If you’re an Italian food connoisseur, you’re going to be amazed by this easy homemade Italian marinara sauce recipe. It’s simple to make and can compete with your favorite Italian restaurant any day! It’s a copycat recipe of New York’s famous Rao’s Italian restaurant sauce… home of the delicious marinara that has taken the world by storm now that it is sold in stores.
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DELICIOUS AND EASY HOMEMADE ITALIAN MARINARA SAUCE RECIPE
I’m calling myself out here but when I was growing up in my mind the only spaghetti sauce debate was whether you came from a Ragu or Prego household. (We were team Prego. Haha) I honestly still love a good Prego spaghetti night every now and again but once I left my hometown and moved to the “big city” I became obsessed with trying legit Italian restaurants.
I eventually went on to live in New York for seven years and one of my favorite date nights out was at my local hole in the wall Italian restaurant.
Now, I live back in Kentucky and while I DO still have access to some delicious Italian restaurants, I really wanted to learn to make my own sauce in an effort to impress my New Yorker husband (and all my friends)! My kiddos are also pasta obsessed so although I’m not Italian, I love the idea of making homemade sauce with love for my family.
I started the process by trying to make a copycat of my favorite store bought sauce, Rao’s Marinara. Thankfully, the ingredients in their storebought sauce are all ones that can be pronounced and I started by just using the ingredients they use in amounts that seemed right to me! I’ve tweaked their traditional flavor to make it my own JUST a bit, but I mostly just add WAY more garlic than the jarred stuff. If you’re not a garlic lover you should use about half of what I use in the recipe.
This recipe can compete with my favorite restaurants, for sure, and I love that we can have it at home ANY time!
My kiddos are OBSESSED with this stuff and If I want to guarantee they’ll actually eat their dinner, this is what I need to make. The first time I made this sauce, my oldest (4) asked if we could eat it every night. I call that a WIN!
WHY THIS HOMEMADE MARINARA SAUCE RECIPE WORKS
Restaurant Quality: This recipe is a copycat recipe of Rao’s Marinara Sauce. Rao’s is a famous NYC restaurant that sells its famous marinara sauce in stores. This recipe is the most delicious homemade marinara sauce I’ve ever tried and competes with every fancy Italian restaurant I’ve ever visited.
No Sugar Added: While you CAN add a pinch of sugar to this recipe if you’d like, the sweetness of this sauce comes from the high quality tomatoes.
Great Leftovers: This sauce reheats beautifully so I like to make a huge batch and use it in multiple dishes.
Versatile: This homemade Italian marinara sauce is the perfect sauce for a simple spaghetti but it can also be used in lasagna, baked ziti, chicken parmesan, and more. You can even transform it into a delicious tomato basil soup or use it as pizza sauce.
Flavorful: The fresh basil and garlic combined with the sweet tomatoes is the perfect flavor trio.
Healthy: This sauce is chock full of healthy tomatoes and onions, fresh herbs, and heart-healthy olive oil.
INGREDIENTS IN ITALIAN MARINARA SAUCE RECIPE:
- Olive Oil: I’m typically not an “ingredient snob” but Olive Oil is something I’ve learned is SO much better when you get a better quality option. I try to purchase oil that is a product of Italy, even if I go with store brand.
- Onion: Finely diced onion adds great flavor to the sauce. I opt for a sweet onion as this recipe does not include sugar and I want to add as much sweetness as possible through the ingredients I use.
- Garlic: Don’t judge me here but I use 10-15 (small) cloves of garlic when I make this sauce and I’ve seen many similar recipes call for 3-5. I’d say if you’re a major garlic lover, start with 10, but otherwise go for 5-7.
- San Marzano Whole Tomatoes: Again, I’m a store brand girlie and don’t always think it matters to splurge for fancy ingredients. However, in this sauce San Marzano tomatoes are SO SO good and worth the extra cost. Cento brand and Delallo brand tomatoes are imported from Italy and are perfect options for this recipe. Hunts has a San Marzano “style” tomato which I don’t believe is actually imported from Italy but they are pretty delicious in their own right! As you can see in my ingredients photo, when I photographed this recipe I used one can of the Hunts whole tomatoes and one can of crushed tomatoes because my grocery store had to substitute the item in my order. It was still delicious so if you’re trying to save a couple bucks you could always mix and match! But if you want the BEST results, I do recommend going for the Cento or Delallo tomatoes.
- Herbs and Seasonings: Salt, Dried Oregano, Fresh Basil. I prefer ground Oregano so that it is completely incorporated into the sauce. The recipe calls for ¼ cup of basil leaves (measured before chopping) but you can certainly add more to taste!
HOW TO COOK THIS ITALIAN MARINARA SAUCE RECIPE
- Heat olive oil to medium-low in a dutch oven or heavy pot.
- Dice onion and add to oil, cooking until soft and translucent 3-5 minutes.
- Mince and add garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, another 2-3 minutes.
- Add whole tomatoes to the pan and chop with a potato or meat masher.
- Add salt and oregano. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Chop and add basil and allow to cook for an additional 5 minutes or longer until desired texture is reached.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
My favorite way to serve this delicious sauce is simply atop spaghetti with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. It’s also delicious paired with ground beef to make a hearty meat sauce. You can also use the sauce in lasagna, baked ziti, chicken parmesan, or even as the sauce on your favorite homemade pizza.
