The is The Best Marinara Sauce, it a homemade marinara sauce recipe come from a friend with an Italian mama! It's made with simple ingredients but it's the process that makes all the difference. This is the best pasta marinara sauce recipe.
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Simple Marinara Sauce Recipe:
This is the Best Marinara Sauce from scratch, it a homemade marinara sauce recipe come from a friend with an Italian mama! It's a recipe she's had in her family for years.
It's made with simple ingredients but it's the process that makes all the difference. It starts with caramelized onions, garlic, and then tomatoes and of course, Italian spices. This makes the best spaghetti with marinara sauce. Spicy Italian Meat balls are also a great addition!
By looking at the ingredients you wouldn't expect it to be that much better than another marinara recipe. For this recipe, it's all about the process! To begin, you're going to need to know a little bit about caramelizing onions.
If you're looking for some other amazing Italian Food Recipes, try this Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce, Chicken Pesto Pasta, Pull-Apart Garlic Bread, and Baked Penne Pasta with Meatballs.
What kind of onions are best to caramelize:
Any onion will caramelize. Use whatever you have on hand. Yellow onions are the easiest to caramelize and red onions are fun because of their deep color. They taste amazing on pizza and salad!
For this recipe, you are going to want to use white onions or yellow onions. They tend to caramelize the best and get that deep golden color.
Kenji López-Alt from Serious Eats found that adding a pinch of baking soda helps onions to caramelize much faster by raising their pH level. Add just a pinch of baking soda to your onions as they are caramelizing.
Why do onions caramelize?
If you really want to nerd out on this process, caramelizing onions is a reaction of breaking down larger sugars into single sugar molecules is what causes sautéed or caramelized onions to brown and develop a sweeter flavor.
By slowly cooking onions, it draws out their natural sweetness as the sugar in them caramelizes. The result is sweet, tender, dark-brown onions that enhance the taste of just about anything, from soups to meats. All you need is oil, onions and a little time.
How to caramelize onions:
You will start by peeling and chopping the onions. If you were to use the caramelized onions on a pizza, sandwich or a buddha bowl, you would want to slice them very thin. I want the caramelized onions to add to the thick and chunky marinara sauce so I chopped them for this recipe.
Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil or enough to coat the bottom of your pan. You could use half butter and half olive oil here but for the marinara, olive oil tastes the best. Heat the oil till it shimmers and add the onions.
Stir the onions so they are all coated in the oil. To get the deep, rich, golden hue, it will take about 20-30 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir the onions occasionally so they don't stick or burn on the bottom of the pan.
If your heat is too high, the onions will burn. Heat your pan over medium-low, then add your onions. Keep it on that temp for the whole process.
Tips for Making the Most Amazing Homemade Marinara Sauce:
- Be sure to take the time to caramelize the onions before you add the other ingredients. They should reach a golden brown, transparent, VERY soft consistency. This is the secret to this simple marinara sauce recipe!
- After you add the garlic, make sure it's golden too. Then you can add all your other ingredients.
- When it comes to this recipe, cooking it
- The longer, the better on this recipe. It can take some time to cook out the raw, tinny flavor of canned tomatoes, and to really develop that rustic depth of flavor in this pasta marinara sauce recipe.
- Frozen Diced Onions will suffice in a pinch if you don't have time to chop onions. In my desperation, I have also used Minced Dried Onions and Minced Garlic in a jar. And you know what? No one tasted the difference.
- San Marzano Tomatoes are STRONGLY recommended, but not necessary.
- Freezes very well.
- May be served with Spaghetti & Meatballs, Baked Chicken Parmesan, Classic Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna, Ravioli or Tortellini, Manicotti or Stuffed Shells, Chicken Marinara or as a dipping sauce for your favorite appetizers.
Ingredients in Homemade Marinara Sauce:
Onions: You can use white or yellow onions here. They both have a high sugar content and can caramelize nicley.
Garlic: Fresh is best but if you're in a pinch and need to use the jarred, minced garlic. That will work great too.
Olive oil: You will use this when caramelizing the onions. It will also give your marinara sauce a deep and rich flavor.
Crushed Tomatoes: For this marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes and specifically, San Marzano Tomatoes are STRONGLY recommended, but not necessary. I know they can be hard to find sometimes so just use the highest quality of tomatoes you can.
Diced Tomatoes: Using mostly crushed tomatoes and just a little diced tomatoes gives it that nice chunky consistency we all love in a marinara sauce.
Italian Seasoning: If you have an Italian blend of spices, use that. If not use equal parts of Parsley, Oregano, Basil.
Sugar: This will give it just the right amount of sweetness to your marinara sauce.
Garlic Salt: For just the right amount of flavor.
Garlic Powder: It seems like garlic overload but I promise, it's not. It's just so, so good.
Onion Powder: Use whatever you have on hand.
Salt and Pepper: Whatever you have on hand is great.
