Marinara Sauce

  4.5 – 150 reviews  • Sauces

This recipe comes from a family and is typically served in the summer when basil is in season.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  2. 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  3. 1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  4. ½ cup red wine
  5. ½ cup water
  6. 1 teaspoon salt
  7. 1 teaspoon white sugar
  8. 6 leaves fresh basil leaves, torn

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over low heat and saute garlic for about 2 minutes; be careful not to burn. Just as the garlic begins to turn brown, remove pan from heat. Allow pan to cool, and add tomatoes, wine, water, salt and sugar. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Reviews

David Reed
I’m not a big fan of marinara but checked this out to go over my chicken parm. Yumm! I did put a little less salt and simmered it for about 1 1/2 hours so it was a bit thicker. This is my “go to” for chicken parm! Thanks!
Holly Williams
Added 8oz tomotoe paste to thicken up sauce. Eveyone loved the sauce.
Dr. David Powell
Very good sauce, but I did alter it slightly. Used 1 tbs of evo, and sauteed fresh garlic and onion then added to tomatoes in blender and pureed. Added the wine, 3 tbs tomato paste, sweetener and a bit of Italian seasoning and 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper. Browned meat and added sauce and simmered together for 15-20 mins.
David Briggs
First time making homemade marina sauce. I have looked at many recipes and most do add onion, bay leaves, oregano, and fresh basil in addition to the olive oil and fresh garlic. But I was so impressed with the bold flavor of this simple marina sauce recipe because of the wine. I did need to cook the sauce longer to evaporate the alcohol and thicken the sauce. I added the parsley, and some oregano, basil, and pepper flakes since I like a zing to pasta sauce. Great basic recipe. It’s a keeper. The next time I make it, I will use less olive oil, add sauteed onion and carrots, fresh basil and oregano, and bay leaf with a pinch of pepper flakes. I might add celery or green peppers, but then it gets very time-consuming and that might change the flavor. I’m not thrilled about the idea of adding tomato paste since I think it loses its “fresh” garden-to-table taste. Sometimes, simple is perfect. A great recipe to start off with. Thank you for sharing.
Benjamin Mcguire
We make this in huge batches and love it!
Trevor Cobb
Very good and pretty quick. I used one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes plus one 15oz can of tomato sauce. I first sautéed 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 small and chopped onion. Added a pinch of salt. Then lowered the heat and added home roasted garlic; about 1 clove. Then added the canned tomatoes, dried oregano, garlic powder, 1 bay leaf, another pinch of salt-black pepper and sugar. And couple of splashes of Cab wine. Brought it all to a very slow boil. Then added a couple of squirts of tomato paste. I use the paste in a tube rather then the small can bc I usually toss 1/2 the can. I let it simmer for 1 1/2 hours. I kinda miss adding the Italian sausage and such but trying to make more meatless meals. THEN, I came across Meatless Meatballs (Chef John) MUSHROOMS! Full of vitamin D plus a lil fiber. Prepared the mushroom mixture but haven’t cooked yet. Good reviews though. The marinara sauce is very good.
Mitchell Kirk
Great stuff for an easy quick sauce. I used fire roasted Hunts tomatoes and an extra 1/2 tips of sugar. It’s an excellent recipe. Then I made it next night for Turkey Meat Loaf
Julie Johnson
I could have a done something more sauce a litte on the runny side, otherwise it was good!
Jennifer Smith
It’s good for a base, but I added more to make it better like oregano, thyme, onion, & used fresh tomatoes with 1-2 tsp of tomato paste instead of canned tomato.
Jane Armstrong
It was an ok version of a marinara sauce. Too runny for our use. I added two tbls of worchestire sauce, 1 tsp of sugar and a can of tomato paste. That really helped. Next time I will use a less strong red wine as well.
Randy Hobbs
Very good and easy to make. I omitted the wine and added tomato paste and just a touch of oregano. The show family loved it.
Matthew Lawson
Easy and very good! My family loved it. I did double the recipe and froze the leftovers. Per other reviews, I used less olive oil, added 1 can of tomato paste and simmered for an hour.
Matthew Smith
This is easy and so tasty! I seasoned with dried herbs but will circle back to try with fresh basil when it’s in season. Used more garlic than it called for but everything as is! Delicious!
Christine Shannon
Made this marinara sauce to use in Chef John’s American Goulash recipe. I used a can of italian seasoned diced tomatoes blended in a food processor. Was so good!
Kimberly Smith
meh. it was okay. seems like it lacked some flavor. my family wasn’t thrilled.
Douglas Smith
Nice, flavorful sauce. I made it with a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and doubled all other ingredients except the water. Even with less water, it was a very thin sauce so next time I’ll omit and add some tomato paste. The wine gives it a nice flavor and it’s good and garlicky!!! 🙂
Daniel Gutierrez
Great recipe, made as written. I really can’t stand how every recipe on this website has thousands of comments and every person decides to list how they changed the recipe and THEN how it turned it. Helloooo if you changed it- then it’s NOT the same recipe and the review is void and null- which means it messes it up for everyone because every review on this website is inaccurate. Jeez. Nonetheless I made this- and every recipe- as listed and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Patrick Obrien
Didn’t have any wine, so I made it with one cup of beef broth and it was delicious!
Michael Williams
I’m giving it a 4 for being a wonderful framework. I tweaked this a bit to fit my personal preferences. Upped the garlic to three cloves, added a 1/4 cup of onion and 1/4 cup of romano cheese. This is the best start I’ve seen so far! It’s super easy to make and easy to customize to your family’s preferences.
John Thomas
This was quick and easy with ingredients I had on hand.
Diane Collins
Turned out great

 

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