| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | about 2 quarts |
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, peeled, halved and diced
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled, halved and cut into thin slices
- 2 to 3 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
- Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 4 cups water, divided, plus more as needed
- 1 cup basil leaves, washed
- Freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, the garlic, red pepper flakes, and sugar and season with salt, to taste. Stir in the carrots and reseason with salt. Cook for about 2 minutes, and then add canned tomatoes. Use a wooden spoon to break up some of the whole tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, about 20 minutes. If at any point the veggies or the sauce is getting dry, add some water. Continue cooking another 10 minutes, and then taste for seasoning. The tomatoes should be fairly broken down and the flavors coming together. Cook an additional 10 minutes. The sauce cooks about as long as it takes to make the meatballs from start to finish, about 45 minutes. Stir in the basil leaves and season with Parmesan.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 32 servings |
| Calories | 32 |
| Total Fat | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 4 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 228 mg |
Reviews
To Angjmitt – it sounds like you’re doing a FODMAP program. I followed that for a long time too and it’s hard. I leaned into a whole food eating style instead of fighting with sauces. But! I made the Garlic Oil that the program recommended (and still do years later!) and you can use green onion tops too. The recipe isn’t a 1 star, but for a frustrated cook, I can identify with the struggle.
Looking forward to another great Alex recipe! Sounds like a good old fashioned marinara.
American and Italian cooks use onion and garlic as a huge crutch– they are in EVERY dish. I and many others cannot eat onion and garlic, thus cannot eat 99.9% of restaurant and prepared grocery sauces/meals. Consider branching out. This recipe was tremendously basic. If you’re cooking in your kitchen and have read 1 pasta recipe you should have already known how to make this pasta.
I usually love recipes by Alex but this one isn’t a favorite. Not wild about the carrots and pepper flakes were a bit much. Texture was a bit chunky. But, I’m still a fan of her creations!
can some one explain adding water to this? that doesn’t seem to make sense to me..
This sauce has incredible flavor. I first tried a version of it with Alex’s veal parm recipe. Today I made meatballs and used this sauce recipe. I don’t remember adding carrots the last time, but they work. Also, you don’t need any added herbs other than the fresh basil. The sauce will seem a little watery, but it will cook down. This is my “go-to” marinara.
I have made this recipe several times, once as printed, once with meatballs, and once I added some ground beef. It is so good. I can only add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes or my kids complain (I did two last time and it was too much kick for them), but I love the kick. I will continue to add a little more each time. Such a great recipe, hands down my favorite marinara recipe!
I made this as written accept for that i used a bunch of tomatoes from my garden in addition to the 2 cans of plum tomatoes. The fresh tomatoes had a lot of liquid after I blanched, peeled and crushed them by hand so I didn’t need all the water in the recipe. Other than that all I did was add a rind of parm cheese I had in the freezer and a few bay leaves and let it simmer for a few hours. I think the carrots are a great addition and help keep the acidity at bay. I also like how simple it is. There’s no oregano or Italian seasoning and I like that about it. It makes it more versatile and I think it keeps it from being bitter. This will be my go to recipe from now on!
I made this recipe with a couple minor tweaks. I added 1/4 cup chicken bone broth, added a Fresno chili (no seeds) instead of the red pepper flakes and then blended it to finish. The recipe base is great. My wife, kid and I all finished our plates.
I’ve made this twice now. With so many tomatoes coming out of the garden, this recipe is perfect to use them in! Thank you to Alex for sharing it with us!