How to Make the Best Homemade Marinara Sauce
This. Sauce. This marinara sauce is guaranteed to make your house smell like an Italian grandmother moved in and started cooking for you.
This recipe for marinara sauce includes a bit of red wine, garlic, onions, crushed red pepper, Italian herbs, and plenty of fresh basil and parsley. The sauce requires only about 15 minutes of hands-on time, but should simmer for at least 2 hours, even longer if you wish.
I know of no better way to draw my family (and probably at least a couple of my neighbors) to the dinner table than with a big pot of this marinara sauce simmering away on the stovetop. It will make your house smell so, sooooo good.
It’s incredibly rich and thick, and packed with flavor that’s both complex and comforting. While a long simmer is highly recommended, making this homemade marinara sauce is super simple.
How to Make Homemade Marinara Sauce
Simply add some onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, sugar, salt, and pepper to the bowl of a food processor, and process it into a paste.
Cook the herbs and vegetables in some olive oil to release all their flavors and soften the garlic and onion. Then add some of the crushed tomatoes, cooking them down until they are rich and concentrated before adding some red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and and more crushed tomatoes.
Let the sauce simmer away happily on the stovetop for about an hour until it looks like this….
Dishes that use Homemade Marinara Sauce:
- Extra Cheesy Ricotta Stuffed Shells
- Indian Shrimp and Rice
- Eggplant and/or Chicken Parmesan
- Homemade Pizza
- Meatball Sandwiches
- Homemade Meatballs and Marinara
- The {BEST} Classic Lasagna with Italian Sausage
- Chachouka (North African tomato and pepper stew)
Useful for this recipe:
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.
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Perfect Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1-2 hours
- Total Time: About 2 hours
- Yield: 11 cups of sauce
Ingredients
- 2 large yellow onions, peeled and cut into quarters
- 12 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 4 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1 - 2 tsp crushed red pepper (depending on how spicy you want your sauce to be)
- 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt (more to taste)
- 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper (more to taste)
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Four 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes (I like to use fire roasted tomatoes)
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¾ cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, sugar, salt, and pepper to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse until the ingredients form a paste.
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion mixture to the hot oil and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
- Add one of the cans of crushed tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and darkened in color – 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in the wine, the rest of the crushed tomatoes, and the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and cook, partially covered to avoid splatters, over medium low heat for an 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Stir in the fresh parsley and basil.
What Red wine do you recommend for the sauce?
Hi Amy! I usually use a Chianti, but any dry red wine will do. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to hear how the sauce comes out for you! xo
Homemade marinara sauce is SO much better than jarred sauce and I love how uncomplicated it really is to make. This sounds incredibly delicious.
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Can you use fresh tomatoes instead?
Hi there! You could use fresh tomatoes, but plan on cooking the sauce longer to concentrate the flavors and allow the extra water time to evaporate. But, honestly, my favorite sauce using fresh tomatoes is actually this Roasted Tomato Sauce. Both methods will work, but I find that roasting fresh tomatoes intensifies their flavor more than cooking them down on the stovetop. Does that help? Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to hear what you think of either recipe if you try it. xo
I am planning to can marinara sauce tomorrow and I know it’s to late to be asking but I wish you had a recipe of this for that. I’m thinking I could multiply the ingredients. I love your website so much!
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Hi Laura! I am so happy you like the site! ♥️ This marinara can easily be canned. Make sure to sterilize jars and lids and then fill the jars while the sauce is hot, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of space at the top of the jar. Process the jars in boiling water for at least 45 minutes. I usually set the jars upside down on a kitchen towel after removing them from the boiling water. This may, or may not, be necessary... but it "might" help the jars seal. I figure, if it might help, why not? I hope this helps! Please let me now if you have any other questions! xo
How do I substitute dried basil for fresh basil? It’s winter here and my fresh basil is long gone. Your recipe sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it!!
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Hi Beth! Great question. You have a couple of options. You can leave the fresh basil out entirely - the sauce is perfectly delicious without it. Or, you can add some dried basil along with the Italian Seasoning - I'd add about a teaspoon. Or, sometime supermarkets will have "basil paste" - fresh basil that's concentrated and in a tube. It's usually in the produce section in the same area where they stock small containers of fresh herbs. If you're using the paste, add about a tablespoon, taste, and add more if you like. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to know what you think of this sauce after you make it. xo
Thanks so much for the suggestions! They are very helpful!! Getting ready to make my first batch. I’ll be sure to let you know what I think!! Thanks again!!
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I've been using this recipe for over a year and just love it! Thank you for sharing. I used to buy jar sauce but now, my family can tell the difference and requests this.
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Hi Carole! I'm so happy to hear that you and your family likes this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. I truly appreciate it! xo