Mom’s Quick Marinara Sauce

Our Mom’s Quick Marinara Sauce is our mom’s recipe from Naples, Italy. It is a sweet-tasting tomato sauce that’s made with five ingredients, plus San Marzano tomatoes. And, it is the best!

 

Our Mom’s Marinara Sauce…

Marinara sauce is a favorite and classic tomato sauce that’s perfect to serve over cooked spaghetti. It makes a quick and easy dish for dinner and my family loves it!   

Best of all, her tomato sauce is always fresh-tasting – every time! 

A great recipe sometimes requires a great tomato sauce! And our mom’s marinara sauce can be used in many of our classic Italian dishes. For delicious dinner ideas, try our Zucchini Tomato Sauce over Fusilli, and Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce. And, don’t miss our Best Rice Ball Casserole Stuffed with Meat & Peas and Easy Baked Long Fusilli Casserole. 

This is one tomato sauce you will enjoy making over and over again.  

An Ideal Recipe for Quick & Easy Meals…

As a busy mom with a large family, I always have it on hand. I need to have a fresh-tasting marinara sauce in my fridge.  I prefer using it for so many dishes, making my life so much easier when whipping up meals for my family.

Use our mom’s quick marinara sauce for so many recipes:

• pasta dishes
• casseroles
• quick pizzas
• add some to soups and stews to enhance their flavor
• use it as a dipping sauce for Italian rice balls, and chicken nuggets

What To Look For When Buying “Canned” Tomatoes?

• When shopping for a brand of tomatoes, look for “imported tomatoes from Italy” and look to buy a brand of tomatoes that says “Product of Italy” somewhere on the label. 
• The best brands are “San Marzano” tomatoes. And it should say that on the can. It is the region in Italy where these particular tomatoes are grown and come from.  
• These tomatoes are very pulpy and juicy naturally, without adding any other ingredients, like sugar or additives. They contain natural flavors and they give a hearty taste to the sauce.

Most supermarkets will sell imported brands of tomatoes.  Luckily, I can find a brand here in South Carolina and it happens to be the brand we prefer; it is called Cento.

How to Make Mom’s Quick Marinara Sauce? (*Full recipe card below!)

By following our easy steps, you’ll be able to make our mom’s amazing marinara sauce in your kitchen.  The first time you make her recipe, you may never go back to buying the jarred sauce ever again. (well, maybe?!)

And here’s why: the secret to the flavor of mom’s marinara sauce is allowing the basil and crushed red pepper to infuse into the hot oil before you add the tomatoes! This will give the sauce an intense flavor, and everyone will notice the difference after they take their first spoonful taste.

Ingredients You Will Need:

Our full recipe card is located at the bottom of this page.

• 1 can (28 ounces) Cento crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (28 ounces) Cento peeled tomatoes 
• fresh garlic cloves
• good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• lots of large fresh basil leaves
• crushed red pepper
• optional: about 1/4 cup of water
• salt and black pepper,  to taste

 Directions To Make It…

1. Open cans of tomatoes, pour them into a blender, and puree them. Place them aside.
2. In a large saucepot and on low-medium heat, heat olive oil. Add whole garlic cloves and sauté the garlic until they turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Next, turn off the heat, or remove the pot from the heat. and have the cover to the pot nearby.
4. Toss in the red pepper flakes. Then drop all the basil leaves at once and COVER immediately! This will prevent the oil from splashing all over the kitchen and onto yourself. After a minute or so, slowly stir the basil. This will infuse the flavors of the basil and red pepper into the oil giving it a strong punch of flavor to the sauce.
5. Turn the heat back on. NEXT, add the tomatoes. Cover with a lid and bring the sauce to a low boil.  Reduce heat and simmer the sauce for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring it occasionally.
6. As the sauce thickens, depending on the brand of imported tomatoes, you may need to add some water if it’s getting too thick.
7. Finally, taste the sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Before serving, fish out the garlic cloves and discard them.  Allow the sauce to completely cool before storing it in containers.  It freezes well, for up to 3 weeks.

Make It Ahead and Freeze…

• As always, we make a batch of her marinara sauce store it in a sealed container, and keep it chilled in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
• This way, it’s ready to use for simple and even quick meals during those busy weeknights.
• Store it in a sealed plastic container to freeze. It freezes well too, for up to 2 months.

FAQ’s

1. Can we use “jarred” tomato sauce? Yes, you can. And, if we had to choose, we would recommend Rao’s Marinara Sauce. But keep in mind, you must use it within 3 days after it has been opened.
2. Are there other Italian brands of canned tomatoes we can use? Yes, of course. But most will contain other “added ingredients” like sugar, salt, and additional seasonings.
3. Can we use one kind of tomato, crushed or peeled? Yes, you can. Although our recipe says to use 2 kinds of tomatoes, one can of peeled and crushed, you can use one or the other, and double the amount.
4. Is marinara sauce the same as a ragu? No, it is not a ragu. Marinara is a tomato-based sauce and it is cooked in a short amount of time. You can add cooked meat and veggies into the sauce, but not cook them in the sauce.

Ways To Use Marinara Sauce…

There are endless possibilities for using our mom’s delicious tomato sauce. From pasta, and casseroles, to favorites like chicken parmesan… and more! Use it as a dipping sauce with our baked chicken nuggets, and Italian rice balls.

• Zucchini Rollatini with Spinach and Cheese
• Best Rice Ball Casserole Stuffed with Meat and Peas
• Spaghetti with Shrimp Marinara
• Easy Risotto with Marinara Sauce

More Italian Sauce Recipes…

• Mom’s Classic Bolognese Sauce
• Rigatoni All’Amatriciana
• Spaghetti with Shrimp Marinara 
• Spaghetti with Lobster Tails Sauce
• Fresh Basil Pesto Sauce
• Zucchini Tomato Sauce over Fusilli Pasta
• Best Pork Ragu Recipe
• The Sunday Sauce (6 recipes!)

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/2 cup
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	89
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8.4g	11%
Saturated Fat 1.2g	6%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 111mg	5%
Total Carbohydrate 3.4g	1%
Dietary Fiber .7g	2%
Total Sugars 1.8g
Protein .8g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 54mg	4%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 13mg	0%

Hello friends!  Are you cooking with us?  If you make our mom’s quick marinara sauce, we’d love to know how it turned out!  Please let us know by leaving a review and a star rating below.  Sharing your experience and insights will help all our readers, and it helps us too!

Thanks for stopping by!  

Happy Cooking!  🙂

 xo Anna and Liz