Basic Marinara Sauce Recipe
Are you a fan of hearty Italian cooking? Do you love pizza and pasta? Well we’re big fans of Italian cuisine and pizza and pasta are our favorites, specially those with marinara sauce!
Sure we have our favorite Italian restaurants both here and abroad. But nothing beats home cooking! And a bowl of spaghetti is comfort food at its best.
Pastas and pizza have 2 basic ingredients; dough in the form of noodles or crust, and sauce. So making it at home should be easy, specially since you can buy pasta, crust, and sauces dried, frozen, or bottled from any grocery store. But why settle for boxed sauces (or pasta or crust) when making it from scratch is so simple?
Ok maybe making pizza dough is a bit time consuming and so is making pasta, but the sauces, well that’s pretty easy! (If you want to make homemade pasta check out my review of the Philips Pasta Machine). Marinara
One of the easiest and most versatile sauces is Marinara Sauce. You can use it for pasta, think spaghetti marinara; pizza, think Margherita; sandwiches, think meatball subs; and as a dip, think fried mozzarella sticks!
So today I’ll share my Basic Marinara Sauce Recipe. Believe me it’s super easy!
I use canned Fire Roasted diced tomatoes to give it that homemade taste. Sugar cuts the acidity of all those diced tomatoes so don’t leave it out even if you think it’s weird. And lastly I add some spice with crushed red peppers, yes, the the stuff you sprinkle on your pizza; you can add the tablespoon or more if you like spicy or omit it if you don’t.
===================================================================================================
- 1 Can 28oz. Diced Tomatoes
- 3 Cans 14.5oz. Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 3 Tbs. minced garlic
- 2 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tbs. Crushed Red Pepper (optional)
- 1 1/2 Tbs. sea salt
- 3 Tbs. Sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- Purée diced tomatoes in a blender, you will have to purée in 2 batches
- Heat olive oil in large pot
- Sautée garlic for about a minute, do not allow them to brown or even burn as it will make sauce bitter
- Add Italian seasoning and crushed pepper, mix well
- Add puréed tomatoes
- Stir in salt, sugar, and bay leaf
- Let boil then turn down heat to low
- Simmer sauce for about an hour
- Serve over pasta or use in pizza and sandwiches, or as a dip
- You can brown ground meat then add marinara sauce to make a meat sauce
- You can also use it in your favorite pasta dish like Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan and spread it on your lasagnas!
- Store in mason jars or sealed plastic containers in the refrigerator for about a week. Or store in freezer safe containers in your freezer for about 3 months.
- Whatever you use this Marinara Sauce for, enjoy!
