Super Simple Marinara Sauce
This marinara sauce recipe is the best! It's so easy to make with just 5 basic ingredients and 45 minutes on the stove. No chopping required! This healthy homemade marinara will become your family's favorite.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Meet the marinara sauce recipe of my dreams! Iโve always been intimidated by marinara, maybe because I love it so much that I was afraid of messing it up. I finally faced my fears and tried making marinara every which way. This version is my favorite, no contest.
This homemade marinara sauce offers rich and lively tomato flavor. Youโll need only five basic pantry ingredients to make this delicious marinara sauce: good canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, dried oregano and olive oil. Thatโs it!
This marinara is exceptionally easy to make, too, so itโs perfect for busy weeknights. You donโt even have to chop the onion and garlic. Yep, thatโs rightโjust crank open a can of tomatoes, halve an onion and peel some garlic. Youโre ready to go!
This sauce offers lovely, authentic Italian flavor after a 45-minute simmer. I tried to take shortcuts to make it even faster, but no amount of tomato paste, spices, salt or sugar will make up for lost time.
Bottom line: Itโs impossible to achieve enchanting, long-simmered marinara flavor in under 45 minutes. So throw those ingredients in a pot, pour yourself a glass of wine and boil water for pasta. Dinner is almost ready.
After trying many variations on marinara sauce, I adapted this recipe from Debโs tomato sauce with onion and butter, which was originally sourced from Marcella Hazanโs 1992 cookbook, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
I love that tomato sauce, but it doesnโt pass for marinara since itโs missing herbs, garlic and olive oil. So, I added dried oregano and two whole cloves of garlic (which youโll smash against the side of the pan at the end).
I traded a reasonable amount of olive oil for the butter (you really donโt need to use a ton of olive oil here for rich flavor). I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little kick, but those are optional.
Why is this the best marinara sauce?
Six reasons to love this recipe:
- This marinara sauce recipe requires 5 basic ingredients and yields rich, authentic marinara flavor.
- Itโs super easy to makeโno chopping required.
- Unlike most store-bought sauces, this marinara is free of added sugar.
- You can load up your pasta with as much of this wholesome sauce as youโd like. Tomatoes are good for you!
- The recipe yields two cups of sauce and freezes well, so you might as well double the recipe. Just cook it in a bigger pot.
- This marinara also makes an incredible pizza sauce. I made pizza with it and my friend remarked that it tastes like real-deal Italian pizza.
Please let me know in the comments how you like this sauce! Itโs a new staple in my kitchen, and I hope it becomes a go-to recipe for you as well.
Craving more classic Italian recipes? Donโt miss these:
- Basil Pesto
- Vegetable Lasagna
- Hearty Spaghetti with Lentils & Marinara Sauce
- Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
- Classic Minestrone Soup
- Italian Chopped Salad
Watch How to Make Marinara Sauce
Super Simple Marinara Sauce
This marinara sauce recipe is the best! Youโll only need 5 basic ingredients, and itโs so easy to make. No chopping required! Recipe yields 2 cups sauce (enough for 8 to 16 ounces pasta, depending on how saucy you like it); double if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 large can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes*
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, omit if sensitive to spice)
- Salt, to taste (if necessary)
- Optional, for serving: Cooked pasta, grated Parmesan cheese or vegan Parmesan, chopped fresh basil, additional olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the tomatoes (with their juices), halved onion, garlic cloves, olive oil, oregano and red pepper flakes (if using).
- Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of oil float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, and use a sturdy wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes against the side of the pot after the sauce has cooked for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and discard the onion. Smash the garlic cloves against the side of the pot with a fork, then stir the smashed garlic into the sauce. Do the same with any tiny onion pieces you might find. Use the wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes to your liking (you can blend this sauce smooth with an immersion blender or stand blender, if desired).
- Add salt, to taste (the tomatoes are already pretty salty, so you might just need a pinch). Serve warm.ย This sauce keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. Freeze it for up to 6 months.
