15-Minute Marinara Sauce
This quick and easy 15-Minute Homemade Marinara Sauce is made with just 6 ingredients (all pantry staples) and is so simple yet so delicious, you may never buy jarred sauce again!
Servings: 4 (about ¾ cup each; recipe makes about 3 cups total)
Estimated Calories: 120
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 teaspoons)
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste (if using regular table salt, which is saltier, use half the amount)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat for 1 minute (I use a 3-quart saucepan).
- Add the garlic; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Keep an eye on the heat and keep the garlic moving. You don't want it to brown, as this can cause it to taste bitter; reduce the heat if needed.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper; stir to combine.
- Increase the heat and bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes (the sauce should thicken up slightly during this time).
- Taste and adjust the sugar, salt and/or pepper if needed.
- Your homemade marinara sauce is ready to enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Pour over pasta, use as a dipping sauce for appetizers and snacks, spread on pizza crust when making homemade pizza, and use in any recipe that calls for marinara sauce.
- Since this sauce is pretty much all about the tomatoes, it's important that you use a brand of crushed tomatoes that tastes good to you. Some will be more acidic or salty than others, so adjust the amount of sugar and salt in the recipe accordingly and to suit your own personal tastes.
- Personally, I love using Italian San Marzano crushed tomatoes in this recipe (they tend to be sweeter and less acidic but are also more expensive).
- BUT I have also used lots of other kinds, from low-cost store brands on up, and I have always ended up with a great marinara sauce simply by adjusting the amount of sugar and salt.
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