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! I’ve 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. You’ll need only five basic pantry ingredients to make this delicious marinara sauce: good canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, dried oregano and olive oil. That’s it!
This marinara is exceptionally easy to make, too, so it’s perfect for busy weeknights. You don’t even have to chop the onion and garlic. Yep, that’s right—just crank open a can of tomatoes, halve an onion and peel some garlic. You’re 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: It’s 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 Deb’s tomato sauce with onion and butter, which was originally sourced from Marcella Hazan’s 1992 cookbook, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
I love that tomato sauce, but it doesn’t pass for marinara since it’s missing herbs, garlic and olive oil. So, I added dried oregano and two whole cloves of garlic (which you’ll smash against the side of the pan at the end).
I traded a reasonable amount of olive oil for the butter (you really don’t 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.
- It’s super easy to make—no 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 you’d 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! It’s a new staple in my kitchen, and I hope it becomes a go-to recipe for you as well.
Craving more classic Italian recipes? Don’t 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! You’ll only need 5 basic ingredients, and it’s 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. This sauce keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. Freeze it for up to 6 months.
Notes
*Tomato note: Using high quality tomatoes is key here. I recommend Muir Glen tomatoes. They’re 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 nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I just made this sauce and was really looking forward to it after reading all the glowing reviews, and I’m generally a big Cookie+Kate fan. Unfortunately, this recipe fell flat for me. The sauce was really bland at the end (and I added three cloves of garlic instead of two). It kind of tasted like I expedited – simmered tomatoes. I had to add way more than a pinch of salt at the end, as well as some pepper and a bit of balsamic vinegar for extra depth.
This sauce is amazing!!! I added carrots and broccoli and basil, too.
Has anybody tried to freeze this sauce? If so, how does it hold up?
Hi Laura! This sauce should freeze well. Be sure to let me know what you think when you do.
I did freeze this, it froze well. I put it in a freezer bag and laid it flat. I have to make a LOT more to have any leftover to freeze, it is SO good!
I’ve been making sauce for 40 years and this is my go-to marinara sauce now! It is the best ever. I drop meatballs (pork and beef) in it; use it for all pastas; I usually finish the pasta dishes with parmesan from Italy and freshly chopped basil. I use San Marzano (DOP) tomatoes from the hills of Mt. Vesuvius which I am able to buy online; for folks who have trouble with acid, they are great.
In the middle of my dinner thought I had the needed jar of marinara sauce only to find I didn’t. This marinara recipe saved the day. Not only was it super easy, but it taste better than the stuff that comes in a jar!
Wonderful, Paula! I’m very happy to hear that.
Could you make this with fresh tomatoes? I have a ton from my garden I am looking to turn into sauce and can it for the winter.
Hi Stephanie, Hi Sneha! I haven’t tried. I generally think that canned tomatoes offer greater depth of flavor, but you might love the end result. I’d use about 28 ounces (roughly 800 grams) ripe, juicy red tomatoes. I’d chop them first and include all of their juices. Let me know if you give it a try!
Hi Kate,
Your sauce sound delicious. I make large amounts of marinara every summer with tomatoes from my garden. My sauce always has a quite acidic bite to it. I do put some sugar in mine, but try to limit the amount. It also has olive oil, but not much of that. I’m making 25 lbs of tomatoes at a time, and cook down to about half the original amount. Any suggestions. thanks, Patti
Tried this today and it was awesome! Will definitely be making this regularly instead of always buying from the local fresh pasta place. Also much more economical. Thank you so much!
Made it, turned out pretty good. Loved it. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I am so glad I found this recipe!! I have been meat and herb prepping all day and then my husband decided he wanted spaghetti and meatballs I really don’t have time to make my meat sauce so I decided a good marinara would work really well, I needed a sauce that is one pan ready I had too much going on in this kitchen and your sauce did not disappoint!
I am so excited to find this recipe. I have been wondering why I buy pasta sauce? Couldn’t I just make my own. Can’t wait to try another one of your fantastic recipes.
I wondered what determines how think the marinara becomes. What would I do if I wanted to make the sauce either thicker or thinner?
Hi Julie! The longer you cook the sauce, the thicker it becomes as the water evaporates. So you could hypothetically adjust the cooking time to make it thinner (less time) or thicker (more time), but I wouldn’t cook it less than instructed if you want the best flavor. If you’re tossing this marinara with pasta, you can thin it with some of the pasta cooking water instead!
This isn’t for Christmas Day, but every day… I despise the homogeniousness of jar sauce. This was wonderful!
Wonderful to hear you love it, Holly! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve never made marinara before, but I just made this recipe twice – once last night and once this afternoon! Game changer. So easy and delicious. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
You’re welcome, Katie! I’m glad you have made this one twice already.