Notes
*Tomato note:ย Using high quality tomatoes is key here. I recommend Muir Glen tomatoes. Theyโre organic and the cans are BPA-free.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I made your sauce with some Cherokee purple tomatoes that we canned last summer, it was simply amazing, Cherokee purples are the only tomatoes I now grow, they have so much more flavor and are a indeterminate variety so they will ripen throughout the summer. You should try them. I also live in kansas
I wondered how good it would be considering how easy the recipe is. I am pleasantly surprised! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Thank you!
Wonderful, Dani! Thank you for your review.
If i dont have olive oil can i use vegetable oil? Or would butter be better?
Hi Stephanie, I prefer olive oil. I would suggest vegetable oil instead of butter here.
Thank you! Also would you reccomend trying this in a crockpot?
Hi! I like this best on the stove top. I guess you could make it in the crock pot too, if you could get it to simmer. Let me know if you try it!
Super good kids love it
Me too and wife can you imagine
You know, this happens to me all the time. I find a recipe that claims โthe best and last recipe you will ever needโ. Ok, so I make these recipes using great ingredients. When done I sometimes open a jar or can of the same but store bought.
The store bought sauces always tasts betterโฆincluding this recipe. Sad but true. Btw, I used canned san marzano tomatoes (DOP).
I suggest if you want to say โthe best recipeโ, that you-all need to pop open a jar from the store and do a taste test first.
I have made this recipe once before and we absolutely love it! I am making it again tonight. I learned to cook marinara sauce from an authentic italian woman who used a very similar recipe to this. The only difference is she cooked hers longer. Both taste the sameโฆamazing!! Great recipe!!
โauthentic Italian womanโ. LOL
Hi Bob, I think youโll find the store-bought sauces taste โbetterโ because sugars & preservatives are added; when they say โherbs & spicesโ, all sorts of things are added. If you wanted a deeper flavour, I would recommend putting the sauce over a super low and leaving it for a few hours & added vegetable stock if it becomes too thick.
The thing about taste is, โthe bestโ often means more of what you are used to. So yeah, this may not be the best youโve had compared to what a massive machine makes in massive batches, but this is a very typical marinara sauce recipe. The only thing I added to it was 2-4 cups of vegetable/chicken stock (usually depends on what I have), an equal amount of basil (to the oregano), and a tablespoon of sugar.
This, as the page title states, is a โsimple marinara recipeโ, whatever you add for *your* taste is up to you. Recipes are made to be modified.
I often look at 4-6 recipes for anything Iโm not sure how to make to figure out what makes sense for me. Then I adjust as needed the next time I make it.
Comparing food you made, based on someone elseโs recipe, to โstore boughtโ is simply masochistic, in my opinion. But, everything you said just says to me that you need to adjust what you learned from this recipe the *next* time you make marinara sauce to get what you are happy with.
In other words, your best marinara ainโt my best marinara, and our best ainโt Bobโs best. When youโre the cook, the end result, good or bad, is on you.
Well put, Craig! I couldnโt agree with you more. Everyoneโs taste buds are different. Not everyone likes the same taste of things. I am looking forward to using this recipe and I may eventually do a little tweaking on it myself to suit my taste.
Bob, I really dislike every marinara I have bought that is in a jar. They have sugar and taste sweet and I donโt like it. What Marinara are you buying that is so amazing. I could save myself some work if it doesnโt have sugar in it.
What a jerk you are Bob! Iโm guessing youโre a single man?
Thee best sauce Iโve made ever! I added some carrots and celery to mine and left the onions in when using the immersion blender. My boys said always make the sauce like this. Its definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Jennifer.
I am a marinara sauce fanatic. I have tried countless recipes over decades looking for the perfect sauce. It mattered not how complicated it was, Iโve been on a singular quest.
And the treasure has been found in your sauce.
WoW!
I almost didnโt even try it as it was so almost ridiculously easy. I thought thereโd be no way it could rival other recipes, let alone be the best marinara sauce Iโve ever had in my life.
But it IS! The Best Marinara Sauce in the World.
