Make Homemade Marinara Sauce on a weeknight! It only takes about 30 minutes for a sauce that’s perfect for gluten free or traditional pasta. Skip the jarred stuff with added sugar and preservatives and try this easy marinara sauce.
Pasta sauce simmered all day sounds amazing but who has that kind of time during the week? Not me. During the week, I need dinner ready and on the table in a shorter amount of time.
This Homemade Marinara Sauce is almost as quick as the jarred stuff . Vegetables get pulsed down in the food processor to almost a paste-like consistency. The veggies soften and cook quickly because of their size. Add some good tomato puree and herbs to the pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes before giving your favorite gluten free pasta the flavor it deserves.
How Do You Make Homemade Marinara Sauce From Scratch
To make Marinara sauce from scratch you need a few common ingredients.
- Vegetables like carrots, celery and onion.
- Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes.
- Herbs and Spices like Garlic, Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Salt and Pepper
Simmer everything together so the flavors develop and deepen, then serve over pasta.
Homemade Marinara Sauce Ingredients – The Tomatoes
Let’s talk ingredients starting with the tomatoes. It’s the key to a good sauce.
I prefer using tomato puree for this recipe but you could also use crushed tomatoes. Here’s what you need to know about the choices.
Tomato Puree vs Crushed Tomatoes – What’s the Difference
Tomato Puree – Puree is made with tomatoes that have been cooked and strained. It is a thick liquid that is thicker than crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, but thinner than tomato paste. Puree has a deeper flavor than the crushed tomatoes and sauce.
Crushed Tomatoes – Crushed tomatoes are finer than diced tomatoes. Sometimes crushed tomatoes are mixed with a little tomato puree. It has larger pieces of tomatoes in it than a puree and is less cooked than puree.
I really like this Tomato Puree by Delallo. It has a great flavor and is affordable. It is in some grocery stores and easily found online.
Marinara Sauce Ingredients
Marinara sauce ingredients vary, here’s how to make it your own.
The Vegetables – Use a combination of onion, carrot, celery, and garlic depending on what your family likes.
The Herbs – Basil, Parsley and Oregano are all great herbs for homemade marinara sauce. Use fresh or dried.
Parmesan Cheese Rind – Keep the rind from the parmesan cheese. It’s packed with flavor and perfect for adding to soups and sauces while they simmer. Remove the rind before serving.
Sauce Tips
You can’t mess up this sauce. Here are a couple tips to make it your own.
The Vegetables – Pulsing the vegetables in the food processor until they are almost a paste helps them cook quicker and gives the sauce some texture.
Fresh Herbs – I use a large sprig of fresh basil and parsley and a small spring of oregano. I drop them in whole and then remove them at the end of cooking. You could certainly chop and cook the fresh herbs in the sauce or add some fresh chopped herbs at the end.
Dried Herbs – If you’re using dried herbs, start off with a teaspoon or so total of Italian herbs and adjust them as needed.
Parmesan Rind – This optional ingredient adds depth of flavor to the sauce.
Keep it Covered – Keep the sauce mostly covered as it simmers. It likes to spatter.
Adding Water to the Sauce – Adding water to the sauce does a couple things. For one, it gets the last bit of tomatoes out of the jar or can so you don’t have any waste. Secondly, it keeps the sauce from getting too thick as it simmers.
Stir the Sauce – Give the sauce a good stir every 5 minutes or so. It keeps the veggie bits moving around the pot.
Cooking Time – Simmer sauce for about 25-30 minutes. Feel free to simmer it longer if needed to deepen the flavor even more.
How Do You Freeze Pasta Sauce
Freeze pasta sauce by putting it into a freezer safe container or storage bag. Remove as much air as possible from the container and place in the freezer. Less air in the container protects the sauce from freezer burn.
I hope you try this Homemade Marinara Sauce. Jarred is fine in a pinch but this 30 minute sauce tastes better and is almost as easy.
Other Gluten Free Weeknight Dinner Recipes
Check out these other gluten free weeknight dinner recipes your family will love.
Tender Gluten Free Oven Baked Meatballs – Juicy Oven Baked Meatballs means you’re not spending time frying them and cleaning the stove. They bake in the sauce so they’re the perfect reason to make this recipe.
Easy Gluten Free Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken – This Asian Dinner recipe is a winner. Serve it up with some Instant Pot Basmati Rice and dinner is served!
Parmesan Oven Baked Pork Chops – A crispy coating that’s not breading? Yep. These parmesan crusted pork chops have your back.
Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast – Feeling like tender pot roast on Wednesday? The instant pot helps get dinner on the table to satisfy that craving.
Sheet Pan Pork Chops with Roasted Veggies – Everything cooks on one sheet pan making clean up a snap.
Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 24-28 oz Jar or Can Pureed or Crushed Tomatoes
- ½ small Onion Cut into chunks
- 1 Small Carrot Peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 Rib of Celery Cut into chunks
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Tbs Olive Oil
- ¼-½ Cup Water
- ¼-½ Cup Fresh Herbs of Choice – Basil Parsley, Oregano
- 1 Piece Parmesan Cheese Rind Optional
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place Onion, Carrot, Celery, and Garlic in a Food Processor and pulse until it’s finely chopped. You want it to be almost a paste.
- Add Olive Oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add vegetables, reduce to medium low, and sauté for about 5 minutes for them to soften. You don’t want it them to brown.
- Add Tomatoes to the pan, along with any herbs, salt and pepper and Parmesan Cheese rind (if using) and give it a stir.
- Add water to the empty tomato container, swish it around to get the rest of the tomatoes and add it to the pot.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover the pot leaving the lid slightly ajar. This prevents splatters and lets the sauce thicken some cook down some.
- Reduce heat to low, and simmer for around 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over your favorite gluten free pasta.