How many cups of sauce does this make?
Hi Kris! It says about the ingredients listing, but it equals two cups.
Hi, when making this sauce do I use a whole onion or just 1 halve?.
Hi! Just a half of an onion. I hope that helps.
Wow, I loved this! I made this sauce to serve with homemade meatballs on a bed of baked sweet potato, and WOW – my new favourite meal!!
This has such a good flavor and is so easy… cheap marinara from the store is ruined for me now, haha. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Stephanie.
This is very close to my marinara recipe, except I also add Basil from my garden and some fresh parsley as well, and definitely leave the onions in, gives some texture. Thanks for sharing yours with us.
Hi Kate,
I’m making this as we speak! The 45 minutes are up, but the sauce is still extremely watery.
I doubled the recipe — should I simmer longer?
Help!
Hi! Did you break up the clumps of the tomatoes? You can simmer a little longer. What size of pot did you use?
So grateful to have found this recipe! Super simple but added a lot to our Italian night. We love onions, so when I pulled out the onion halves with all the garlic and tomato flavor infused I just saved them and we used them as a quick side to other leftovers during the week. Definitely adding this to my recipe rotation.
I used sweet tomatoes instead of yellow ones and it tasted great i just had to use a lot of salt.
I used sweet onions instead of yellow ones and it tasted great i just had to use a lot of salt.
I’ve been searching for a good simple marinara recipe for years, and I finally found it! I was able to use what I had on hand, canned diced tomatoes and frozen yellow onion slices. I don’t like chunks in my sauce so I used my immersion blender, and just blended most of the onion into the sauce. Didn’t need to add any salt at all, but I did pop in some dried basil because BASIL IS AWESOME. Because I left the onion in and blended it, it came out a slightly pinkish salmon color. It looked natural to me, but I knew hubby would be put off, so I snuck in a bit of red food coloring … worked like a charm! Tastes so fresh and light, and made a fantastic chicken parmesan.
Going to try this tonight with your Baked Ziti recipe! The thing I love most about your recipes is that its always using things I have around in my house! It’s great!
Thank you, Meka!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve made it several times already – it’s a perfect solution to a surplus of tomatoes.
My question – when I was picking up the canned whole tomatoes from the grocery store, diced tomatoes were on a significant sale. I bought the regular priced whole tomatoes, as I know you spend time crafting your recipes, so I don’t want to tinker. Can you share the reasoning, so I can understand better? I do put the sauce through a blender at the end, as I want the smooth consistency. Thanks!
Love this simple sauce – I love that I just made it again and froze it, I know I will be using it soon for one of your other wonderful creations (lentil meatballs coming up). I’ve always wanted to make a tomato sauce from scratch.
Hi Anita! I find that the different types of canned tomatoes have different flavors as a result of what type they are. I hope that helps!
It bothers me that you have to discard the onion :( Otherwise, great recipe!
Hi Luna, Sorry to disappoint. I know others have used it and didn’t mind the result. This is just the best way to get the best flavor and texture.
Tried the recipe and it was great! I diced the onion instead of discarding it. Thank you!
This was delicious and so simple! Despite making homemade food all the time, I haven’t tackled homemade tomato sauce and felt intimidated by it, but this is super doable. I used this as an excuse to use up half a large red onion I had in the fridge and used fire-roasted Muir Glen tomatoes, and it turned out really well.
Hello! Will this recipe still turn out okay if you used diced tomatoes? Would love to avoid a shopping crowd at the moment and this is all I have! (not the best quality of tomatoes but common store brand) Thoughts?
Hi Venus, I am really not sure! Theoretically, yes, I think that should work. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Whoa! I roasted the onion after pulling it from the sauce, @425 F for around 30-40 minutes (until carmelized on bottom, then 3-4 minutes low broil), cut apart, sprinkle salt & pepper & drizzle with balsamic vinegar- oh la la!!!
I like your simplistic ideas for this sauce-because if sauce cannot be made right with the few essential ingredients why would it become right with a ton of herbs and spices an you name it including wines added etc.Going to make it soon but it sounds right by the amount and type of ingredients you use!.
(Its a case of more is sometimes less…what i mean is you can load your sauce with all kinds of stuff, and so by doing that kill the original/authentic tomato taste…thats a SIN!…not only towards the tomato flavour/taste but also towards real Italian food that likes simple! Capish)
I was introduced to this by my Italian friend, have loved it since nice.
Made this with some tomatoes from my garden that I had frozen whole. Ran under hot water and the skins slid right off. It turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe..it’s a keeper for sure!
