Best Marinara Sauce

Homemade Marinara Sauce is quick and rather easy to make at home, and tastes immensely better than the store bought one. Try this recipe and thank me later. Here is how to make it from scratch.

If Italian food is your favourite, then I am sure you will love this Marinara Sauce made from scratch as much as I do.

Originated in Naples, this Italian sauce takes your recipes to another level.

You will need only a few pantry ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, herbs and garlic to make this full of flavour sauce.

Few everyday spices such as bay leaf, parsley, red chilli flakes, black pepper are added which adds more flavour in this Italian sauce.

Also fresh basil leaves are added to add that hint of freshness and aroma to the sauce.

the sauce is cooked for about 50 to 60 minutes, so make sure you give your sauce that much time. Cooking it for a lesser time will not give you the same taste.

Also it is healthy, hearty and tastes better, as there are no added preservatives and sugar in the homemade sauce.

Once you make this sauce, you can always store in an air tight container for about a week in the fridge for later use.

Its a new staple in my kitchen, and I hope it becomes one for you as well.

Why is it called Marinara Sauce?

This sauce originated in Naples, Italy and it is said that this sauce was first made by the Marinaras returning from the America with tomatoes, a fruit which they newly discovered then in the 1700s.

And hence the name.

Ingredients

What is the difference between Marinara and Spaghetti Sauce?

Both the sauces has tomatoes as their base, but yes Marinara Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce are different from each other.

While the marinara sauce is very simple to make and takes only few ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, herbs and Garlic, Spaghetti sauce is a complex sauce and is usually slow cooked with many more ingredients.

You can always make Marinara Sauce fresh, as it takes very less time to get ready.

All you have to do is cook it for about an hour with garlic, onion and a few herbs and you can use it immediately to make your Pasta or use as a base for Pizza.

But to make spaghetti sauce you need many more ingredients other than Tomatoes, onions and Garlic and is slow cooked to get that rich flavour and taste.

Even the Pomodoro sauce is made with tomatoes, but its usually thick and smooth as compared to the Marinara Sauce.

How to use this sauce?

You can use this delicious and full of flavour sauce in various ways, such as:

Use it to make your Pastas. Add this divine sauce to your pasta, throw in some cooked vegetables or chicken/shrimp, mix it and your Pasta is ready.

You can also use the same sauce as the base of your Pizza or Gallete.

Spread this sauce on your pizza, add in your favourite vegetables or meat, grate some cheese and bake it. This sauce adds a fresh tomato taste to your Pizzas.

You can use it as dip for your Party Starters. For instance, you can serve this sauce along with some Cheesy Jalapeno Poppers and other such starters or you can also serve it along with some Nachos, Crackers etc.

Also if you are making a one pot Baked dish, it adds a great taste to it.

Can I substitute Spaghetti Sauce for Marinara Sauce?

Yes, you can substitute Spaghetti Sauce for Marinara Sauce.

Both has tomatoes as the base, it is just that Marinara sauce has more of fresh tomato flavour, whereas Spaghetti sauce has more of rich flavour, as it is slow cooked for hours to get that consistency.

What is the difference between Ragu and Marinara?

While the Marinara Sauce uses fresh tomatoes with onion, garlic and herbs and has a thinner consistency, Ragu is a meat based thicker Italian sauce and has a small amount of tomato sauce added to it.

To make Ragu, along with tomatoes, onion and garlic, meat such as veal, beef, lamb, pork, fish or poultry is added in the sauce.

Step by Step Recipe

Heat oil in a pan.

Once the oil is hot, add garlic and fry for a few seconds.

Add onion and bay leaf and fry for a minute.

Add fresh and dried parsley and fry for a few seconds.

Now add tomatoes, red chilli flakes, salt, sugar, black pepper and basil and cook the sauce for 50 – 60 minutes.

Keep stirring in between.

Discard the bay leaves once the sauce is cooked. Adjust the salt and black pepper to taste. Cool the sauce and refrigerate for up to a week.