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.
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
- Add the oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper to a large pan on the stove.
- 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.
- 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.
Kaitlyn
This sauce is DELICOUS! It's so fresh and bright. I tried it with the chicken parm recipe (https://www.homemadeitaliancooking.com/chicken-parmesan/) and we genuinely felt like we were eating at a restaurant. Thank you so much for sharing this with the world!
Cara Kretz
Thank you Kaitlyn. Your feedback means alot to me.
Best,
Cara
Missy
Just my like Nonna's
feast
love this recipe
Gordon Kouba
The best!
homemadeitaliancooking
Thank you Gordon! Coming from you it means a lot!
Ann
I love the simplicity of this sauce. It looks delicious.
homemadeitaliancooking
Thanks Ann! Let me know if you try it.