Nothing beats a pot of homemade marinara sauce simmering on the stove. And, it's super easy to make from scratch in under 40 minutes with 5 ingredients! This is a great Italian tomato sauce for beginners and everyone else too!

Pot of rich red marinara sauce simmer in a large pot.

I’ve been making this authentic, Italian marinara sauce for decades (ever since we devoured it at Carmine’s in NYC)! It's a simple, naturally vegan, tomato-based pasta sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes, lots of garlic, and fresh Italian herbs. It's by far my family's favorite tomato sauce. We love it served with a wedge of warm No-Knead Overnight Bread and a side of Vegan Caesar Salad!

Red pasta sauce is so easy to make from scratch, there's really no need to buy it at the store. Homemade marinara is fresher, more flavorful, and healthier than store bought! It's made with wholesome ingredients, there's no added sugar or additives, you control the salt, and it's suitable for plant based, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free eaters.

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Ingredients for Marinara Sauce

We love Italian food - so having homemade marinara sauce on hand is a must. This recipe makes a big batch of sauce, perfect for a crowd or meal prep. It freezes beautifully, and makes your house smell like a 5 star Italian restaurant!

For this homemade pasta sauce, each of the five basic pantry ingredients plays a crucial role:

Whole San Marzano Tomatoes: Known for their robust tomato flavor and natural sweetness, San Marzano are the gold standard tomato for flavorful sauce making. Southern Italy is famous for its sweet, meaty tomatoes with lower acidity and fewer seeds. Pro Tip: DOP certified San Marzano tomatoes can be pricey so stock up when they're on sale (online, at the grocery store or Costco).
Onions: Use white or yellow onions for sweet and savory flavor notes.
Fresh Garlic: Don't skimp here! This recipe uses a lot of fresh, pungent garlic; but don't worry the sharpness of garlic softens as it cooks leaving a mellow, complex layer of flavor.
Olive Oil: Use a good extra virgin olive oil for that distinct Italian flavor.
Fresh Herbs: Fresh basil and parsley bring brightness and depth to your sauce.
Simple Seasonings: Just salt, freshly ground black pepper, and optional red pepper flakes let the tomato flavor shine.

Top down view of homemade marinara sauce in a jar.

How to Make Marinara Sauce

What makes this San Marzano tomato sauce so easy? Only a few ingredients and very little hands on time. After that it just simmers on the stove until rich, thick, and delicious.

The Simple Process

Cook the aromatics: Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the diced onion and sauté until soft (5-7 minutes), then stir in the minced garlic for ~1 minute until fragrant.
Add Fresh Herbs & Seasonings: Chop and add basil and parsley to infuse their flavors, season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using.

Hand Crush Tomatoes: Hand crush* the whole tomatoes right into the pot on the stove over medium heat. Once all the tomatoes are crushed, let the sauce boil for another ~5 minutes while the tomatoes break down.
*You can use a wooden spoon, potato masher or hand held blender to break up the tomatoes in the pot (depending how chunky or smooth you prefer).

Time to Simmer: Add the reserved tomato liquid (from the cans) and let the sauce come back up to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 12-20 minutes until the sauce is thick and rich. Stir periodically so the sauce doesn't stick. Pro Tip: Use a wooden spoon to press any larger pieces of tomato against the side to the pot to help break them down (see photo).
Garnish: Top the tomato sauce with more fresh basil and parsley before serving.

Tips for Success

This is the best marinara sauce recipe for beginners and everyone else! It's so easy, but here's a few helpful tips just in case:

Hand crushing tomatoes: Hand crushing the tomatoes is FUN but messy. Top tips: Keep your hand low close to the pot, wear a bib apron, push up your sleeves, and don't wear a white shirt! Alternatively, you can use a potato masher or stick blender instead.
Herbs: The best Italian herbs for homemade tomato sauce are fresh. But if you don't have fresh, use ¼ - ½ teaspoon of dried herbs like oregano, basil or Italian seasoning blend, and taste as you go adding more as preferred.
Is your sauce too acidic?: If your marinara sauce is too acidic, follow this magic trick (whispered to me by an Italian grandma when I was a young girl): add a pinch of baking soda (~⅛ teaspoon). Alternatively, you could add a bit of sugar to balance out the flavors.
Lid Strategy: For thicker tomato sauce, simmer without a lid to allow evaporation; for a looser sauce, cover the pot fully or partially.
How long to simmer marinara sauce: The point of simmering tomato sauce is for flavor and texture development. As the sauce simmers, the tomatoes break down, the sauce reduces, and the aromatics and herb flavors infuse into the sauce creating an Italian flavor and a thick, rich texture. Taste as you go and take the sauce off the heat when you are happy with the taste and texture.
Allergy friendly: One of the best things about this vegan marinara sauce is EVERYONE can enjoy it. It's nut free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, gluten free, naturally vegan, and whole food plant based.

