear bright red in color, not dark, maroon red . Also check that they smell fresh and fruity, not metallic.

Along with whole tomatoes, tomato puree packed in glass jars rounds out the marinara and adds a nice saucy texture.

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Ingredients For Simple Spaghetti

You will be amazed at how these simple ingredients make the tastiest spaghetti pasta sauce recipe!

Spaghetti: Any pasta will work. I prefer using whole wheat or whole grain because it contains fibre and nutrients. If you use regular white pasta, please note the nutritional information of this delicious spaghetti recipe will change. Gluten free spaghetti such as brown rice, or quinoa, will also work but it does cook faster than wheat. So watch it to avoid a mushy mess.

Tomato sauce: To make good spaghetti, you need a can of cheap, preferably low sodium, tomato sauce that reads tomato sauce. Not spaghetti sauce, not pizza sauce, not pasta sauce, not marinara sauce. Just tomato sauce.
Parmesan cheese: I highly recommend using a block of fresh Parmesan and grating your own for this simple spaghetti recipe. Pre-grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker contains cellulose as a filler and does not taste as fresh.
Extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic: Youll need lots of minced garlic in this recipe which makes it just as flavorful as a homemade spaghetti sauce.

Dried oregano, salt, and pepper: A simple seasoning to add to the sauce is all you need.

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Creating Your Own Traditions

EASY MARINARA – Way Better Than Jarred Sauce In Only 20 Minutes!

Remember these tips and start creating your own recipe and food traditions.

Take the best of what you find in the recipes of others and make them your own.
Add and subtract ingredients that make it better for your family. Im not a believer in a right or wrong way to make a recipe. The right way is the one that works best for your budget and your people.
Youll enjoy food so much more when you start with the recipes you trust and tweak them to make them the recipes that your family loves. I hope you and they will enjoy what I think is the best Marinara sauce recipe.

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Faqs And Tips For Making The Best Marinara Sauce

What is the difference between marinara and spaghetti sauce?

There really isnt any difference. Marinara is a type of spaghetti sauce, but spaghetti sauce could also refer to sauces like a ragu or meat sauce.

How long should I cook marinara sauce?

You just need to cook it long enough to infuse your tomatoes with the flavors of your other ingredients . I recommend at least 2 minutes, but if you have more time, feel free to simmer the sauce on low.

Favourite And Simple Spring Pasta Dish

Ingredients:

Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet and the quantity required for the number of people. IMPORTANT: save a cup of the pasta water when you drain the pasta.
2. Warm the tomato paste in a saucepan and add the saved pasta water to reduce the thickness amount will vary depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce. Thicker is great for adding to the top of spaghetti.
3. Garnish this simple tomato paste pasta dish with fresh basil leaves or store bought works just as well.
4. Add some parmesan cheese grated or shaved as in image for that extra special fresh spring touch.

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Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

Homemade Marinara Sauce doesnt get any easier! This requires just a handful of ingredients and 20 minutes on the stove for a memorable Italian Marinara. Everyone needs a great pasta sauce in their recipe collection and this one is a keeper.

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In A Rush Make It Ahead Of Time:

This marinara sauce is perfect for making ahead of time. In fact you could double the recipe and freeze the extras.

Allow the marinara sauce to cool and store it in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To freeze, put the homemade pasta sauce in an airtight container or freezer ziplock bag and store it for up to 4 months.

Also, if youd like to use fresh tomatoes for this recipe, substitute about 6-7 fresh tomatoes for the 28oz. can of whole tomatoes. Blanch them and remove the skins before step 1 of the recipe.

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Adding The Rest Of The Ingredients And Simmering

1Pour the tomatoes into the mix. For best results, use 4 cups of whole peeled tomatoes, although canned crushed tomatoes may also be used if thatâs all you have. Break the whole tomatoes apart with your spatula when you add them to the pan.XResearch source

Be sure to stir the tomatoes after you add them so that they mix with the onions and garlic.

2Throw in any seasonings you want to add to the mix. With the onions, garlic, and olive oil, your sauce will already taste pretty good, but thereâs no harm in adding some seasoning to it. If you want to season your sauce, try adding Â¼ cup of fresh basil, Â¼ teaspoon of salt, Â¼ teaspoon of pepper, Â½ teaspoon of dried oregano, and 1 bay leaf.XResearch source

Thoroughly stir the seasonings into the mix to make sure theyâre fully incorporated after you add them.

You can also add 12 cup of white wine to give your sauce a sharper flavor.

3Allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes. Leave the saucepan uncovered as the sauce simmers and stir the ingredients every 5 minutes or so. Simmering the sauce will allow it to reduce and thicken to the normal consistency of pasta sauce.XResearch source

If the sauce is too watery for your taste after 30 minutes, let it simmer a bit longer until it reaches your desired consistency.

If youâre using your sauce on spaghetti or some other pasta, now is a great time to go ahead and boil your pasta and get ready to eat.