Homemade Marinara Sauce

This Homemade Marinara Sauce is made with fresh tomatoes and Italian spices.  This is the best Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe because it includes fresh ingredients and it’s simple to make.  For those who want to know How to Make Homemade Marinara Sauce, you’ll find it isn’t any great mystery, just great ingredients and a little time.

Why We Love This Recipe

• Easy to make. Let me be clear when I say that this sauce is “easy to make”. It does take some time to make this recipe but it’s not a hard recipe to follow and doesn’t require any uncommon ingredients. However, I consider a good red sauce something worthy of the time spent if you want to know how to make this sauce the right way.
• Great taste. When you make a Homemade Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes it’s truly worth the time spent and the difference between anything store-bought is noticeable instantly. For this recipe I use Roma tomatoes that have aged a few days and are now juicy. I use a generous amount of garlic and Italian spices, both fresh and dried. I love using the food mill to thin out the sauce of any tomato skin clumps; it makes the sauce silky smooth. The taste of this sauce isn’t muted like some I’ve tried; you never want someone to taste what you’ve made and have them say “Oh, did you make this from scratch?” This will taste restaurant quality if you put in the time!
• Healthy. This recipe is packed with fresh tomatoes and garlic which are a great source of vitamins and promote heart health.
  • Tomatoes are a great source of potassium which is beneficial for blood pressure and heart health (1).
  • Garlic is beneficial in lowering blood pressure (2).

Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe

• Olive oil
• Red onion
• Garlic
• Roma tomatoes
• Tomato paste
• Salt
• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Agave
• Fresh basil
• Fresh oregano

How To Make Homemade Marinara Sauce

1. Sauté onions. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Brown the onions slightly, add garlic, and dried spices.
2. Tomatoes. Pour in tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and simmer.
3. Agave. Stir in the agave and salt
4. Food mill. Strain the mixture through the mill.
5. Fresh herbs. Pour the sauce back into the pot, add fresh herbs and cook for an additional few minutes.

Variations

• If you like a thicker sauce, feel free to add more tomato paste
• You can also choose not to strain the sauce through the food mill if you like a denser sauce. I’ve tried it without the food mill and it’s an enjoyable sauce this way as well.
• If you enjoy a thinner sauce, you can either add in a half cup of vegetable broth or dial it back on the tomato paste.
• Add more or less sugar depending on your preference. Some prefer more sugar to tone down the brightness of the tomato.
• More garlic. You’re working with 20 tomatoes here so you could easily add more garlic if you (like me) love garlic.
• Remove the fresh herbs before serving. You can add in whole leaves of herbs and then remove them before serving if you prefer a cleaner sauce. You won’t miss out on any flavor since the herbs will be infused throughout the sauce.

Top Tips

• If you choose to add in whole herb leaves and then remove them, crush (bruise) the leaves between your index finger and thumb before cooking them in the sauce. This will aid in releasing some of the oils before adding them to the sauce.

Looking For More Vegan Italian Recipes?

If you enjoyed our Homemade Marinara Sauce, please check out these Vegan Italian Recipes.

• Ribollita Soup
• Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce
• Garlic Oil
• Pasta Primavera
• Vegan Pizza
• Beans in Tomato Sauce
• Vegan Mac and Cheese

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Yield: 12 1/2 cup servings

HOMEMADE MARINARA SAUCE

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Wondering How to Make Homemade Marinara Sauce? It’s not a mystery, fresh tomatoes and time make this The Best Sauce Recipe!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 Red onions
• 8 Cloves of garlic, minced
• 20 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 (6 oz.) Cans of tomato paste
• 1 1/4 Teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 Teaspoons dried basil
• 2 Teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 Teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 Teaspoon agave
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onions until slightly browned. Add garlic and brown slightly. Add dried basil, dried oregano, thyme, and pepper. Sauté briefly.
2. Add tomatoes and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, or until thickened.
3. Stir in agave and salt.
4. Strain sauce through food mill and pour back into the pot.
5. Add in fresh basil and oregano and simmer for additional 5 minutes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 92Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 142mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g