Marinara sauce is one of the easiest and most classic of the Italians’ creation. With tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and oregano as basic ingredients, the variations to this are endless. Alla Marinara is used in pasta, chicken, and fish. But my favorite has to be the saucy meatball sandwiches.
In fact, when Subway launched in India in the early 2000s, they had a meatball sub on their menu. And I absolutely used to love it until it got discontinued. This easy sauce and pasta marry together beautifully. You can also pulse it to a slightly thinner consistency and use it in pizzas.
Check out these amazing tomato-based pasta sauces – Tomato Basil sauce and Spicy roasted tomato basil sauce.
Ingredients for Marinara Sauce (2 servings)
Enough for pasta for 2 people and 5-6 sandwiches
- Tomatoes – 1-3/4 cup, chopped
- Onion – 1/4 cup, chopped
- Garlic – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
- Basil leaves – 1 tbsp
- Smoked paprika powder – 1 tsp
- Tomato ketchup – 1 tbsp
- Extra virgin olive oil – 1-1/2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper – to taste
- Sugar – 1 tsp (if required)
Method
- Heat EVOO in a pot.
- Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are transparent.
- Add the tomatoes to the pot, cover, and cook for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Season with salt, pepper, and paprika and mix well. Mix in the sauce and chopped basil, add 3/4 cup of water, and mix well.
- Slow cook on low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add another 1/2 cup water at the 15 minute mark and continue to cook.
- Take the pot off the heat and set aside to cool.
- Pulse with 2-3 tbsp water and pulse to a smooth sauce.
- Taste and check if the sauce is tart because of the tomatoes, add some sugar to balance it.
If you have more time you can continue to cook this sauce for about an hour as well. Don’t obsess on the color of the marinara, that is only dependent on the variety of tomatoes you use. You can store this sauce for 7 days in an air-tight jar the refrigerator.
Marinara Sauce
Materials
- 1¾ cup Tomatoes chopped
- ¼ cup Onions chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp Basil leaves chopped
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika powder
- 1 tbsp Ketchup
- 1½ tbsp Olive oil estra virgin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Sugar if required
Instructions
- Heat EVOO in a pot.
- Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are transparent.
- Add the tomatoes to the pot, cover, and cook for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Season with salt, pepper, and paprika and mix well. Mix in the sauce and chopped basil, add 3/4 cup of water, and mix well.
- Slow cook on low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add another 1/2 cup water at the 15 minute mark and continue to cook.
- Take the pot off the heat and set aside to cool.
- Pulse with 2-3 tbsp water and pulse to a smooth sauce.
- Taste and check if the sauce is tart because of the tomatoes, add some sugar to balance it.
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