Simple 10-Minute Tomato Sauce (Marinara)

One of the most popular recipes on this blog has been my san marzano tomato sauce that I posted a number of years ago.  And I have to say, it's popular for good reason, it's a fabulous recipe.  But honestly, it takes quite a bit of time to prepare, and 9 times out of 10 I prefer this simple marinara that only takes about 10 minutes to make.  Let me show you how it's done.

Before you do anything, make sure you have the can of crushed tomatoes open and place it near the stovetop.

In a heavy-bottom sauce pan, heat extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, and optional crushed red pepper flakes over medium high heat.

Saute the garlic for about 1 minute until fragrant, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Immediately pour the crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper into the pan and stir well.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. 

If you want to add the optional fresh basil, add a whole sprig about 5 minutes after adding the crushed tomatoes to the saucepan.

Just stir the sprig into the sauce and let it simmer away for the remaining 5 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and get ready to add the magic ingredient, a pat of butter.  Yes, butter!  So to recap, the crushed red pepper flakes are optional, the fresh basil is optional, but the butter is NOT optional!  You'll thank me later.  You're welcome.

Just before serving, remove the wilted and discolored basil.  It's imparted all its wonderful flavor into the sauce so we don't need it anymore.   Enjoy!  

Item's used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Mauviel stainless rondeau https://amzn.to/3DWKaQX

• SMT tomatoes https://amzn.to/3HFNYFP

• Cento tomatoes https://amzn.to/3sBfP3I

• Muir Glen tomatoes https://amzn.to/34O7mSb

• Tuttorosso tomatoes https://amzn.to/34o02NC

• Sclafani tomatoes https://amzn.to/3uDa1co

• la valle tomatoes https://amzn.to/34G7za9

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Simple 10-Minute Tomato Sauce

makes about 3 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

• 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (suggested brands: smt, cento, muir glen, tuttorosso, sclafani, la Valle)

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt or fine sea salt)

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 sprig of basil (optional)

• 1 tablespoon butter (don't leave this out - it's magic)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat olive olive oil, garlic, and optional crushed red pepper flakes until garlic is fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.

2. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper; stir well.

3. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes (or up to 30 minutes if you have the time). If using optional basil, add it whole during the last 5 minutes of cooking, then discard.

4. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

San Marzano Tomato Sauce Recipe

I thought I'd show everyone how I make my family's favorite pasta sauce. I use this sauce for everything - my pizzeria style pizza, no-carb pizza crust, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, stuffed shells, eggplant parmesan, spaghetti and meatball pie, mozzarella sticks, chicken parmesan bites, toasted ravioli, meat sauce.... I even use it as a base for my chili.  

I start with a huge can of San Marzano Tomatoes.  They are, without question, the very best. Some good brand names to look for are Cento, Muir Glen, Sclafani, Tuttorosso, Pomi, or any San Marzanos that list "DOP" on the label (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta).

I also chop one large Spanish onion, and mince 5-6 big cloves of garlic.

I like to buy whole tomatoes and process them myself.  Today I'm pureeing my tomatoes because I'm feeding a picky eater who doesn't like chunky tomatoes, but you make them as chunky or pureed as you like.  A blender or food mill can also be used.

If the kids are around, they like to help me crank the tomatoes through a food mill. It's kind of fun.

After the tomatoes are processed, blended, or milled, you end up with pureed tomatoes that look like this. Set them aside for now.

Okay, in a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan over med-high heat, saute the onions in olive oil until they are nice and caramelized.

Add 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and pepper. You have to season every step of the way.

Yum. Cook your onions  until they're caramelized like this.  They're going to add an incredible depth of flavor to the sauce.

Now it's time to add the minced garlic.  Don't add it earlier that now or it will burn and taste bitter.  Saute the garlic with the onions for just about 30-60 seconds, stirring well so the garlic doesn't burn. As soon as that wonderful garlicy aroma fills the kitchen...

Add a whole can of tomato paste and stir constantly for 3-5 minutes until the tomato paste darkens and starts to caramelize (again, adding even more depth of flavor).

Here's a tip - keep a cup of water (or a splash of red wine) near the stove top. The minute you notice any spots getting too brown - like you see here at 10 O'clock...

Add a splash or two.  It will bubble up and dissolve the spot and keep your food from burning.  The technical term for this is called "deglazing".

See - the liquid evaporated and the dark spot is all gone (actually, it's been incorporated into the sauce), but nothing has burned!  

Okay, time to add the reserved tomato puree and most of the remaining ingredients (everything except the fresh basil).  Simmer for about an hour.  Just before serving, remove the bay leaves and add the fresh basil.

I hope you'll give this sauce a try.  Let me know how you like it.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• heavy bottom stockpot https://amzn.to/3WuwZOz

• food mill https://amzn.to/3WjOZLg

• food processor https://amzn.to/3FJVilt

• vitamix https://amzn.to/3DX1ghJ

• tomato strainer https://amzn.to/3sURWEH

• san marzano tomatoes https://amzn.to/3T0Qonc

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San Marzano Tomato Sauce

makes about 12 cups (enough to feed a big Italian family with plenty of leftovers!)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 jumbo onion, diced

• 5-6 garlic cloves (pressed, crushed, or minced)

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 6 ounce can tomato paste

• 6 pound can San Marzano whole tomatoes (pureed until smooth in food processor, blender, or food mill)

• 3 tablespoons dried parsley

• 4 dried bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (kids might find this amount a tad spicy - adults usually love it - I double it)

• *Fresh basil, chopped or torn (as much as you like, but don't add until serving)

Directions

1. Over med-high heat, saute onions, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in olive oil until caramelized (I save the leftover oil from jarred sun-dried tomatoes to use for things like this).

2. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds, or until very fragrant.

3. Add tomato paste and caramelize for 3-5 minutes; stirring constantly.

4. Add pureed tomatoes, bay leaves, dried oregano, dried basil (don't add the fresh basil yet), red pepper flakes, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper; stir to combine.

5. Simmer on low for about an hour.

6. Remove bay leaves.

7. Add fresh basil just before serving.

Notes

• You can simmer this sauce longer if you like, but you don't need to.

• For meat sauce, I like to add Italian sausages or ground beef that has been browned with lots of onion and garlic.

• If you happen to have a rind of Parmesan cheese leftover, throw that in too (it won't really melt into the sauce, but it will add a lot of great flavor).

• For a smaller batch, use a 28oz can of tomatoes and scale the recipe down to 1/3.

To Make Meat Sauce:

The general rule of thumb is 1 pound of cooked meat to 1 quart of sauce, but you can certainly add as much or as little as you like.

Here's what I do... I like to dice a medium yellow onion, then cook it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes), stirring frequently until the onions develop some nice caramelization. Then I add a clove or two of minced garlic, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Chop and stir until the meat is crumbled and cooked through. Drain excess grease if needed, then add a quart of sauce and heat through. Some of my family members are not fans of Italian sausage, so I usually only added beef, but if you choose to use sausage, hold off on adding the salt and pepper until you cook and taste the sausage to see if it needs additional seasoning (it's usually pretty flavorful on its own).

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