Go-To Simple Marinara Sauce
This is my go-to recipe for marinara sauce. It’s easy to make with simple ingredients but it is wonderfully flavorful and rich.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: about 7 cups of sauce 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 6 oz. tomato paste
- about 1/2 cup dry red wine – just something good enough to drink, a Merlot, Chianti, Cabernet, or Sangiovese
- (2) 28oz cans crushed tomatoes*
Instructions
- Start by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for about 6-8 minutes. They should be translucent and browning on the edges – color is okay!
- Then, add the garlic and saute for 1 more minute before stirring in the Italian seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes to let the spices release their flavors in the oil.
- Then, add the tomato paste and let that cook for another 1-2 minutes. This also helps it to open up in the olive oil and develop flavor.
- Add the wine and deglaze the pot (scrape up any bits of flavor on the bottom of the pot).
- Lastly, add the tomatoes and stir. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer on the stove for at least 1 hour, but really as long as you’d like (6, 8 hours – whatever!).
- Serve over al dente pasta and enjoy!
Notes
- you can also use whole, plum tomatoes and crush them in your hands before adding them to the sauce. If you do this, I recommend letting the sauce cook for at least 2 hours.
Find it online: https://www.missallieskitchen.com/marinara-sauce/