Marinara is the basic tomato sauce for many Italian dishes. My version is quick to make and preserves the fresh and bright flavor of the tomatoes. The secret to making a great marinara is to use imported San Marzano tomatoes or freshly picked, ripe garden tomatoes. Canned San Marzano tomatoes from Italy are available year round. Be sure to look for the certified Italian ones, not the brands that are produced in the US. They are not the same. This sauce cooks in 20 minutes. I usually make a big batch and jar the leftovers. It also freezes well. This picture is my Marinara with Bucatini (fat spaghetti) pasta and a Chicken Pecorino meatball.
Cara’s Marinara Sauce with San Marzano tomatoes
This quick marinara sauce is fresh, bright, sweet and spicy. The quality of the tomato is important. Use imported canned San Marzano tomatoes if you can, or fresh, ripe Roma tomatoes. Marinara is the base for other Sauces such as Sunday Gravy with meat, Red Clam sauce, and pizza sauce. Make it in large batches for freezing or storing in jars.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 3 cans San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh basil
Instructions
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Add the oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper to a large pan on the stove.
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When the garlic starts to brown, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer, while crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Add a sprig of fresh basil.
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Cook the sauce for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is reduced a bit. The sauce can simmer on low on the stove until the pasta is ready or take off the stove and store in glass jars / ziplock bags until needed.
Gordon Kouba
May 8, 2017 at 9:18 pmThe best!
homemadeitaliancooking
May 9, 2017 at 7:32 amThank you Gordon! Coming from you it means a lot!
Ann
May 21, 2015 at 11:52 amI love the simplicity of this sauce. It looks delicious.
homemadeitaliancooking
May 21, 2015 at 11:53 amThanks Ann! Let me know if you try it.