Amanda's Family Favorite Marinara Sauce

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When I have a pot of marinara sauce simmering on the stove, you know dinner is gonna be good.

This is a recipe of my own creation that I have made many, many times. My entire family enjoys it (the baby will eat a bowl of just sauce if you let her). It’s versatile and can be used in many different meals. You can make a large batch and freeze the extras. I love having a container of marinara in the freezer to take out when there’s nothing for dinner. We always have some sort of pasta in the house, so warming up the sauce creates an instant comfort meal.

(Some of the measurements may not be exact, because like an old granny in the kitchen, I eyeball many of my ingredients and adjust to taste.)

Amanda’s Family Favorite Marinara

Ingredients:

Three 28 oz cans San Marzano tomatoes
One 8 oz can tomato paste
Olive oil
1 1/2 yellow onions, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-2 tsp Sea Salt
Fresh Basil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Optional “secret ingredient”: “Better than Bouillon” Roasted Chicken Base

You can make a smaller or larger batch of this sauce by adjusting the ratio as follows: per 28 oz can tomatoes, 1/3 of a 8 oz can tomato paste (roughly 4-5 tbsp), 1/2 onion, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Start by warming up about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and sautee 4-5 minutes until almost soft. Add garlic and continue to sautee for another minute or two.

Add the tomatoes and their juices. (Note: if substituting regular whole peeled tomatoes instead of San Marzano tomatoes, omit the juice from one of the cans and substitute with a 14 oz can of regular tomato sauce. I find that using too much of the watery juice from regular cans of tomatoes makes the resulting sauce too watery.)

At this point, before the sauce gets too hot, I use my immersion blender to blend the sauce into a nice consistency. (If you do not have an immersion blender, at this point you can turn off the heat and blend the sauce in batches in a blender. Alternatively you can use a food processor to blend the tomatoes before adding them to the sauce, or you can use a potato masher and mash the tomatoes – this will result in a chunkier sauce. I have tried and been successful with all of these methods.)

Once the sauce is blended, add the tomato paste and salt. Leave over medium heat and let it come to almost a boil. You will know it is time to turn the heat down when sauce starts popping all over your stove and counter.

Turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Simmer, uncovered, at least four hours, stirring occasionally.

About an hour before serving, I will add a few sprigs of fresh basil.

About half an hour before serving (around the time I get ready to cook the ravioli), I add sugar to taste, starting with about 1/2 tsp. Sometimes it will need more or less sugar, depending on your preference and how long the sauce has been simmering. Then I add my secret ingredient. I use at least 1 tsp of the chicken “Better than Bouillon”. This adds a wonderful umami note to the sauce. (You do not need to add this. The sauce will still taste amazing if you keep it vegan.)

I love to serve this sauce over spinach and cheese ravioli with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese. A pot of marinara sauce will leave a lot leftover, and it freezes and reheats very well.