How to make the best, authentic Italian Marinara Sauce recipe from scratch, with organic San Marzano tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil. Video Below!
Easy, chunky, creamy, rustic, hearty, flavorful marinara sauce or as known in America “Sunday Gravy”, is made at home with a few ingredients and a little patience. This is so good you’ll never be able to buy it in a jar. Gotta make your own kids!
The secret to the classic Italian sauce, lies in slowly simmering the tomatoes with onion, basil and garlic until thick and reduced and the natural sugars have concentrated their flavors. So thick you can literally use it as a pizza sauce as I do of course.
There is no heavy cream, no wine and no anchovies in an authentic marinara sauce.
It is a simple vegan and vegetarian sauce that you can serve with bucatini, spaghetti and ricotta meatballs, clams and mussels, shrimp, chicken parmesan, ricotta gnocchi, peppercorn steak, mushrooms, eggplant, ravioli, veggie lasagna or whatever your favorite pasta is. Even perfect for dipping your cheese sticks!
How to thicken marinara sauce ?
Continue cooking on low flame until most of the water evaporates and the sauce / gravy has thickened to your liking. Careful not to burn it though.
Best Italian Marinara Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 X 28 oz cans San Marzano Tomatoes
- 1/2 yellow onion -diced
- 8 cloves garlic -minced
- 1 leaf bay
- 4 sprigs basil
- 1/3 c fresh basil leaves - sliced or torn
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch sea salt ( or to your taste)
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottom large pot on medium low flame. Add a lug of olive oil and the diced onion with a pinch of sea salt. Cook for about 10 minutes until traslucent taking good care not to burn it.
- Stir in the minced garlic and let it infuse the oil for about 30 seconds.
- Use your hands and crush the tomatoes as you add them to the pot with the onion and garlic. Rustic chunks are what we are after.
- Add the bay leaf and the 4 sprigs of basil then bring everything to a gentle simmer. Partially cover with a lid and cook down until reduced and thick to your liking. About an hour or so. Stir a few times making sure the sugars from the tomatoes don’t stick to the bottom.
- After the sauce has reduced season to taste with the sea salt. Discard the bay leaf and basil sprigs.
- Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the reserved fresh basil. Serve with your favorite pasta to transfer to jars and refrigerate up to one week.
Nutrition
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