This five-ingredient marinara sauce is everything you need on cold winter days, or days when you just want to feel cozy and comforted! It's simple, fail-proof, comes together in one pan, and is made with only five pantry staple ingredients that you probably have on hand already.
Did you know that insanely delicious homemade marinara sauce doesn't always require fresh tomatoes? Nope-when those comforting Italian food cravings hit, all you need is a few pantry staples and canned tomatoes! Simplify dinnertime and enjoy the homemade flavor and aroma of this fail-proof, five-ingredient marinara sauce that can be used for anything from pasta with 30-minute baked chicken meatballs, to our house favorite Greek pita pizza recipe. Let's make this sauce!
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Key Ingredients & Notes
Below are the pantry staple ingredients you need to make this delicious, quick and easy marinara sauce at home! There are five core ingredients, and of course some salt and pepper to enhance flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sweet onion
- Garlic
- Canned crushed tomatoes
- Italian seasonings
Substitutions & Variations
- Texture - For a chunkier marinara, leave the sauce as is after you simmer. To make it smooth, blend it up! I love using an immersion blender because it saves me from dirtying up a food processor or blender, but all three work wonderfully.
- Herbs - You can use fresh herbs instead of dried herbs in this recipe. Fresh basil, oregano, and parsley are all delicious.
- Spicy - Add some red pepper flakes to spice up the sauce.
- Tomatoes - I recommend canned crushed tomatoes because they have an amazing texture for marinara sauce, but you can use what you have on hand! For whole peeled tomatoes, either pour them into a bowl and crush with your hands first, or pour them into the pan and squash with the back of a spoon as they cook. Canned diced tomatoes are more watery, so you may want to blend the finished sauce.
- Tomato paste - Tomato paste adds a wonderful depth of flavor to any dish. If desired, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to the garlic and onions after they have softened. Allow it to cook for a couple more minutes, and then add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
Let's Make Homemade Marinara
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, then sauté onions and garlic for a few minutes until soft and translucent. Add a pinch of salt.
Step 2: Add in tomatoes, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 3: After 30 minutes, taste test the sauce and add salt to taste. Remove from heat and blend if desired, or serve as is!
Hint: I recommend using canned crushed tomatoes for this marinara recipe! Canned diced tomatoes are more watery, whereas canned crushed tomatoes are a bit thicker right out of the can. That said, what you have on hand will be delicious! You can always use a blender to get your desired texture.
Suggested Uses
Use this marinara in any recipe where you'd use a jar of store bought marinara sauce! Here are some ideas:
- Toss with your favorite pasta dish.
- Dip garlic bread or breadsticks.
- Spread on your favorite pizza crust.
- Poach an egg in the marinara.
Marinara Sauce FAQs
What's the difference between spaghetti sauce and marinara?
Spaghetti sauce, otherwise known as "red" or tomato sauce, typically has more ingredients and simmers for longer to become reduced and thicker. Marinara is a quicker-cooking, simple sauce that's known to be somewhat thinner or looser than spaghetti sauce. Many people use them interchangeably, but marinara's lightness makes it a great complement to pizza or pasta dishes, as it lets all the other flavors shine through.
Sure can! 30 minutes is all you need, but feel free to let it simmer on low heat for up to an hour.
While this would technically work, sautéing the onions and garlic in olive oil first releases all their amazing flavors, which yields the most flavorful marinara.
If you have leftover sauce or want to make it ahead for the week, allow it to cool completely before storing in an airtight jar or container in the fridge. When you're ready to use, simply use it as you would a jar of store bought marinara. Marinara sauce can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and use the next day for a delicious pasta dinner.
Related
If it wasn't obvious, we are huge fans of healthy sauce recipes and tomatoes! Here are some other delicious blended sauces and related recipes you can try:
Did you make this recipe homemade marinara sauce? Don't forget to leave a star rating 🌟 and comment below, and tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so I can see what you made!
Print📖 Recipe
Five-Ingredient Marinara Sauce
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Description
This five-ingredient marinara sauce is exactly what you need to stay warm, nourished, and cozy on cold wintery or rainy days! Made with pantry staples and makes your kitchen smell amazing. Use in any pasta dish calling for marinara sauce.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion (yellow or sweet), diced small
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons dried Italian herbs
- 1 tsp each salt + pepper
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Instructions
- Sauté aromatics. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet. Add garlic and onion to the skillet and sauté until translucent and softened, about five minutes. As they soften, add a pinch of salt to season.
- Tomatoes & spices. Add tomatoes, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
- Serve. After 30 minutes, taste test the marinara and add salt to taste. Remove from heat and either serve immediately on pasta or in desired dish, or blend first for a smoother sauce.
Notes
- Mincing garlic. If you know you're going to blend your sauce, it's okay to slice garlic or roughly chop before sautéing. For leaving the sauce chunkier, I highly recommend mincing garlic! You can either do this with a knife or, to make it SUPER easy, I'm obsessed with using a microplane. Simply peel the garlic and grate it on the fine blade for perfectly minced garlic.
- Herbs & spices. You can definitely used fresh herbs for this if you have access to them! Finely chop some basil, oregano, thyme, parsley or any other fresh Italian herbs and add them to the sauce.
- Tomatoes. I think crushed tomatoes are the perfect texture for this quick marinara sauce, but canned diced or whole peeled tomatoes would work as well. Diced tomatoes have a more watery liquid so I recommend blending the sauce at the end. For whole peeled tomatoes, empty them into a bowl and squish/crush with clean hands before adding them to the skillet.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: About ½ cup
- Calories: 141
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 635.9 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.9 g
- Fiber: 3.7 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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