Homemade Marinara Sauce
Make our favorite garden-fresh marinara with ripe tomatoes, onion, herbs, and a splash of red wine. This easy recipe lets you customize the sauce to your liking, whether adding meat or keeping it vegetarian. Perfect for any pasta dish, pizza or dip!
Ingredients:
- 10-12 medium tomatoes or about 4lbs (preferably from your garden)
- 2 handfuls of fresh basil (about ¼ cup, chopped)
- 7 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, finely minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ cup red wine (such as cabernet) or a splash of balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- A couple of pinches of sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- (Optional) meatballs or sausage
Instructions:
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Prepare the Tomatoes:
- Option 1: Blanch the tomatoes by boiling them briefly and then placing them in an ice bath to easily remove the skins.
- Option 2: If you don't mind the skins, simply core the tomatoes and roughly dice them. Don't worry about making the pieces perfect or small; they'll cook down just fine all the same.
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Sauté the Aromatics:
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and finely chopped yellow onion. Sauté, stirring regularly, until the onions turn golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
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Deglaze the Pan:
- Once your garlic and onion have cooked down, pour in your red wine (or some tomatoes and balsamic vinegar to substitute) to deglaze the pan, scraping up any flavorful bits stuck to the bottom.
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Combine and Simmer:
- Immediately after, add the remaining diced tomatoes to the pan. Stir in the sugar, salt, oregano, and chopped basil, reserving a bit of basil for garnishing later. You can also add more oil here if you would like and some water if you feel like your sauce is too thick already. Just make sure you don't bake your sauce to your pan. You can always cook off any excess water.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to just below boiling. Let the sauce gently simmer for at least 45 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together. Reduce the sauce or add water to reach your preferred consistency.
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Optional Add-Ins:
- If you'd like to add meat (such as ground beef or sausage), do so midway through the cooking process to let it fully absorb the flavors of the sauce. You can also let sauce with meat sit for another half hour or an hour to really bring the flavors into the sauce.
Finishing Touches:
Once the sauce has thickened and the flavors are to your liking, adjust the seasoning with additional salt or sugar as needed. Serve hot over your favorite pasta and garnish with the remaining fresh basil and whatever cheese you like.