Learning how to make a good quality marinara sauce has been something that I have wanted to do for some time now. Why? Aside from my culinary curiosity, my husband has grown up in a family where sauce was always made from scratch, so having a homemade marinara recipe of my own is something I knew he would appreciate. At the very least I would appreciate telling his authentic Italian family that my sauce doesn't always come from a jar (not that there is anything wrong with sauce from a jar..see my Weeknight Meatsauce Recipe).
After much research and taste testing, the biggest takeaways from my marinara sauce journey are: 1) Use high quality ingredients (*San Marzano tomato products are a perfect example and definitely make a huge difference in the flavor). 2) Add a little sugar. Why? There is a ton of acidity in the tomato products used to make marinara sauce. The addition of a little sugar helps to balance the flavor profile by muting the acidity.
Making your own marinara (as opposed to buying the marinara in a jar) is slightly more time consuming, but I like the fact that I know every ingredient used to make the sauce and the difference in flavor is definitely worth the additional effort.
Ingredients
- 1/3 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 7 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, Minced (*If using minced garlic from a jar, cut the amount by half)
- 1/2 Yellow Onion, Diced
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 2 28oz Cans of Crushed Tomatoes (recommend San Marzano)
- 1 Tbs Tomato Paste (recommend San Marzano)
- 1 Tbs Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 c Grated Parmesan
- 2 Dried Bay Leaves
- 10 Fresh Large Basil Leaves, Julienned
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat 1/3c Olive oil on Medium heat
- Once oil is hot, add minced garlic and let simmer for 2-4 minutes stirring frequently
- Add diced onion, Dried Basil and Dried Oregano
- Sweat down onion (about 5 minutes) while stirring occasionally
- Once onion starts to appear slightly translucent, add both cans of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, parmesan cheese, sugar and bay leaves
- Stir, cover and let simmer for 10-15minutes on a medium to medium-low heat
- Once simmered, remove bay leaves and then blend contents with immersion blender until consistency is smooth throughout
- After sauce is thoroughly blended, stir in salt
- Fold in fresh julienned basil
- Add fresh cracked pepper to taste
