Really Quick Homemade Marinara Sauce
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Skip buying jars of prepared sauce — this is the only marinara sauce recipe you need! My simple, fresh-tasting homemade marinara sauce has a medium-thick texture that coats pasta perfectly. Make it in minutes using canned tomatoes, garlic, onion and basil. This an essential pantry sauce to stash in the fridge or freezer.
Homemade tomato sauce is one of the most versatile foods you could ever learn how to cook, especially when it comes to making dinner on the fly. It’s perfect addition to your file of simple pasta recipes – use it to sauce a batch of juicy Italian meatballs or as a pizza topping.
Key ingredients:
Ready to make your sauce? You really only need four ingredients to make basic tomato marinara sauce (not counting salt), with a few optional add-ins.
- My favorite canned tomatoes: I grew up in an Italian family and have been testing canned tomatoes for years. Any grandma will tell you that a good marinara is simple, which means the tomatoes matter. But choosing can be overwhelming. Imported Italian? True San Marzano? California-grown “San Marzanos”? Unless you have amazing homegrown tomatoes, I suggest going with canned whole plum or crushed tomatoes. Skip the diced ones — they’re watery and bland.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic rather than garlic powder if possible — it really makes a huge difference in flavor. While it’s tempting to add tons of garlic to marinara sauce, you really only need 3-4 cloves. Grating the garlic on rasp grater or chopping it finely releases the most juice. And never brown the garlic, which will add an acrid taste to the sauce.
- Sugar: A pinch of sugar can do wonders to bring out the natural sweetness of canned tomatoes. Taste your tomatoes before cooking to gauge their acidity level, because different brands will have varying levels of acidity.
Cooking steps
This sauce is so quick to make it can be simmering away in a pot while the water boils for cooking the pasta.
1. Cook the onions in a large pot until until they’re very soft. Pro Tip: Covering the pot over medium-low heat steams and softens them quickly, without browning. 2. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. If using canned whole tomatoes, you can crush them roughly with your hands, with a potato masher or food mill. 4. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to the pot and stir. Simmer about 15 minutes. The sauce will bubble and splash, so partially cover the pot to keep your stovetop clean.
5. Stir in fresh sliced basil, if using. The sauce is ready to serve with cooked pasta, or transfer to a jar or leakproof container and refrigerate or freeze.
Really Quick Homemade Marinara Sauce
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Yield: 5 cups sauce, enough for 2-3 pounds pasta
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped onion, about ½ of a medium-large onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated on a rasp grater
- 2 28-ounce (793 g each) cans crushed tomatoes, or chopped tomatoes *see note
- Kosher salt
- ½-1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
- ¼ cup sliced fresh basil
Instructions
- Put the oil and onion in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and place over medium-low heat. Stir in a pinch of salt to encourage the onion to release liquid.
- Cover the pan and cook gently until softened, 5-7 minutes — the steam created in the covered pot helps this process go a bit quicker. Stir in the garlic and cook a few seconds, until fragrant. If using crushed red pepper, stir it in.
- Stir in the tomatoes, 1-½ teaspoons salt, pepper and sugar (if using) to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes. The sauce will bubble up as it simmers. Partially cover the pot to keep it from splashing on your cooktop.
- Taste the sauce for seasoning (I usually add about another ½ teaspoon of salt) and stir in the basil.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The sauce keeps refrigerated up to one week and frozen up to 2 months in leakproof containers.
- If you prefer a smoother sauce, swap out the tomatoes for finely chopped tomatoes or tomato puree. You can also use a handheld stick blender to create your desired consistency.
- Optional seasonings: Add about 1 teaspoon dried oregano and crushed red pepper to taste for that classic Italian restaurant aroma and zest. Butter isn’t traditional, but it adds a rich flavor. Stir in a tablespoon or two into the hot sauce until it melts.
- Serve with homemade Classic Italian Meatballs!
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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do you have Salmon recipes?
Hi Kate – Yes! You can find my favorite baked salmon recipe here and salmon with maple Dijon glaze
This is a perfect go-to thanks. Ngl though it lasts more like 2 weeks in the fridge if covered tightly! Lol don’t judge it was a great soup base when I needed it. 🫣
My Mom always added a couple of meaty pork ribs to her basic marinara. IS that something you agree with?
Delicious and so easy to make. I made half the recipe and used whole tinned tomatoes. Used my stick blender to puree. It turned out great on our spaghetti squash dinner.
Looks like an awesome recipe definitely going to make it today thank you Karen for sharing!! 😉👌💯