You are a genius.
And I am profoundly grateful I can stop my search and simply dump a bunch of stuff into a pot and let it simmer, lol!
Thank you!!!!!
xoxo
Sara
Just left my 5-star review!
I do have one question on the recipe.
What happens if you continue to let the sauce simmer longer than 45-60 minutes?
Say, 75 minutes?
90 minutes?
2 hours?
Does the taste evolve positivelyโฆ.or devolve?
Thank you!
Hi Sara, I find that 45 minutes is the sweet spot. Otherwise, it may start to taste too cooked. If that makes sense?
Have you tried doing this in an instant pot/pressure cooker instead of on stove top? Any difference in quality/time suggestions?
Hi Selene! I havenโt, but find the simmering long on the stove is really what give this its delicious flavor.
Itโs a nice recipe, Kate. Thank you.
I think it wouldnโt turn out quite the same in a pressure cooker because losing some of the water is all important in getting the right consistency. In a pressure cooker, that doesnโt happen, so although it might taste perfectly OK it would likely be much thinner.
People might have a similar issue if they use a crockpot. It could work, but maybe have the lid odd or open slightly to let it reduce.
Roast the garlic first a bit also saute the onion in oil with roasted garlic I find it gives a bit more umph to it
I like that idea! Thank you for your review.
This recipe is so easy and so delicious. I about doubled the amount of garlic and used a mixture of fresh and canned chopped tomatoes (because it was what I had on hand) and will definitely be making this again.
Oh yes this is it! Simple enough my toddler can help me make it and I can walk away from it. I made this tonight and enjoyed it the following way: I browned some spiralized zuchinni (zoodles) in a pan with olive oil and some red pepper flakes. Put it in a pretty bowl with your luscious sauce, some sheepโs feta cheese, cut basil, cracked black pepper and a little olive oil. It was roll your eyes good.
Thanks for this, iโve added it to my meal prep recipes.
THIS WAS GOOD! I used fresh baby plum tomatoes, didnโt fish out the onion but blitzed it in. Simple marinara is so underrated this was the one of the simplest best thing I have eaten during the lockdown!
How much fresh tomatoes did you use?
This was excellent. I made some to go with a penne with vegetables recipe from Food Network. Thank you!
Hi can I use fresh tomatoes instead ? And if so how many / weight ?
Hi Sneha! I havenโt tried. I generally think that canned tomatoes offer greater depth of flavor for stews, but you might love the end result. Iโd use about 28 ounces (roughly 800 grams) ripe, juicy red tomatoes. Iโd chop them first and include all of their juices. Let me know if you give it a try!
Hi Sneha, Yeah yo can I hav tried it with 10-12 tomatoes โ 1 tomato sauce (canned tomato) โ 1 onion โ 2 garlic cloves minced โ salt & pepper to taste
I made this last week to put on my gnocchi and it was absolutely delicious! And so easy. Iโm going to make it again today for my spaghetti. Thanks for sharing!
This is the second time Iโm making this recipe. I love it on gnocchi and spaghetti! And itโs so easy!
Iโm happy you love it, Tonya! Thank you for your review.
Iโve made this recipe numerous times. Love it, love it, love it! Sometimes I blend in the onion, sometimes not, sometimes add more herbs. Makes great pizza sauce, too!
It looks yummy. I will definitely try this.
Can i use fresh tomatoes instead of the canned one?
Thank you and more power
Hi Remy!I havenโt tried. I generally think that canned tomatoes offer greater depth of flavor for stews, but you might love the end result. Iโd use about 28 ounces (roughly 800 grams) ripe, juicy red tomatoes. Iโd chop them first and include all of their juices. Let me know if you give it a try!
Hello, Kate!
I have a quick questionโฆ As I was browsing several of your recipes, I noticed that I love how easy you make it for your readers to scale a recipe 1, 2 or 3 times! Hereโs the question. Iโm cooking for 1 and wanted to knowโฆ Would you be able to have another โquick clickโ button to decrease the recipe to 1/2 or 1/3? I have quite the time trying to halve and third recipes that often produce way more than I can use in a short time and I have limited fridge and freezer space.