Storing and Freezing Tips

Fridge Storage: Leftover marinara sauce will last for up to 7 days in the fridge in an airtight container without any loss of quality or flavor.
How to Freeze: Marinara sauce freezes well for several months in freezer friendly bags or containers.
Space Saving Tip: If you're short on freezer space, add the sauce to a freezer bag, flatten it, and push out the air. Lay the bags flat on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, stack the flat bags of sauce or stand them along the walls of the freezer. Super easy and great space saver.

Best Ways to Serve Marinara Sauce

Delicious on everything from spaghetti and lasagna, to meatball subs and pizzas, marinara sauce is so versatile, it will definately be the hardest working sauce in your kitchen! Here's a few of our favorite ways to serve it:

Pan full of vegan lasagna with one slice removed.

Classic Pasta: Toss with homemade pasta, spaghetti or gnocchi for a quick and delicious weeknight meal. Makes an epic creamy tomato pasta!
Pizza Sauce: A delicious pizza sauce on easy, no knead pizza dough.
Dipping Sauce: Serve with homemade breadsticks and cheese sauce for a popular appetizer or game day snack.
Lasagna: A killer tomato sauce for building your next epic lasagna! Vegan Lasagna with Bechámel, Vegan Lasagna Roll Ups, Cal-Ital Lasagna (damn delicious).
Vegan Meatball Sub: Vegan meatballs (Gardein meatballs are superb!), marinara sauce, pesto, and melted dairy-free cheese on crusty bread - so good!

More Favorite Homemade Sauces

If you love this easy vegan marinara sauce recipe, try these delicious sauces next:

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Rich Red Italian Marinara Sauce Recipe

A family favorite, this easy, homemade red sauce is made with San Marzano plum tomatoes, garlic, and authentic Italian flavors. It's a great marinara sauce recipe for beginners plus it's plant based, vegan, vegetarian, sugar free, and gluten free. This makes a big batch of marinara sauce, perfect for a crowd or meal prep - it freezes beautifully!

Author : Tracy Halasz

Servings: cups

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup olive oil
1 small onion, diced
¼ cup garlic, chopped (~12 cloves)
10-12 medium-large basil leaves, slices
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
3 28 oz San Marzano whole canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
course ground black pepper
hot pepper flakes (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Saute the onions and garlic: In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and cook until soft and fragrant (5-7 minutes). Then add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the seasoning: Add the chopped basil, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir for 30 seconds to incorporate.
Add the whole tomatoes: With the pot still on the stove (medium-low), hand crush* the tomatoes into the pot. Once all the tomatoes are crushed, turn the heat up to medium-high for ~5 minutes to break down the tomatoes further. Use the back of a large wooden spoon and press the tomato chunks gently against the side of the pot as you're stirring.
*Use a wooden spoon, potato masher or hand held blender to break up the tomatoes instead of hand crushing them if you prefer.
Time to simmer: Next, stir in the tomato liquid from the cans and let the sauce come back up to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer (no lid or half lid*). Stir the sauce periodically to prevent it from sticking. This will take up to 20 minutes depending how thick you want your marinara sauce.
Taste and adjust seasonings to suit your preference. More salt, pepper or hot pepper flakes. If the sauce is too acidic for you, stir in a pinch (⅛ teaspoon) of baking soda to neutralize the acid. Top with more chopped fresh herbs like parsley and basil for extra Italian flair before serving.
Storing tomato sauce: Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, transfer to air tight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to a few months.

NOTES

Tomatoes: Use DOP San Marzano tomatoes if you can or sub with another flavorful Italian whole, plum tomato. *I used to make this recipe with a mixture of 6N1 ground tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes, but we can't get 6N1's anymore so I revised the recipe to all San Marzano tomatoes.
Italian Grandma's secret for perfect tomato sauce: If the marinara sauce is too acidic, stir in a pinch (~⅛ teaspoon) baking soda to the sauce to neutralize the acid.
Herbs: Use fresh Italian herbs when possible, but if not available, use ¼ - ½ teaspoon of dried herbs like oregano, basil, Italian seasoning and taste as you go.
Lid or no lid?: Simmer tomato sauce with the lid on will trap the moisture on the lid of the pot and it drips back into the sauce keeping the sauce loose/thinner. If you want a thicker tomato sauce, skip the lid and it will reduce and thicken up more quickly. If the sauce is spitting all over your stove, put the lid on halfway (or crack the lid as they say).
How long to simmer marinara sauce: The point of simmering tomato sauce is for flavor and texture development. As the sauce simmers, the tomatoes break down, the sauce reduces, and the aromatics and herb flavors infuse into the sauce creating an Italian flavor and a thick, rich texture. Taste as you go and take the sauce off the heat when you are happy with the taste and texture.
Storage: Once the marinara sauce is cool, store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months in a freezer-friendly bag or container.
Just in case: In a pinch, it’s good to have a backup store bought jar of marinara tomato sauce. I usually have a jar of Rao’s Marinara Sauce in the pantry. It's available widely at most grocery stores, Costco, and online.

This recipe is from simplyceecee.co food blog. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images or republish this recipe without prior permission. Thank you.

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Originally posted November 2020, revised March 2025

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