STORAGE
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. I love to use mason jars for refrigerator storage and I like to freeze laying flat in gallon sized freezer bags.
Because this sauce doesn’t have preservatives it doesn’t last as long in the fridge as some store bought brands.
FAQ
BEST HERBS AND SPICES FOR SPAGHETTI SAUCE
Garlic, oregano, and basil add great flavor to spaghetti sauce. For a little heat, add red pepper flakes too!
WHAT TO MAKE WITH LEFTOVER SPAGHETTI SAUCE
There are SO many options. Chicken parmesan, baked ziti, tomato basil soup, pizza, pizza baked spaghetti, and more! You can even thin it out a bit with broth and add a splash of cream to make a creamy tomato basil soup.
MARINARA VS. PASTA SAUCE
Marinara is a tomato based sauce and is a TYPE of pasta sauce. Pasta sauce is any type of sauce that can be served on pasta including alfredo, pesto, and meat sauce.
HOW LONG IS SPAGHETTI SAUCE GOOD FOR IN THE FRIDGE
This homemade sauce is good for at least 3 days in the fridge, up to 5 days. If you want to store it for longer, I recommend freezing.
HOW TO SPICE UP SPAGHETTI SAUCE
To add a spicy kick, add red pepper flakes to your spaghetti sauce.
HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI SAUCE THICKER
The easiest and most surefire way to thicken your sauce without impacting the flavor is simply simmering it longer (with no lid). This allows the water to evaporate. There are LOTS of other opinions on ways to do this and you can check a few of those out on Food Network here.
CAN YOU FREEZE HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE
Yes! Allow it to cool completely and store in an airtight freezer safe container for up to three months.
HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI SAUCE LESS ACIDIC
You can add a splash of milk or cream, pureed carrots, or baking soda to offset the acidity.
HOW LONG DOES SPAGHETTI SAUCE LAST
Homemade spaghetti sauce lasts 3-5 days in the fridge. Because it doesn’t have preservatives like store bought sauce, it won’t last as long as them!
PIZZA SAUCE VS PASTA SAUCE
There’s a difference but to be honest, I often use pasta sauce as pizza sauce and vice versa. Because I’m no expert, you check out this article to learn the difference.
HOW TO MAKE JAR SPAGHETTI SAUCE TASTE HOMEMADE
Add fresh garlic sauteed in olive oil and some fresh basil to give any jarred sauce a homemade taste. By the time you take the effort to do this, you could just start with the plain tomatoes and make a fully homemade sauce thought! It’s actually cheaper to do the fully homemade version and takes noe xtra time.
HOW TO STORE TOMATO SAUCE
Allow sauce to cool completely, then add to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or the freezer for up to three months. Note: homemade sauce doesn’t contain preservatives so it won’t last as long in the refrigerator as some storebought sauces.
HOW LONG CAN YOU FREEZE PASTA SAUCE
You can freeze pasta sauce for up to three months in an airtight, freezer safe container.
CAN YOU USE PASTA SAUCE FOR PIZZA
Absolutely! I love using leftover pasta sauce on homemade pizzas. Check out this pizza recipe for inspo!
BEST EASY HOMEMADE ITALIAN MARINARA SAUCE RECIPE
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Description
If you’re an Italian food connoisseur, you’re going to be amazed by this easy homemade Italian marinara sauce recipe. It’s simple to make and can compete with your favorite Italian restaurant any day! It’s a copycat recipe of New York’s famous Rao’s Italian restaurant sauce… home of the delicious marinara that has taken the world by storm now that it is sold in stores.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil (additional to taste)
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 10–15 small cloves garlic, minced (or less to taste)
- 2 – 28 oz cans of San Marzano whole tomatoes
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
Instructions
- Heat olive oil to medium-low in a dutch oven or heavy pot.
- Dice onion and add to oil, cooking until soft and translucent 3-5 minutes.
- Mince and add garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, another 2-3 minutes.
- Add whole tomatoes to the pan and chop with a potato or meat masher.
- Add salt and oregano. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Chop and add basil and allow to cook for an additional 5 minutes or longer until desired texture is reached.
Notes
I use a LOT of garlic in this recipe. Many other marinara recipes call for significantly less, 3-5 cloves compared to my 10-15. We’re garlic lovers in my house so feel free to use less if preferred.
Be careful not to cook the onions and garlic too hot. Even medium temperature can cook them too fast/hard. Medium-low temperature is best to not brown/burn the onion and garlic.
You’ll see in the pictures that I used one can of San Marzano style tomatoes and one can of crushed tomatoes. My preference is using two cans of San Marzano style tomatoes but unfortunately my grocery store only had one can in stock on the day I shot photos for this recipe.
High quality tomatoes are preferred for this recipe. The Cento brand is my favorite but the Hunts brand is a more affordable option. I don’t believe the Hunts tomatoes are a product of Italy like the Cento brand but they do taste great in this sauce. Delallo is another great brand that is a product of Italy.
This sauce can be cooked in under 30 minutes; however, many traditional Italian sauces are slow cooked on the stove for long periods of time. This dish can be cooked on low for as long as you’d like until desired texture is reached. Stir occasionally.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
