Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce is a fresh and tasty homemade marinara that takes minutes to put together with minimal ingredients.  It’s so easy, you never need to buy it again!

A good pasta sauce is worth it’s weight in gold….liquid gold.   Maybe that’s why I have gaggles of pesto and tomato-based sauces here on the blog.

It’s so important to have the ingredients to make a good pasta sauce in minutes, because we all know pasta is one of the quickest meals to get on the table fast.  And pasta typically pleases everyone and almost always leaves you with leftovers, which gives you the next night off. 🙂

Before today, I didn’t have a go-to marinara recipe with no bells and whistles and it was high time that I changed that.  This Easy Tomato Basil Marinara doesn’t need any bells and whistles!   It’s made with quality San Marzano crushed tomatoes — the best tasting canned tomatoes ever.

It’s also got lots of fresh basil, which is a complete game changer.  Fresh basil just makes me happy…the smell, the color, and the flavor.   If you don’t happen to have fresh basil, by all means use dried.

The only prep this Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce needs is chopping one onion and mincing a few garlic cloves.  Cook the onion and garlic, dump in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, and fresh basil, and let it simmer it uncovered for about 30 minutes.

Be sure and sweat out your onions and garlic at a lower temperature and keep an eye on them.  If you cook them too fast, they’ll just burn and remain crunchy.  The burnt flavor will make your sauce bitter, and there’s nothing worse than crunchy onions in marinara is there?  Bleh.

I added 2 tablespoons of olive oil to this sauce, but if you’d like your to have a silkier mouthfeel, add 1-2 tablespoons more.

With this Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce, you can make your own marinara sauce in less time that it takes to go to the store and buy it.  Plus, you know every ingredient that’s in it, and you can pronounce them all.

And you made it for a fraction of the price.

You can use it anywhere — pasta, sandwiches, and even pizza! With this trusty recipe, store bought marinara may just be a thing of the past for you — and rightly so.  This sauce tastes a whole lot better than the jarred stuff and it’s as easy to make as it is to twist off the lid of one of those jars.

Those lids can be pretty tough to open, ya know. 🙂

More sauces for your repertoire:

Meat Sauce with Red Wine and Mushrooms

Pasta Sauce with Turkey Sausage and Mushrooms

Spinach Walnut Pesto

Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

Yield: About 3 cups

Total Time: 30 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce is a fresh and tasty homemade marinara that takes minutes to put together with minimal ingredients.  It’s so easy, you never need to buy it again!

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided*
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil**
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened and translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine and simmer uncovered over low heat for 20-30 minutes. The longer the sauce simmers, the more flavorful it will be.
3. Serve with pasta, on sandwiches, or pizza, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• *Use 1-2 tablespoons more olive oil for a smoother texture.
• **1 tablespoon dried basil may be substituted for the fresh basil.
• This sauce is very freezer friendly!

Recipe source:  Flavor the Moments

// All images and text ©Flavor the Moments.

Nutrition Information

Yield: About 3 cups, Serving Size: 6

• Amount Per Serving:
• Calories: 98
• Total Fat: 5g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Sodium: 209mg
• Carbohydrates: 12g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 6g
• Protein: 3g