Marinara Dipping Sauce

I tweaked it a little. Used more basil and simmered it longer to thicken it up a bit more. I used fresh garlic from my garden and sprinkled in some crushed red pepper to give it a little spark. In Texas, spark is always required.

Love this recipe!

I will definitely make this again! It was delicious. Used it for sauce for mozzarella sticks – I added tomato paste to thicken it a bit. Enjoy! You won’t be disappointed!

I actually didn’t have tomatoes on hand so I used tomato paste (Kirkland) water, diced garlic, chopped basil, olive oil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and cayenne for an extra kick. I adjusted to taste and salt and pepper. It was so good, it paird perfectly with my home made pizza pretzel. thank you!

Finally, someone knows what a Marinara sauce is. I skipped the water though and had to use a can of diced tomatoes. I didn’t have the right kind of tomatoes. Oh, I added a few red pepper flakes for a little zing.

I made this today and it’s the best marinara I’ve ever had! I used 3 tomatoes and 2 6oz cans of tomato paste, instead of the 5 tomatoes it called for. I also added some Parmesan cheese and added some of my own spices (oregano, etc). Definitely going to try this again!

I don’t think I’d ever made my own marinara, and gave this a try. My big complaint was that the results were too watery. Probably either the “1/4 cup water” should be omitted, or the simmering time should be uncovered instead of covered. As it was, I simmered for maybe another 20 minutes and it was still watery. It might just be a factor of what “low heat” is on my range compared to the recipe submitter’s. Also, I thought the results were a little too chunky for a marinara, but perhaps my tomatoes weren’t “finely chopped” enough. I consumed this with a lot of slices of asiago-topped baguette, as a true dipping sauce. This was a nice introduction to making a marinara, and I liked it, but I wasn’t too impressed – I’ve had much better versions.

this came out wonderfully.. i used blondeprincess’ trick on how to peel the tomatoes.. the whole boiling for 15-20 seconds with the X at the bottom.. super helpful! i thew the tomatoes in my lil mini chopper until smooth and then added them to the sauteed garlic.. only had dried basil.. omitted the sugar.. and added a couple of dashes of rosemary.. did add the water in even though i was uber compelled to leave it out.. ty so much for this recipe

This is a well deserved 5 star rating. After reading all the reviews, I’m seeing MANY who didn’t even follow the recipe -so don’t allow any low ratings to impact your decision. If you follow the directions and use the stated ingredients you’ll get a fresh marinara sauce that is bursting w/ flavour!!! Simple way to peel the tomatoes – cut a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato, and submerge in boiling water for about 15-20 seconds. Remove and submerge into ice water to stop the cooking process then peel the tomatoes. You don’t really have to even bother chopping them. I mashed mine down w/ a potato masher. At first I thought it looked too watery and didn’t want to add in the 1/4 cup water – DON’T make this mistake!!! You DO want to add in the water. Also you DO want to cover and simmer for the full 45 minutes – this is what allows the lycopene from the tomatoes to develop. I used 1/8 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt and found it to be the perfect amount. I waited until the last 10 minutes to add in the basil as fresh herbs lose their flavour if cooked too long. My only complaint…it doesn’t make enough! As is it *might* make 1/2 cup (based on the size of tomatoes used)

Basic, easy, and people liked it! Yum.

Added a little chopped onion, was great! Next time I’ll try adding tomato paste, as other reviewer suggested. Thanks!

Excellent simple, fresh sauce! I needed a bit more than the recipe made, so I used about 10 plum tomatoes, and chopped about 15-20 leaves of fresh basil. Also, I avoid sugar like the plague, so I add a pinch of ground cloves to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes, a trick told to me by my Italian neighbor. Made a really yummy marinara!

I make this whenever I have leftover tomatoes, or tomatoes I’ve frozen for future use. It’s simple, easy and very tasty. Depending on the sweetness of the tomatoes I omit the sugar.

The key to making this sauce is the simmering time. As stated, 45 minutes need to pass before serving the sauce. Cooking uncovered is a must! If you have tomatoes from your garden this sauce will highlight the sweetness of them. Wonderful sauce! The only recommendation I have is to make extra! 😉 I’ve added zucchini and it rocked. Thanks for the recipe.

I thought this turned out pretty good. I made it with some tomatoes that were given to me from a friends garden. I had 1 3/4 lb of tomatoes. I like sweet/garlicky sauces so i added extra garlic and sugar. instead of 1t of sugar i added 1 1/2 T of white sugar and 1/2 T brown sugar. I also added the can of tomato paste as well as 1/4t of beef bouillon. i would have used beef broth instead of water but i didn’t have any. I also used about 1/2t dried basil instead of the fresh. it turned out pretty good but didn’t fulfill everything i was looking for in a sauce.

LOVED IT!!! And I couldn’t even follow the recipe right – had no tomatoes, so used 1 can tomato paste, no fresh basil, so used 1 tsp dried basil, no fresh garlic, so 1/4 tsp powdered, 1/2 c. water and salt & pepper to taste. Still….turned very YUMMY! Thank you!

Delicious! My husband -who doesn’t like tomato sauces that much -loved it. I added a hot pepper in to the sauce (because I love a little kick) and ended up actually serving it over pasta. I will definitly make it again.

This recipe was absolutely delicious. I too added one can of tomato paste just to give it some extra thickness for dipping. That was a great suggestion!! I will for sure make this recipe again!

Simmer uncovered to evaporate the water, but keep a close eye on it

I have used this recipe over and over again. My daughter has a food day at school and we make it and send with a loaf of french bread. I’ve also served it with shrimp and pasta. Many other possibilities also!

I omitted the water, and added a small can of tomato paste… I also doubled the recipe, and had to double the sugar–excellent! We had it with toasted raviloi.