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Thick and flavorful homemade spaghetti sauce is packed with Italian flavors in a smooth tomato base. The only marinara sauce you’ll ever need!
Why you’ll love this spaghetti sauce
The spaghetti sauce was slowly simmering on the stove. My Mom was standing at the stove stirring a batch of her homemade marinara sauce with her tried and true wooden spoon.
We looked forward to spaghetti nights in our home and filling our bowls to the brim with pasta and fresh tomato marinara sauce. We ate together as a family every single night. The numbers would differ — sometimes there would be three, sometimes six, and when we were really lucky — all eight of us sat around the kitchen table.
There’s just something super special about family dinners.
There’s a reason why spaghetti is a weeknight staple in our house! Like many of you, our weeks are filled with tons of events, practices, friends, homework, and activities. I love having a good quality meal prepared for our family dinner as something that brings us all together amidst the chaos!
I cherish the slow days when my entire table is filled with the people I love the most. No empty chairs.
Learning how to make a homemade spaghetti sauce is one of those essential basic recipes to commit to memory. A homemade marinara sauce is so versatile. It can be tossed with all kinds of pasta, be drizzled on chicken parmesan, or on any Italian dish. You can even add some heavy cream to make a tomato cream sauce. This is the BEST marinara sauce recipe!
Warm Italian spices, tangy tomatoes, and fresh herbs create an incredible sauce that you’ll want to make once a week! Paired with some homemade meatballs and fresh baked French bread, it’s the ultimate comfort meal!
Not only is it delicious, but it is insanely simple. It can be whipped up quickly and stored easily!
What are spaghetti sauce ingredients?
The best part about this homemade spaghetti sauce is that I always have the ingredients on hand. They are simple, fresh, and clean ingredients.
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes make for a smooth and savory base to the spaghetti sauce. Use your favorite whole canned tomatoes, since these have already been blanched and peeled. The best for this recipe (and most Italian dishes) are San Marzano tomatoes.
- Extra virgin olive oil: EVOO is a Mediterranean staple. I have found that it has the best flavor and healthiest fats.
- Onion: A small onion adds some strong flavor without dominating the sauce. I suggest using a yellow or a white onion.
- Carrot: Since tomatoes are very acidic, spaghetti sauce needs some sugars to keep it from getting too bitter. Carrots are a great way to add some veggies, color, and natural sweetness to the sauce!
- Garlic cloves: Would it be a pasta dish without some garlic? Strong and flavorful garlic is the perfect addition to this sauce. I love using fresh garlic, but jarred minced garlic works as well.
- Red pepper flakes and salt: Helps to enhance and add flavor.
- Sugar: As mentioned with the carrots, acidic tomatoes need something sweet to balance the flavors.
- Basil: Fresh basil leaves bring an incredible earthy Italian flavor to this pasta. It really enhances the whole dish and brings it to a whole other level!
TOP TIP: How to cut basil leaves (chiffonade)
If you’ve always seen basil ribbons sliced thinly and evenly and you want to replicate it, follow these simple steps!
- Stack several fresh basil leaves on top of one another.
- Roll the basil leaves to form a tight cylinder shape.
- Slice along the cylinder to get thin ribbons of fresh basil!
How to make homemade spaghetti sauce
- Start off with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. Saute finely diced onion and carrot until nice and soft. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Garlic can easily burn so watch carefully. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a touch of spice.
- Add a pinch of Sugar. Since this is a tomato-based marinara sauce and tomatoes can be highly acidic, sugar is known to cut some of the acidity. It doesn’t make the sauce sweet but just cuts the acidic flavor.
- Use Whole Peeled Tomatoes. If it is in your budget, San Marzona Tomatoes makes such a beautiful sauce. Use your favorite canned whole peeled tomatoes.
- If you want a smoother sauce, whip the sauce in a blender. If you want a chunky marinara sauce, use a wooden spoon to press down on tomatoes and break them up into pieces.
- Use Fresh Basil. It adds that burst of freshness that makes you feel you are eating tomatoes straight from the garden.
- Toss the pasta with some Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (the “real deal” Parmesan cheese). This recipe is an adaption of Alex Guarnaschelli’s famous spicy weeknight marinara sauce and she says that by tossing a portion of the cheese with the pasta before adding the sauce adds richness and a bit of saltiness.
- If you want to add meat, saute it with the onions and carrots. This can be transformed into a hearty sauce. Just brown the meat in the pan before adding the garlic and red pepper flakes.
What are the best tomatoes in spaghetti sauce?
I mentioned earlier that my favorite tomatoes in this sauce are San Marzano tomatoes. These tomatoes come from a specific region in Italy that helps give them a distinct flavor and look. Similar to plum tomatoes, they are narrow, with a thicker skin and less seeds than the typical tomato. Look for canned San Marzano tomatoes in your local grocery store. Since they are so unique, they come with a hefty price tag. If San Marzano tomatoes are in budget for you, go for it!
On the other hand, if you are looking for a more budget-friendly option, any canned whole tomatoes will give you a great spaghetti sauce. If you prefer to use fresh tomatoes, I suggest using Roma tomatoes.
How to store spaghetti sauce
One of my favorite things about this recipe is how easy it is to store. It’s so easy to make a big batch and save the extras!
I like to store my leftover spaghetti sauce in airtight jars, such as mason jars, for up to 14 days in the refrigerator.
More Italian Recipes:
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Homemade Marinara Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 small Onion diced
- 1 Carrot diced or grated
- 4 Garlic Cloves diced
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 teaspoons Sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 – 28 ounce can Whole Peeled Tomatoes such as San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/3 cup Fresh Basil Leaves sliced into ribbons
- 1 lb. Spaghetti or pasta of choice
- 1 1/2 cup Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese high-quality parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for 1 minute longer.
- Add the tomatoes (with juices) and sugar. Use a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes. If you want a smooth sauce, blend sauce in a blender. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of water. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken.
- Season to taste and add fresh basil.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring water to boil over high heat. Generously add salt to the water. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain.
- In a large bowl, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of sauce and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you love this authentic Italian marinara sauce! Happy Cooking, my friends!
Oh my word, this was delicious! I loved the complexity of the flavors. My husband said it tasted like something we would get in a nice restaurant. Thank you for sharing!
That makes me so happy! I am so glad both you and your husband loved the recipe. Thank you so much for making it!
This recipe definitely elevates your pasta recipe! So fresh and flavorful!!!
Good base recipe but you missed one crucial step: take noodles out of cooking right before Al dente. Toss with sauce in a saute pan and finish cooking. This will cause the pasta to absorb the sauce as it finishes cooking. It really knocks the flavor out of the park.