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After retesting this Homemade Marinara Sauce, I can confidently say it’s the BEST! You can make it in 15 minutes, but letting it simmer makes the flavors even better!
A Reader’s Review
“The sweetness to this marinara was perfect! Thank you for the recipe! I’ve been looking for a good, simple, quick pasta sauce for my kids and this was exactly what I needed. Others I’ve made have been too bitter or sour. I made your recipe exactly as is and we love it. Thanks!”
How I Made This Marinara Even Better!
I love hearing your feedback, so when there’s a way to improve a recipe, I’ve got to retest it!
- Less Sugar, More Control: The sauce naturally sweetens over time, so I cut the sugar from 1 tablespoon to 2 teaspoons. Adjust to taste!
- Stewed Tomatoes = More Depth: They add richness but also extra sodium and sometimes sugar, which can affect flavor.
- San Marzano Tomatoes for the Best Flavor: Fewer additives, lower sodium, and a super smooth blend. They’re pricier but give you full control over seasoning. I still like a pinch of salt and sugar for balance.
This marinara just got even better, and I can’t wait for you to try it!
Ingredients Needed
Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe
Forget the store bought stuff and make this sauce in less than 15 minutes. If any of your favorite Italian recipes call for red sauce, this is seriously the way to go.
- Sauté: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil and onions, then saute until tender.
- Add: In a food processor or blender, add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar.
- Blend: Pulse until smooth.
- Cook On the Stove: Add pureed sauce to the onions in the saucepan, then stir in the chicken broth. Sauté for 10 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Ways to Use Homemade Marinara
There are so many recipes that call for marinara sauce. This marinara recipe can be used in all of them!
Storing Leftovers
This is a great sauce to make a double or triple batch and save some for later. Here are the instructions for how to safely store it.
- Fridge: Store your homemade marinara in a jar or airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Freezer: This sauce freezes beautifully! Pour cooled sauce into freezer safe ziplock bags, lay them flat, and pop them in the freezer. It’ll keep for up to 6 months and saves so much space! Just thaw and reheat it when you’re ready!
***Don’t try canning it: Since this recipe doesn’t have enough acidity to be safely water-bath canned, freezing is your best bet!
More Homemade Sauce Recipes to Try
All the best Italian sauces are made from scratch. But that doesn’t mean they have to be difficult to make! Try this easy homemade alfredo sauce, or this creamy Tuscan garlic sauce next!
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Easiest Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small diced yellow onion
- 2 (15-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar or more to taste
- ½ cup chicken broth or water
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 small diced yellow onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until tender.
- In a food processor or blender, add 2 (15-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and 2 teaspoons granulated sugar.
- Pulse until smooth.
- Add the blended mixture to the onions in the saucepan and add ½ cup chicken broth or water. Sauté for 10 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Everyone puts sugar in their red sauces to compensate for the acidic contents of some tomatoes,here’s a trick taught to me by my mother and grandmother,put a pinch of baking soda in your sauce,and stir it in,the sauce will like ‘foam up’,let it cook for a minute or two more,then taste it,it will taste different because the acid is neutralized,you may need to add another small pinch ,always use pinches to do this…..just give it a try …you’ll like your sauces like never before…thank you mom and grandma!!!!
The sauce is too sweet. I recommend cutting down the sugar. It did however come out great aside from the sugar issue.
One tip I recommend is to try San Marzano tomatoes, they make all the difference!
Do you know if you can water bath can this recipe with fresh tomatoes?
I will definitely try your homemade marinara. But I believe the secret is the quality of the tomatoes and paste cans. So which one do you use or recommend. I have no idea which brand has less acidity than the other.
Thank you
Sam
I love this blog! It is always inspiring!
I’ve never used stewed tomatoes in making a marinara sauce. Interesting. Stewed tomatoes already contain other ingredients such as cane sugar, onions, celery, peppers, other unknown spices, and citric acid. I prefer to control the ingredients, sugar content, and type of sugar I consume. (I use Lakanto monk fruit sweetener most of the time, for instance.)
In my marinara, I either use home canned or fresh tomatoes that I’ve processed—but since it does not take very long after a growing season for them to disappear from storage, store bought canned tomatoes are the next best thing. I try to use a really good brand of crushed tomatoes when making marinara—they tend to be naturally sweeter (less acidic) requiring less “sugar” to be added.
San Marzano tomatoes (not San Marzano “style”) are the best of the best, but they are extremely pricy. A good quality can of crushed tomato will do. Most brands under the store’s own label are higher acidity tomatoes, but if money’s tight, of course they will work.
Better ingredients do produce a profoundly better sauce. The quality of the sauce desired depends on how one will use the sauce. If it’s the main attraction to the dish, higher quality ingredients are preferred. If it’s going into a recipe like “Million Dollar Spaghetti,” it probably will make less of a difference. ?
1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning is WAAAAY to MUCH! Did someone make a typo or is it just me?
Haven’t tried this yet but will. Do you like a certain brand of stewed tomatoes?
I think any brand works great!
The sweetness to this marinara was perfect! Thank you for the recipe! I’ve been looking for a good, simple, quick pasta sauce for my kids and this was exactly what I needed. Others I’ve made have been too bitter or sour. I made your recipe exactly as is and we love it. Thanks!
I’d leave out the chicken broth, salt and sugar. Instead ADD a pat of butter (very important), a tablespoon of lemon juice, and either beer or a nice red wine (either work well). If you think the tomatoes are acidic just add a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, but usually not necessary. For variety, I love sliced mushrooms added at the end.
Tried the red wine etc from your recipe & added celery near end was amazing. Thank you for a great recipe .A winner here in New Zealand
Tried this recipe and it was very good. I actually used 1 & 1/2
TBSP itialian seasoning & really loved it. Thanks
Can this be canned for later use like in the winter that would be great. Make a large pot and then can it so u can use it whenever u want. I would appreciate any help u can give to me
Thanks
Merry
Can this recipe be canned?
I have not tried canning it just yet. Let me know how it turns out!
Anything can be canned..put in hot sterilized jars. The do a boil bath to seal the jars
To safely can this you would need to leave out the olive oil and you would need to add some kind of acid to it to safely get the ph above 4.5. Either a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.