85 Best Vegan Recipes - Love and Lemons
These easy vegan recipes are so flavorful and delicious! Find hearty vegan dinner recipes for plant-based tacos, creamy pastas, soups, sushi & more!
marinara
This easy vegan pasta is basically everything I want to eat for dinner any night of the week! An easy creamy tomato sauce (just cashews+ <anchor>marinara</anchor>!) coats a 50/50 mix of fresh veggies and floppy rigatoni noodles.
Marinara Sauce Recipe - Love and Lemons
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# Marinara Sauce

Make this homemade marinara sauce recipe once, and you'll never get the store-bought kind again! It's simple to make, and it has a rich tomato flavor.



Marinara sauce

Buying marinara sauce is easy, but I’ll let you in on a secret: so is making your own!

Meet my go-to homemade marinara sauce recipe. It’s simple to make – all you need are 10 pantry ingredients and 30 minutes – and it tastes immeasurably better than any kind I’ve found in a jar. Its base is canned crushed tomatoes with their juices, which I simmer with sautéed shallot and garlic for depth of flavor. Red pepper flakes give it a touch of heat, and dried oregano adds Italian flair. Balsamic vinegar makes it nice and tangy, while salt and pepper and a bit of sugar make all the flavors pop.

This sauce is easy enough to whip up on a weeknight, but it’s also a great recipe to make in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze it for up to a few months! I like to keep a stash on hand for anytime a spaghetti or lasagna craving strikes. 🙂

Homemade marinara sauce recipe ingredients

## How to Make Marinara Sauce

Making this marinara sauce recipe is simple! Here’s what you need to do:

- First, sauté the shallot and garlic in a saucepan with olive oil, salt, and pepper until they become soft and translucent.
- Then, simmer the sauce. Add 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes and their juices (use San Marzano tomatoes if you can!), balsamic vinegar, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and a dash of cane sugar. Cover the sauce with a lid and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, giving it a good stir every now and then, until it’s thickened.

That’s it! Season to taste and enjoy.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

## How to Use This Marinara Sauce Recipe

I’m sure you already have a few favorite ways to use marinara sauce, but if you’re looking for more, I’ve got you covered! You can’t go wrong with any of these:

What are your favorite ways to use homemade marinara sauce? Let me know in the comments!

Marinara sauce recipe

## More Favorite Homemade Sauces

If you love this marinara recipe, try one of these delicious sauces next:

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## Marinara Sauce

rate this recipe:

5 from 35 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutesmins

Cook Time: 30 minutesmins

Total Time: 40 minutesmins

Serves 3cups

This homemade marinara sauce is delicious, easy to make, and SO much better than store-bought! It's perfect for using on pizzas, pastas, and more. Find additional serving suggestions in the post above. Leftover sauce will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

### Ingredients

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### Instructions

- Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over low heat. Add the shallot, garlic, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.

- Add the tomatoes and their juices, balsamic vinegar, cane sugar, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.



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### 48 comments

5 from 35 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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1. Vicki Bowyer

08.18.2024

Could I use this with fresh tomatoes? How much would I use? I have so many garden tomatoes.

- Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)

  08.23.2024

  H Vicki, I’d recommend making our fresh tomato sauce recipe instead. Hope you enjoy!

  Reply ↓

2. Ewa

08.10.2024

5 stars

My favourite receipe and website with receips. You make my life easier and tastier. Thank You!

3. Tommy

06.26.2024

5 stars

I’m gonna use this for ALL of your recipes suggested.. as well as store bought mozzarella sticks and homemade cheese fries

- Jeanine Donofrio

  06.26.2024

  I’m so glad you loved it!

  Reply ↓

4. Margot

04.15.2024

5 stars

Delicious sauce with pasta. Will this make enough for your vegetarian Baked Ziti recipe ?

- Jeanine Donofrio

  04.20.2024

  Hi Margot, yep!

  Reply ↓

5. Julia

02.12.2024

5 stars

Yum! Followed the recipe exactly. Turned out delicious and used it with your vegetarian lasagna recipe!

6. Greg

10.30.2023

5 stars

After 3-1/2 years in Italy, I am more than a bit fussy about my red sauce. This has become one of my favorites. Was it the Balsamic vinegar that pushed it over the top? Normally, I would experiment, but I believe I have found perfection!

- Jeanine Donofrio

  10.31.2023

  Hi Greg, what a compliment, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  Reply ↓

7. Ellen

10.23.2023

I accidentally bought Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes instead of a normal can, but I went ahead and tried this recipe anyway and it turned out great! Used it as a pizza sauce but I’m sure it would be great on pasta as well.

- Jeanine Donofrio

  10.27.2023

  I’m so glad you enjoyed it with the fire roasted tomatoes!

  Reply ↓

8. Jaz

09.23.2023

5 stars

I adjusted the recipe slightly, I wasnt sure it was enough spices for the 28 oz tomato can. I doubled the sea salt, pepper flakes, cane sugar, and oregano and it came out great. I then used the marinara sauce to make your eggplant parmeasean. Now I’m a fan of eggplant 😉

- Jeanine Donofrio

  09.27.2023

  Hi Jaz, I’m so glad you’re loving eggplant now!

  Reply ↓

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