Hopefully, this will be something that you might possibly be able to do, as Iโve just found your site. Iโm planning my meals/menu for the upcoming week and I am LOVING the recipes that I see! Just looking at the ingredients, I can tell that the finished products will have sooo much flavor! I also love that you provide ideas for multiple variations as we all have different tastes and, sometimes, we can use that little nudge toward greater creativity!
Look forward to hearing from you,
T.
Hi T! Great question and idea. I wish I could say yes and it would be that simple as I know cooking for one can be hard with quantity. It wouldnโt necessarily work across all recipes as some wouldnโt necessarily work as well scaled down โ primarily baked goods etc. I hope you enjoy some recipes!
Dear T, I too cook for one but always make this amount of marinara, portion it into 4 or 5 servings, and freeze what I donโt plan to use right away. Itโs just right for 1 LB. of pasta. You can add meatballs if you like or cook up some sausage and peppers. Youโll always have a comforting meal in the time it takes to cook the pasta!
Do you think this would work as a base for pizza?
Yes! I think this could work well. Let me know what you think!
Does leaving the onions in make it an entirely different sauce then? Iโd have a hard time throwing it away! Haha!
No, it doesnโt taste much different with or without, since most of the onion flavor has transferred over by the end of cooking! You can definitely chop up the onion at the end and put it back in.
Have made this several times, always works really well, I now chop the onion and leave it in.
Turned out awesome
I did add some of my fresh basil from my garden and zucchini
YUMMY
Super Duper
Iโm not much of a spaghetti sauce person; I love the rich taste of tomatoes. So this marinara is awesome tasting & quick to make.
Thanks for sharing !!!
Carol
Tasteless sauce, not for me.
Is it possible to home can this Marinara Sauce. Iโm looking to make a large quantity and share with our church community.
Amazing of course my five year old said heโs having thirds and asked me to cook this every night
Thatโs amazing! Thank you for sharing, Jess.
Hi Kate , I use this recipe all the time , especially in a vegan lasagne . We are not vegans , just like the recipe The recipe tells you to use jars of marinara sauce but I tried this and have been using it ever since .
I love it! Thanks for letting me know, Deanna. I appreciate your review.
Made the shell pasta recipe using this tasty sauce is truly delicious . Thank you so much . Love your recipes
This sauce had been in my freezer since January 2019. I had it last week with capellini, and it was fabulous. I shouldnโt have waited so long! Will make again and again โ thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Karen!
If you think store bought sauces are better then home made,your taste buds are gone.
Just as the name implies, this marinara sauce recipe really was super simple, and extremely tasty too! I used this recipe in another recipe, Shrimp Marinara Soup with Crumbled Feta (Cooking Light), which requires 2 cups of marinara sauce, and it made that recipe extra delicious. Thank you for creating such an easy, fast marinara sauce recipe!
I love marinara but never thought I could make it myself. I grow my own Genovese basil and added it, Genovese basil is so fragrant and delicious, lucky I can grow it year-round here in Florida. This sauce is so delicious!!
I made this sauce yesterday for the first time. We had spaghetti for dinner tonight this marinara sauce was excellent! Iโve printed the recipe for my book itโs a keeper. Thank you for sharing
This sauce is sooo good!!! I had a ton of tomatoes from our garden and was looking for a recipe I could make that used a large number of them.
This recipe is so simple and the taste was excellent.
Thank you! I will be making this again and again :)
Hi Patti,
Did you peel your tomatoes, or just dice them? I too have a garden full of ripe tomatoes and thought this might be an excellent way to use them
I used fresh tomatoes :) This recipe is fantastic- itโs a nice, clean tasting marinara. Perfect balance and you are able to taste all ingredients.
Because I used fresh tomatoes, I would recommend removing some of the liquid just so you can reduce the simmer timeโฆ I made a triple batch and ending up boiling it down for 2 hours, I didnโt remove any of the onion and blended it slightly for a smoother sauce. I also blanched the tomatoes prior, to remove the skin, and removed the seeds.
