Description
This Marinara Sauce Recipe is an easy and versatile sauce that is made with only a handful of ingredients. Serve it over pasta, or it makes a great base for many other recipes!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4–6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 (28 oz each) cans San Marzano tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the garlic and cook for 30-45 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in the tomato sauce and let it cook for another minute.
- Pour in the tomatoes and the juices. Stir in the basil, salt, and red pepper.
- Let the sauce cook over medium heat, breaking up the tomatoes as it cook.
- Let the sauce simmer until you reach your desired consistency. The sauce will be thicker and have a more concentrated flavor the longer you cook it. I have cooked it as short as 30 minutes, or as long as 4 hours. It is great at 30 minutes, but the flavor will deepen if you can let it cook longer.
- If you’d like a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender to blend to your desired consistency.
- Taste, and if needed, stir in the sugar.
Recipe Notes:
Recipe cook time and total time is calculated with a 2 hour cook time.
SUBSTITUTIONS: San Marzano tomatoes will make a superior sauce. Other tomatoes can be substituted, but the flavor will not be quite the same. I also find that the sugar is more of a necessity when using other canned tomatoes.
Don’t have fresh basil? You can use 1 tablespoon of dried basil.
FREEZE: This sauce freezes well. Let the sauce cool completely, then transfer to freezer safe gallon or quart sized ziplock bags or freezer safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
STORE: Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 79
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 193 mg
- Fat: 3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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