My homemade marinara sauce is full of Italian flavor – and so easy to make. Use it as pasta sauce or in Italian recipes like baked ziti, lasagna, or stuffed shells. Grab a can of crushed tomatoes, jump to the recipe, and let’s make this easy marinara sauce recipe!
Homemade Marinara Sauce
I’ve always loved marinara sauce… I mean, who doesn’t love spaghetti with red sauce? But as an Italian mom of two toddlers, I find myself making marinara sauce at least 3 times a week! I can say for sure it’s definitely one of my most made recipes.
My kids absolutely love it on pasta and meatballs. But they also love it for dipping their grilled cheese sammies, garlic knots, soft pretzels, etc. And I love having leftovers in the fridge so I can make myself a quick bowl of pasta at the end of the night. Sometimes I do straight marinara sauce, but sometimes I’ll toss in pre-cooked sausage, fresh herbs, or some veggies to switch it up.
Skip the Jarred Marinara Sauce
Canned marinara sauce is convenient but often lacks flavor. I also find it way overpriced and often packed with ingredients and preservatives that I don’t want to eat. And definitely don’t want my kids eating.
So my solution is making big batches of homemade marinara sauce! It’s so easy to make and you can double or triple this recipe if needed. Plus, you can tinker with the taste until it’s just perfect for you!
Leftover marinara sauce will keep in the fridge for several days. And if you have too much, you can always freeze marinara sauce for up to 2 months. I use an ice cube tray to freeze some of my sauce. Then I just grab a few cubes of sauce whenever I need it!
Ingredients for Italian Tomato Sauce
- Crushed Tomatoes: For the best tasting sauce, use canned San Marzano tomatoes. Other types of canned tomatoes will work, but you may need to add a dash of sugar or more salt/pepper/etc.
- Olive Oil: It doesn’t need to be fancy olive oil, but don’t sub with canola oil or vegetable oil.
- Onions and Garlic: In addition to the tomatoes, onion and garlic add depth of flavor. Don’t sub garlic powder and onion powder for fresh onions and garlic!
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh basil and parsley add a pop of fresh flavor. For more Italian flavor, add a 1/2 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano or 1/8 teaspoon of dried oregano.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Adds a touch of spice, but can be omitted or reduced.
- White Wine: If you don’t have white wine, you can sub red wine or use chicken broth with a teaspoon of white wine vinegar.
- Salt and Pepper: Start with the amounts called for then add more as needed.
- Sugar: Tomatoes have a lot of acidity, so I like to add a bit of sugar to take the edge off. This is optional, but I do fine a bit of sugar creates a more well balanced marinara sauce.
For a fun summery twist, add even more herbs at the end of cooking! Like fresh mint, fresh oregano, and add even more fresh basil! You could also easily toss in pre-cooked meat like ground beef or ground sausage. Or add some veggies like zucchini, peppers, or spinach.
San Marzano Tomatoes?
If you can find San Marzano tomatoes, I suggest using them. San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of the plum tomato. They’re thin, but have thick tomato flesh and fewer seeds. They have a sweeter flavor than regular tomatoes and less acidity, which means you can use less sugar in your sauce.
More Italian Recipes:
- Big Italian Chopped Salad
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Italian Sausage Meatballs
- Italian Meatball Sub Sandwiches
- Italian Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup
Homemade Marinara Sauce (The BEST Tomato Sauce for Pasta)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (42ml) olive oil
- 1 medium yellow or white onion finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional or use less for less spice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil
- 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar more to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft and opaque, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add in the white wine and bring to a simmer. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Add int the crushed tomatoes and mix well. Add salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in the fresh herbs and cook another 5 minutes. Taste and season as needed.
- Remove from heat and serve with pasta or cool and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- *Once cooled, you can freeze this sauce up to one month
Question. When you make this sauce do you use wine or stock/broth. I want to make it just like you typically would. I’m sure you’ve prepared it both ways, however, what is your personal preference? I absolutely love your recipes…Your blog is one of the best!!
Hello! I’m making a big lasagna and therefore in need of 6 cups of marinara suace. Is it possible to just double this recepie?!
Thank you for a wonderful blog!
Greetings from Sweden!
/Sayran
Hi Sayran! Yes, I think doubling it will work fine 🙂
I converted to metric:
(1 can) 20 oz/568 ml can crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoon/45 ml olive oil
1 medium white onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons/30 ml fresh basil, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons/30 ml fresh parsley, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
0.5 teaspoon/2.5 ml crushed red pepper
1.2 dl white wine (or chicken broth)
0.5 tsk/2.5 ml teaspoon black pepper
5 ml salt
Hello! Just wanted to say I’m making your sauce again, for like the 20th time. I just love its simplicity and flavor. Today I doubled the recipe, and it’s currently simmering with a batch of awesome meatballs I also made. My house smells amazing and everyone’s salivating and can’t wait to eat! I’m so glad I found it, I Pinned it, and so far I’ve impressed a lot of family& friends. Thank you for sharing, this is a treasure!
Hello,
This looks so good.
One quick question though.
Can I use this recipe for ‘Canning’ ?
Please do let me know.
Thank you.
Mala
Hi MK! I think canning would be just fine. I hope you make it 🙂