Finally, I canned this recipe to have it on hand for the rest of the year.
When using fresh garden tomatoes, try roasting them in the oven 1st. It imparts such a sweet, concentrated flavor. I cut them in half, removing as many seeds and juice as possible (straining into a bowl so that the juice can be added back later), place skin side up on a enamel or glass trap (with at least a 1โณ rim), and bake at 350 until you see the skin starting to brown. Remove from the oven and cool briefly so that you can remove the skins easily. Throw into a sauce pot, along with the juices you removed before roasting. The strainer removes the seeds and the roasting makes it easy to remove the skins before cooking your sauce. I do this now when I can tomatoes because the resulting sauce is so much more concentrated and sweet!
I canโt wait to try this sauce! Iโve never been able to make a good spaghetti sauce. Iโve got everything I need and going to start it now! Thanks for posting!
Hi Kate.
Doing this tonight to have with eggplant, spinach, ricotta etc Lasagna.
Sounds delicious! Simple great sauce, traditional way.
Just wondering why you donโt chop onion and cook, instead of discarding? Will do it your way though.
Hi Shane! I hope you love it. I like this with flavor it adds while cooking and didnโt love the result with onion in it. If you try it, let me know what you think!
How can marinara sauce contain no seafood?
Hi! In parts of the world, marinara is served withe sea food. Personally, I like to serve mine with vegetables and pasta. You can serve it how ever you like. I hope you enjoy it!
Hi Kate,
Absolutely fantastic tomato/marinara sauce!!!! Yes the marinara v tomato sauce description rages across kitchens world wide.
I now agree totally with you re the onion. Did half your way, discard onion and half with diced cooked onion. Yours better and I used too cook for a living!
Just need quality tinned tomatoes and you get no better. Thank you!!!
Fantastic with my eggplant, spinach, ricotta etc lasagna. Recipe I found on internet that is incredibly delicious.
is it okay if i use pureed tomatoes in this recipe?
Hi! Whole peeled works best. I tested it several times to get it just right.
Thanks for the recipe idea! Looks easy.
Do you recommend using San Marzono style tomatoes?
Hi Will! I really prefer Muir Glen tomatoes.
This Marinara sauce is delicious! It Will be our go to recipe going forward. Easy and flavorful with so few ingredients.
Very good and easy to make! Most pre-made marinara has too much sugar. Your recipe is a tasty โ low sugar option.
Can this recipe be canned for storage?
Hi Julia! This isnโt meant for canning, but I believe it could be frozen ok.
Kate โ Iโve been making your recipes for years, but never left a comment. This marinara sauce is outstanding and really the best Iโve ever had. My husband says the house smells like an osteria after Iโve made a batch of this. I do add 15-20 fresh basil leaves to this but otherwise, I follow your recipe exactly. Thanks! This recipe gets a lot of use in my house.
Hi :)
I didnโt peel them. I cut them into big chunks and then picked out most of the peel as it loosened, using tongs. It really wasnโt a bad way to do it :)
I also squeezed them a bit in my hands to get rid of some of the seeds. We donโt mind some seeds though so I wasnโt 100% thorough with that.
Patti
Just made this fragrant delicious marinara for a zucchini lasagna. Just used an immersion blender at end onion and all with hefty โpinchโ of red pepper flakes. I canโt wait to try it in the lasagna which Iโm making with Melissa Clarkโs homemade ricotta. The recipes from the two of you have always been delicious! Thank you!
Just made this fragrant delicious marinara for a zucchini lasagna. Just used an immersion blender at end onion and all with hefty โpinchโ of red pepper flakes. I canโt wait to try it in the zucchini lasagna which Iโm making with Melissa Clarkโs homemade ricotta. The recipes from the two of you have always been delicious! Thank you!
This is now my only go-to recipe for marinara sauce! Could it be any easier? Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Youโre welcome Leslie, I appreciate it!