This Hearty Marinara Sauce is a 30 Minute Marinara that is perfect for busy days when you want homemade taste without the fuss.
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The Hearty Marinara Sauce only took about 10 minutes of hands on time with this recipe. The rest of the time the sauce is simmering away on the stove top so you can finish preparing the rest of your meal.
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What We Love About This Hearty Marinara Sauce Recipe
This spaghetti sauce marinara recipe is perfect for so many dishes such as pasta, lasagna and chicken parmesan, tender meatballs, homemade beef, a subway meatball sub recipe, meatball marinara hoagie, meatball marinara sandwich, turkey meatballs and pork meatballs. The options are simply endless! Don’t forget the parmesan cheese! You can use it for anything that calls for marinara sauce. (Makes a great pizza sauce too!)
- 30 Minute Meal: Perfect for weekday meals.
- Easy Ingredients: All pantry ingredients.
- Family Friendly: Everyone is a fan of a rich and hearty sauce for their sauce.
- Adaptable: Can make it low-carb, meat free, dairy free, etc…
- Makes Great Leftovers: this homemade marinara sauce is wonderful to use for leftovers or even new dishes.
Ingredient Notes for Hearty Marinara Sauce
- Onion: Diced.
- Fresh Garlic: 6 cloves, minced.
- Crushed Tomatoes: San Marzano tomatoes, they offer wonderful taste and texture from this robust tomato.
- Bay Leaves
- Italian seasoning blend: The link is attached or use store bought.
- All Purpose Seasoning: The link is attached for this blend.
- Parmesan Cheese: Shred your own, for best flavor.
Equipment Needed for the Sauce
How to Make San Marzano Tomato Sauce
These are the basic steps for making spaghetti sauce marinara. Please refer to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
STEP 1: HEAT
First, heat extra virgin olive oil with a little butter over medium-high heat in a large pot and then add onions and sauté for 5 minutes and then add the garlic and cook the vegetables for one minute.
STEP 2: MIX
Then add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, Italian Seasoning Blend and All Purpose seasoning blend. (these two blends will have all the spices and herbs you will need including oregano, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.) Brin to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for twenty minutes until desired consistency.
STEP 3: FINISH
Lastly, add the parmesan cheese, stir and serve.
Prep and Storage Tips
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE AHEAD OF TIME
Truly this recipe can be made anytime you have some extra time, make a big batch and then freeze the individual portions for when you need them.
HOW TO STORE THIS RECIPE
Store this sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
HOW TO FREEZE THIS RECIPE
Freeze for up to six months in airtight containers in the freezer.
HOW TO REHEAT THIS RECIPE
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat on the stove top in a skillet or pot.
Frequently Asked Questions for Hearty Marinara Sauce
Low sodium ingredients can be used to make this sauce healthier. Also, use a gluten free pasta if you prefer.
Of course, try adding a little red pepper flakes for a spicier sauce.
Indeed, this is a great recipe to make a big batch of and freeze the remaining portions for future use.
Hearty marinara sauce is a sauce with added ingredients to give the sauce more of an impact. In this case we provide a kick with a lot of spices and the parmesan cheese.
A Pizza sauce is usually thicker in consistency than marinara sauce which is more of a tomato puree. Pizza sauce is used to create pizza whereas marinara sauce is served as a dipping sauce or topping for pasta or for sandwiches etc.
Expert Tips for Making This Natural Flavor Sauce Recipe
- Add Fresh Herbs: Such as Fresh Basil, Oregano or Parsley.
- Smooth Sauce: Immersion Blender can make a smooth sauce.
- Variation tip: Protein, add ground beef, shredded chicken or seafood to the sauce.
- Alternate ingredient: Add Vegetables like: Carrots, celery, mushrooms, spinach or other vegetables.
- Cheese: Vary your cheese by adding different varieties such as asiago, pecorino and provolone.
What to Serve with Hearty Marinara Sauce
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Hearty Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes , I prefer San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend
- 1 tablespoon House seasoning blend
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot.
- Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent.
- Add garlic to pot and cook for 1 minute.
- Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, Italian seasoning blend and House seasoning blend; stir to combine.
- Bring to a bubbling simmer then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add grated parmesan cheese; stir to combine.
- Serve immediate or freeze for later.
Expert Tips
- Add Fresh Herbs: Such as Fresh Basil, Oregano or Parsley.
- Smooth Sauce: Immersion Blender can make a smooth sauce.
- Variation tip: Protein, add ground beef, shredded chicken or seafood to the sauce.
- Alternate ingredient: Add Vegetables like: Carrots, celery, mushrooms, spinach or other vegetables.
- Cheese: Vary your cheese by adding different varieties such as asiago, pecorino and provolone.
Estimated Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided are estimates. To learn more about how I calculate this information go to www.itisakeeper.com/about-its-a-keeper/privacy-disclosure-policies/
This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible for the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.
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One of the best Marinara sauce recipes I’ve tried! It is a perfect sauce for our favorite pasta. Would love to have this for the Holidays! Thanks Christina for this wonderful recipe!
There is simply no comparison between store bought and homemade marinara. It’s so simple and the flavor is exceptional! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I normally would’ve used 4 cloves of garlic but 6 is SO much better! Love this recipe – thank you!
Definitely one of the best marinara sauce recipes I have ever made! Everyone in my family loves this recipe so much! Will probably have it again. Highly recommended!
This marinara is so easy to make and so delicious!