This homemade marinara sauce is full of robust flavor with fresh tomatoes and Italian herbs!
Yield: Approximately 2 cups
If you love pizza and pasta as much as we do, then a delicious marinara sauce is always needed. Making a homemade marinara sauce is easy and pretty straightforward, making it perfect for busy weeknight dinners!
I like to double or triple the recipe and store it in the freezer for extra busy weeknights. This Homemade Marinara Sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
How do we enjoy this Homemade Marinara Sauce? Meatball Sub Sandwiches and Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers are two of our quick-dinner favorites. Both recipes freeze beautifully which make them perfect for freezer meal prep! We also use this sauce on homemade pizza dough for a fun and easy lunch.
For this Homemade Marinara Sauce recipe, you will need:
Tomatoes
Fresh, paste tomatoes are best for this sauce. It can seem a little daunting because there are a couple of extra steps, but it's so worth the effort! If you just really need to cut down on the time, you can substitute 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes.
Red Cooking Wine
A good quality red wine will help give the sauce a slight sweetness that counteracts the acidity from the tomatoes. I typically have a Cabernet Sauvignon on hand for cooking. If you prefer to not use wine or just don’t have any, you can substitute with beef or chicken broth. You can also substitute red wine with a mixture of red wine vinegar and water. You’ll need about ½ cup each.
Onions and Garlic
I love cooking with fresh onions and garlic. They give such a fantastic umami flavor and a sweetness that pairs beautifully with the acidity of the tomatoes.
Basil and Oregano
I love growing Oregano in our backyard garden. It's so easy and is very low maintenance. Oregano offers a warm, pungent flavor and basil offers a sweet and fragrant aroma. Both of which enhance the overall flavor of the tomato sauce.
Salt and Pepper
Two simple, budget-friendly ingredients that offer so much to whatever you put them in. We have added a couple of sweet components to this sauce and now we need to add some saltiness and savoriness to help balance everything out.
How to Make Homemade Marinara Sauce
You'll need to start by preparing the tomatoes for cooking. Prepare a large bowl with cold water and a couple of cups of ice. Set aside. Fill a large saucepan about halfway full of water. Bring the water to a hard boil. Carefully, add the tomatoes to the boiling water and process for about 20 to 30 seconds. The skins of the tomatoes should begin to wrinkle and peel away from the flesh. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and quickly place into the prepared ice water. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove any remaining skins. Then, remove the core with a knife. To remove the seeds, you can use a food strainer or by using a spoon to scrape the seeds out.
When the tomatoes are ready, add them to a stainless-steel stockpot and simmer over low heat for approximately 3 minutes.
Next, add in the red cooking wine, herbs, and spices. Continue to simmer over low heat for approximately 15 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, carefully pulse the sauce to desired consistency. A countertop blender will also work for this process.
Serve immediately or store sauce in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
8-10 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, cored, and seeded
¼ cup red cooking wine
½ cup onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon Italian oregano
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Add prepared tomatoes to a stainless-steel stockpot and simmer over low heat for approximately 3 minutes.
Carefully add in red cooking wine, herbs, and spices.
Cover and continue to simmer over low heat for approximately 15 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, carefully pulse the sauce to desired consistency.
Serve over noodles, meatballs, or as a dip for mozzarella sticks!
If you made this Homemade Marinara Recipe let us know how it turned out by leaving a comment below!
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