Baking Soda: This is used to lower the Ph of the marinara sauce. It also helps the onions caramelize.
How to Make The Best Marinara Sauce From Scratch:
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Peeling and chop the onions.
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Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil or enough to coat the bottom of your pan. Heat the oil till it shimmers and add the onions.
-
Stir the onions so they are all coated in the oil. To get the deep, rich, golden hue, it will take about 20 minutes to saute' the onions. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir the onions occasionally so they don't stick or burn on the bottom of the pan. Add a little water to the pan if the bottom of the pan gets too sticky.
- Continue to cook the onions until they are golden brown.
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Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic. Saute until the garlic is lightly golden too. (this will only take about a minute)
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Add the rest of the ingredients, the tomatoes, and spices, and simmer on low for a couple of hours stirring occasionally to make the best marinara sauce.
The Best Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 Large Onions, diced small
- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 4 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 2 28-oz Cans Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 14.5-oz Can Diced Tomatoes
- 1/4 Cup Italian Seasoning (or Parsley, Oregano, Basil)
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon Salt
- 1/2 Tablespoon Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
Instructions
- You will start by peeling and chopping the onions.
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil or enough to coat the bottom of your pan. Heat the oil till it shimmers and add the onions.
- Stir the onions so they are all coated in the oil. To get the deep, rich, golden hue, it will take about 20 minutes to saute' the onions. Turn the heat to medium low and stir the onions occasionally so they don't stick or burn on the bottom of the pan
- Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic. Saute until the garlic is golden too.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for a couple hours. Enjoy! Makes about 8 cups of incredible Marinara Sauce!
Video
Notes
Tips for Making the Most Amazing Homemade Marinara Sauce:
- Be sure to take the time to caramelize the onions before you add the other ingredients. They should reach a golden brown, transparent, VERY soft consistency. This is the secret to this simple marinara sauce recipe!
- After you add the garlic, make sure it's golden too. Then you can add all your other ingredients.
- When it comes to this recipe, cooking it
- The longer, the better on this recipe. It can take some time to cook out the raw, tinny flavor of canned tomatoes, and to really develop that rustic depth of flavor.
- Frozen Diced Onions will suffice in a pinch if you don't have time to chop onions. In my desperation, I have also used Minced Dried Onions and Minced Garlic in a jar. And you know what? No one tasted the difference.
- San Marzano Tomatoes are STRONGLY recommended, but not necessary.
- Freezes very well.
- May be served with Spaghetti & Meatballs, Chicken Cutlets, Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna, Ravioli or Tortellini, Manicotti or Stuffed Shells, Meatball Subs or as a dipping sauce for your favorite appetizers.
Nutrition
HERE ARE MORE OF THE BEST PASTA RECIPES:
Penne Pasta and Italian Meatball Bake
Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Bake
Slow Cooker Tortellini Pasta Bake
Easy Crockpot Lasagna with Ravioli
Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce
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The is The Best Marinara Sauce, it a homemade marinara sauce recipe come from a friend with an Italian mama! It's made with simple ingredients but it's the process that makes all the difference. This is the best pasta marinara sauce recipe.
Patricia
The recipe was easy but am wondering what size can of diced tomatoes (14 or 28oz)?
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Hi Patricia - we've updated the recipe to answer your question. We use 14.5-oz cans of diced tomatoes.
Nicole Busse
This will officially be my go-to marinara recipe! Thank you!
Kari
Soooooo goooooood. I used a bit less sugar. That was about it.
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So glad you enjoyed!
Michelle
Hi can you can this sauce and how long would it last in jars
Nancy Filfalt
I just watched the video and noticed that while the recipe lists a can of diced tomatoes you didn’t put any in the sauce you were making. My husband does not like any kind of chunky tomatoes in his sauce (but I’m very hesitant to omit anything in a recipe) so is it okay to leave them out without making any adjustments to recipe? I’m trying to learn how to cook better so I have a tendency to strictly follow recipes.
Nancy Filfalt
I just watched the video and noticed that while the recipe lists a can of diced tomatoes you didn’t put any in the sauce you were making. My husband does not like any kind of chunky tomatoes in his sauce (but I’m very hesitant to omit anything in a recipe) so is it okay to leave them out without making any adjustments to recipe? I’m trying to learn how to cook better so I have a tendency to strictly follow recipes.
Shurdell Williams
Thank you for this recipe. I made this today. OMG My family love it. This will be the family favorite. I don’t think I will be buying jar sauce anymore. It is so delicious.
Robin
I just made this and it is amazing!! This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you for posting it!
anthony
Sugar is never used in tomato sauce.
The acid is still in the pot.
Just cut gashes in carrot. Put carrot in sauce while cooking.
Then throw the carrot in the trash because it's full of tomato acid.
Acid is not in the sauce.
Natalie
Anthony, sorry, but you are incorrect. Every professional chef I have watched, will put a small amount of sugar in all tomato based sauces..just saying...
Linda
What size can of diced tomatoes ?