Very simple, easy recipe, especially if you have more labor intensive parts of the meal you can do while it simmers. I used our own canned tomatoes from this past summer. Came out very bright and fresh tasting, a welcome thing on such a cold, snowy day.
Thank you for your review, Andrew! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Very nice subtle flavors of onions, garlic,oregano, red pepper flakes and tomatoes with 45 mins of simmering. Did I mention those were the only ingredients?
Made this last night and it was AMAZING. I have tried so many different recipes and none of them were that great so I am so glad I found this one, and it was so easy!
Thank you
Thank you, Sandy! I appreciate your review.
Thank you. I always have a problem getting the proportions right to get the right taste. I reduce it down further if I make them for pizza sauce vs tomato paste on the pizza.
Its nice and simple especially for young kids. Mine rejects the other sauces with mest etc that I make.
For the person who complained that a bottle sauce is better? Did they check ingredients as in additives/ preservatives and sodium? I don’t like bottled sauces for that reason. I do basic puttanesca and carbonara the traditional Italian way. It tastes heaps better than all those bottled versions. And the aalt man…. that sodium levels in bottled sauces. And restaurant dishes. Salt, salt, salt!!
Can I use diced tomatoes
Your Cauliflower and Carrot soups have become a signature of mine. They are truly restaurant quality. I do all kinds of topping from green onions to candied walnuts. The butter and blender make the soups like velvet. I love your website. Thank you!!!!!!
This was so easy to make and had incredible flavor. I had a couple of tablespoons of leftover tomato paste and sauteed that before I added all the other ingredients. It was so easy – foolproof, but good enough for a dinner party (when it’s safe again). Thanks for this great recipe!
To double recipe do you double onions as well?
Hi Kelly! Yes, you will want to double everything.
This recipe was so easy to make and my kids loved it!! Never buying jar sauce again
Thank you!
Hooray! I’m glad they all loved it.
Best marinara sauce my husband and I have ever had, hands down. I added a touch of the starchy water from the cooked noodles and wooow it really clings perfectly to the spaghetti. This is officially our new sauce recipe.
Hooray! I’m happy you both love it. Thank you for your review, Sasha.
Wow. Just wow. Thank you for the very easy and very tasty recipe. I did “poach” 2 smallish onions in the sauce and remove most of them at the end. I may leave them in and give the whole thing a whizz with the immersion blender next time. Used good quality canned whole Italian plum tomatoes. Served with linguine and moms homemade meatballs. I am doubling or tripling it next time!
I’m delighted you loved it and were able to make additions you enjoyed!
I learned how to make chicken fettuccine for my wife when she was injured and I was cooking meals for us. I was asking what else and to my delight, she said red sauce. I read your recipe and was delighted that it didn’t seem to be full of bs. It absolutely delivers exactly what you said. Took me a few times to find the chicken alfredo, but I am done here. I am a big fan.. Thanks so much.
Thank you! I’m glad it was just what you were looking for Rick.
First time ever making Marinara Sauce… Omgoodness it was a HUGE hit with the family. Made air fryer Mozzarella sticks and used this as dipping sauce. Thank you for the great recipe!
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Judy.
Love this! I used a jar of homemade canned tomatoes so i ended up adding tomato paste just to thicken it up. But his was amazing, I love knowing exactly what I’m eating to stay ad healthy as possible. Perfect for homemade pasta as you can start this and let it simmer while you’re making noodles :)
I make this all of the time. I have adjusted the recipe a bit. I add a little sugar just to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. I leave the onions in and puree it all with my emersion blender. It’s much better than any jarred sauce.
I have tried numerous marinara recipes, even the Marcella Hazan version, and I have to write that this recipe is my favorite right now. From the minute I started adding the herbs and it started to simmer, my kitchen was enveloped with the rich smells of these simple ingredients melding together. I tend to like a chunky marinara so that was a plus, but I would definitely thin it out if needed using my immersion blender. I removed the onion, but did not want to discard it as it had absorbed all those wonderful flavors — so I saved it and added it to my lunch. Thanks very much for sharing what is for sure my new go-to marinara recipe :)
Yes! Go-to recipe, I love it. Thank you for sharing, Marty.
This sauce is terrific! I was so excited that I had to call my mom and tell her about it:)
Hooray! Thank you for commenting and sharing it, Rebecca.
OMG, this is do delicious.
I think I’ll be using this recipe from now on…
OMG, this is so delicious.
I think I’ll be using this recipe from now on…
Great to hear, Laura! Thank you for your review.
I added basil along with the oregano. After I simmered it for over an hour, I removed the onion and then added chicken Italian sausage. It was delicious! I don’t think I’ll want to go back to jar sauce again!