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    You are here: Home / Sauces & Dressings / Marinara Sauce

    LAST UPDATED: April 27, 2022 • FIRST PUBLISHED: June 21, 2019

    Marinara Sauce

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Marinara Sauce

    Homemade marinara sauce is easier than you think! Made with juicy tomatoes, red wine, garlic, and herbs — once you try this recipe you'll never buy the jarred stuff again. 

    Pot of Marinara Sauce with a Bunch of Basil on the Side

    I'm not big on jarred pasta sauces. That's not to say that I never buy them, but when I do, I don't tend to feel very good about it.

    My family was pretty serious about their tomato sauce when I was growing up — I don't think I ever even ate the jarred stuff before college. Also, marinara sauce was one of my favorite things to cook when I was a kid. I was totally grossed out by the idea of cooking meat, even before going vegetarian, and a homemade pasta dinner was something I could handle that my family and I would both enjoy.

    Marinara Sauce Ingredients

    Wooden Spoon Filled with Homemade Marinara Sauce

    Traditional marinara sauce is pretty simple and consists just tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and basil.

    My version isn't exactly traditional. I add a few extras to kick the flavor up a notch. Here's what you'll need:

    • Olive oil. Just like in traditional versions.
    • Onion. Not so traditional, but I like the depth of flavor that it adds.
    • Garlic. Don't be stingy here. I use four cloves, but feel free to add more if you're a serious garlic fiend!
    • Red wine. This makes for an extra rich and intensely flavored sauce.
    • Tomatoes. Duh.
    • Sugar. Just a tiny bit, to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
    • Spices. Dried oregano, fresh basil, and some red pepper flakes for kick, if you like.

    How to Make Marinara Sauce

    Homemade marinara sauce is super easy!

    Start by sweating some onion in olive oil. Give it about five minutes to soften up before adding your garlic. Cook the garlic for just about a minute, until the aroma begins to hit you.

    Next, add your wine. Bring it to a simmer and let it cook until it reduces by about half.

    Stir in your tomatoes — both crushed and diced, along with the sugar, oregano and red pepper flakes if you're using them. Bring everything to a simmer and let it cook for about 30 minutes, until it thickens up nicely.

    Collage Showing Steps for Making Marinara Sauce: Cook Garlic and Onions, Add Wine, Add Tomatoes and Spices, Simmer and Stir in Basil

    When the sauce has finished cooking, take the pot off of the heat and stir in your basil, along with salt and pepper to taste.

    Hand Stirring a Pot of Homemade Marinara Sauce

    Marinara Sauce FAQ & Tips

    • Your marinara sauce will keep in the fridge for about 5 days.
    • Homemade marinara sauce is super freezer-friendly. Just portion it out into storage containers or mason jars (leaving some room for expansion) before freezing.
    • Is this marinara sauce gluten-free? It sure is!
    • I don't cook with refined sugar. Can I leave it out? You can, but you might find the sauce to be a bit too tart. Feel free to substitute your favorite natural sweetener, such as maple syrup. You can also experiment with adding a touch of pureed sweet veggies like carrots or sweet potatoes.
    • I don't cook with alcohol? Is there a substitute for the wine? Just leave it out and skip right over step 4 of the recipe.
    • Assuming you do include the wine, check with Barnivore to ensure the variety you choose is vegan.
    • Need some serving ideas? Use your sauce in a batch of eggplant Parm, for dipping, or just ladle it over some pasta.

    Pot of Marinara Sauce with Wooden Spoon Perched on Top

    Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!

    Pot of Marinara Sauce with a Bunch of Basil on the Side
    4.8 from 5 votes
    Print

    Marinara Sauce

    Homemade marinara sauce is easier than you think! Made with juicy tomatoes, red wine, garlic, and herbs — once you try this recipe you'll never buy the jarred stuff again.

    Course Sauce
    Cuisine Italian
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 35 minutes
    Total Time 45 minutes
    Servings 12
    Calories 64 kcal
    Author Alissa

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • ½ cup dry red wine
    • 2 (14 ounce or 400 ml) cans crushed tomatoes
    • 2 (14 ounce or 400 ml) cans diced tomatoes
    • 1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • Pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
    • ½ cup chopped fresh basil
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.

    2. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook it for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

    3. Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

    4. Add the wine and bring it to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow the wine to simmer for about 5 minutes, until reduced by about half.

    5. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, oregano and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a simmer.

    6. Lower the heat and allow the sauce to cook at a low simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches your desired level of thickness.

    7. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

    8. Serve.

    Nutrition Facts
    Marinara Sauce
    Amount Per Serving (0.5 cup)
    Calories 64 Calories from Fat 22
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 2.4g4%
    Saturated Fat 0.3g2%
    Sodium 194mg8%
    Potassium 33mg1%
    Carbohydrates 8.2g3%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 4.8g5%
    Calcium 20mg2%
    Iron 0.7mg4%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

     

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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Julius Brown says

      August 23, 2014 at 2:13 pm

      I'm looking for a marinara sauce to put on a pizza. I think I'm gonna use this one. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        August 24, 2014 at 10:07 am

        This would go really nicely on pizza. Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
      • Helen moore says

        August 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

        Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of tinned?
        I have a glut of tomatoes!

        Reply
        • Alissa Saenz says

          August 23, 2020 at 4:51 pm

          Sure! I'd just blanch and peel them first.

          Reply
    2. Jody Wadle says

      September 07, 2018 at 3:34 pm

      Be sure to get vegan wine. Regular wine is not.

      Reply
    3. Annette Barnes says

      June 22, 2019 at 4:05 am

      5 stars
      I was looking for a nice, simple but tasty tomato sauce for my lasagne and this seemed to hit the mark. I made this sauce a few days ago to use in making lasagna. It turned out absolutely delicious and all my family loved this! Next time I definitely doubling or tripling this so I can freeze the leftovers. Thank you, Alissa, for sharing this with us!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        June 23, 2019 at 4:12 pm

        Yay! I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks Annette!

        Reply
    4. FMT says

      June 22, 2019 at 12:25 pm

      5 stars
      1) Finely diced carrots added with the onions works great instead of sugar. I like the texture - they get nice and soft. I've seen it done many times in southern Italy. I've seen it used with sugar too!

      2) If you don't use wine, try soaking some porcini or crimini mushrooms and use the STRAINED soaking liquid. VERY finely chop the mushrooms and throw them in too. Will add depth of flavor instead of the wine.

      3) Try this with white rather than read wine.

      ALL DELICIOUS

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        June 23, 2019 at 4:09 pm

        Those all sound like great tips! Thanks so much!!

        Reply
    5. Chris says

      June 09, 2020 at 4:24 am

      4 stars
      Can this be done with raw tomatoes? I don't like using canned.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        June 10, 2020 at 11:22 am

        Yup! You'll need to blanch, peel and seed them. You can find some instructions for doing that here: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/pasta-pomodoro/ I'd use about 3 1/2 cups of diced and 3 1/2 cups of pureed.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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