With just 5 main ingredients and a handful of spices from your kitchen, you can have a bright and lively homemade Marinara Sauce that will delight your tastebuds! Use my go-to recipe for this quintessential Italian tomato sauce on pasta, pizza or as a dipping sauce.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 8
  • Category: Condiment
  • Cuisine: American, Italian

Ingredients

  • 1 kilogram (12 to 13 medium to large) tomatoes (- chopped)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup (100 grams) onions (- finely chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons (5 large) garlic cloves (- finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup red wine (or white wine)
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil)
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 to 1.5 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano)
  • ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (or add as per taste, use pink salt or regular salt as needed)
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
  • 1 cup water (or add as required)
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar (or add as required, use granulated white sugar or brown sugar instead)

Method

Blend Tomatoes

  1. Rinse a few times with fresh water. Drain all the water and chop the tomatoes roughly.
  2. Place the tomatoes in a blender.
  3. Blend tomatoes but do not make a smooth purée. The consistency will be slightly chunky like that of a semi-coarse or semi-fine puree.

Sauté Aromatics

  1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan or pot on low to medium-low heat.
  2. Add the finely chopped onions and garlic.
  3. Mix and sauté both the onions and garlic on low to medium-low heat.
  4. Stirring often sauté until onions caramelize or become golden.
  5. Add red wine or white wine to deglaze the pan. Be sure to scrape up any browned bits that stuck to the bottom! Simmer until the wine evaporates.
  6. Add the chunky tomato puree.
  7. Season with dried basil, dried oregano, red chilli flakes, sea salt (or add according to taste) and freshly crushed black pepper.

Make Marinara Sauce

  1. Add 1 cup water and mix very well. Cover the pan.
  2. Simmer for 40 to 45 minutes on a low to medium-low heat, stirring and checking occasionally.
  3. When the sauce has thickened to a flowing, medium-thick consistency, turn off the heat.
  4. Lastly, add the raw sugar or add according to taste to temper the acidity of the marinara.
  5. Mix well and simmer for a minute. Check the seasonings and add more salt or herbs if needed.

Storage Suggestions

  1. Spoon the marinara sauce in clean or sterilized glass jars. When cooled to room temperature, refrigerate.
  2. The sauce will stay good for about 10 days in the refrigerator and for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.