Packed with flavour this Homemade Marinara Sauce is easy to prepare, tastes delicious and so much better than store bought.
Marinara sauce is a classic Italian sauce using simple ingredients, tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs. A good marinara is all about simplicity starting with good quality tomatoes such as San Marzano. I used canned tomatoes in this recipe but really ripe fresh will work as well. This time of year fresh ripe tomatoes that taste great are hard to come by in Alberta. This recipe was perfect for my Chicken Parmesan.
Making your own homemade marinara sauce allows you to decide your personal preference of chunky or smooth. I prefer a chunkier sauce, but if you like yours smoother use an immersion blender to achieve the desired consistency.
Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 can (28oz) tomatoes with juice
- 2 large cloves garlic finely mined
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- ½ tbsp dried oregano
- ½ tbsp dried basil
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp sugar
- salt to taste depends on how salty tomatoes are
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In large skillet heat olive oil, sauté onions and garlic until soft.
- Add tomatoes, oregano and basil and pepper.
- Stir in sugar. (the sugar balances the acidity)
- Season with salt.
- Simmer until sauce reduces and thickens (about 30 minutes).
Nutrition
Enjoy this recipe for Chicken Parmesan topped with this delicious marinara sauce recipe.
Deborah Sbarra says
January 11, 2016 at 7:23 pmYikes!! You put sugar in the sauce??? My Italian Noni would smack you! 🙂
Laureen King says
January 11, 2016 at 11:07 pmThe sugar can be left out if desired, but it helps balance the acidity and tartness of the tomatoes. It is in fact something that a lot of Italian chefs do. The great thing about any recipe is tweaking it to your very own preference.
Joanie Wharff says
August 29, 2016 at 11:56 pmYes, it cut the sharpness of the tomatoes. I usually only need a teaspoon…&, that does it just right! It’s not very much…but, just enough. Some tomatoes are more acidic than others.
Laureen King says
August 30, 2016 at 8:42 pmthanks Joanie, yes it is a tasting thing depending on your tomatoes