Homemade Marinara Sauce

This marinara is so easy and delicious, I haven’t bought a single jar since I discovered it. I can’t take credit for the recipe, it’s from Cooking Light magazine. I’ve just tweaked the prep directions a bit, to make it faster & more efficient. I also eliminated the salt they used, since my favorite crushed tomatoes don’t come in a no-salt-added variety. I do prefer the Contadina, it has a better flavor & texture than the other brands I tried.

You should get about 12 cups of sauce, and it freezes really well. I usually use some for my Baked Penne Casserole, then measure 2 cups into a few zip-top bags for freezing. Two cups works well for a quick spaghetti dinner for 2 or 3 people. One of these days, I’ll even crush my own tomatoes, so my sauce can truly be from scratch. Some day.

A printer-friendly version of the recipe is at the bottom of the page.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp dried basil

1½ tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onion (1 – 3 onions)

3 Tbsp minced garlic (~6 -10 cloves)

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

3 (28-oz) cans crushed tomatoes.

Preparation:

2.) Chop the onions and mince the garlic now, so you’ll have them handy when needed. I like to measure out the broth & open the tomato cans now, too.

3.) Heat the oil in a 6 qt. pot over medium heat. Add the onions to the pot and cook for four minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and the sugar and spice mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the vinegar; cook 30 seconds.

4.) Add the broth & tomatoes, and bring to a slow simmer. Cook uncovered over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. You can see in the 1st pic below that the sauce just about covers the handle rivets on the inside of the pot. After simmering, the rivets are fully exposed.

Sauce nearly covers the handle rivets (top of pic)

sauce now thicker & at bottom of handle rivets

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Servings: 12
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Ingredients

1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp dried basil
1½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion (1 – 3 onions)
3 Tbsp minced garlic (~6 -10 cloves)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
3 (28-oz) cans crushed tomatoes.

Directions

1.) Mix the 1^st six ingredients (sugar through fennel) in a small prep bowl, & set aside. The fennel seeds don’t need to be completely broken up, just crushed. They might not look very different, but they’ll be more fragrant.
2.) Chop the onions and mince the garlic now, so you’ll have them handy when needed. I like to measure out the broth & open the tomato cans now, too.
3.) Heat the oil in a 6 qt. pot over medium heat. Add the onions to the pot; cook four minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and the sugar and spice mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the vinegar; cook 30 seconds.
4.) Add the broth & tomatoes, and bring to a slow simmer. Cook uncovered over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.