How to make Marinara Sauce

This basic Marinara Sauce is a versatile recipe. It can be used as a classic spaghetti sauce or as a flavoring for other dishes.

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For some reason this year I found myself making tomato sauce on Saturdays. As a result, I came up with the term Saucy Saturday, clever I know. Hey, you don’t get cool alliterations like this just anywhere. This is homegrown baby.

So, in honor of these Saucy Saturdays, I thought I would share my go to Marinara Sauce recipe. I use this recipe for canning all of my summer tomato bounty. 

What I love about this sauce is that it is a base for so many dishes from spaghetti to soups. I even use it to flavor my taco meat!

So let’s get right to it..

Tools for Marinara Sauce

• stock pot, I use this one (It is pricier, but you get what you pay for. They are an amazing company, the pots last forever, and they have excellent customer service. So really you save money. Buy one, and you’re done forever!)
• food mill
• wooden spoon, I use this one (These spoons are worth the money, you are supporting a small business, and they are made in America!)

Now, let’s talk about ingredients…

Ingredients for Marinara Sauce

• tomatoes
• onions
• garlic
• white wine
• thyme, oregano, basil, sage (all optional)

How to make Marinara Sauce

The first step is pretty simple, slice each tomato in half and place face down on a baking sheet. I try to put like size tomatoes on the same baking sheet. If you put small and large together, the small ones will burn up before the large ones have a chance to roast.

Now, slide those beautiful tomatoes in the oven and broil them on low until the skins start to turn a blackish brown (that is an official color). This “roasting” creates a depth of flavor that you just don’t get otherwise.

Once they have finished roasting you have two options…

1. Let them cool and then pass them through the food mill
2. Let them cool and toss them in the freezer until you have enough for a large batch of sauce.

I prefer the latter because if I am going to make sauce and dirty up all of these kitchen gadgets, I want it to be a lot. I have also found that it is much easier to pass the tomatoes through the food mill when they have been frozen and thawed.

Once they have passed through the food mill you have a bowl of watery tomato sauce. Now it is time to dress up that sauce! Take that plain ol’ sauce and pour it into a stockpot.

Chop up some onions, if you like a little onion chop up a little, if you like a lot of onion chop up a lot (can you see where I am going with this). At this point you can roast them in the oven like the tomatoes or throw them in your skillet and saute them, I have done both.

Now, toss the roasted/sauteed onions in the sauce. From here, you can add whatever herbs you have on hand, a splash (or two) of white wine, and some chopped garlic. I typically use basil, oregano, thyme and sage for my herbs, dried or fresh will do.

Stir it all up and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn it down to a simmer and let it cook until it reaches a spaghetti sauce consistency. Sometimes I boil it a bit longer until it is a thicker consistency, somewhere between a marinara sauce and a tomato paste. I use this thicker sauce on our homemade pizzas.

There, you have done it! You made your own yummy sauce! And bonus, your house smells like an Italian restaurant!

How to can Marinara Sauce

So now that you have this amazing homemade sauce, why don’t you bottle that goodness up so you can use it all winter long?

First you will need to sterilize your jars and lids.

I use Harvest Guard Re-usable Canning Lids, you can see it in the picture. These lids are amazing, they seal well and I can use them over and over again. They come in two sizes, regular or wide mouth, and they are made in America (this makes me sooo happy). Another perk is when all the stores were sold out of lids during the pandemic, it was no problem, I was in the clear with my re-usable lids. They also sell red lids which would be perfect for this recipe. Click here to check them out or order some for yourself!

Okay back to canning…

Right before you spoon the sauce into the jars add citric acid and stir until combined, this helps to ensure it has enough acidity to be canned safely. You can also add lemon juice in place of the citric acid. The amount you add will depend on the amount of sauce you made, but the general rule is 1/2 tsp of citric acid  or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice per quart of sauce.

Fill the jars and leave about a 1/2″ headspace, plop those lids on (be sure to wipe the rim) and screw on the bands. Boil them in a hot water bath with jars fully covered for 40 minutes.

And that my friends is it. So, tie on that apron and go make some sauce!

~Amanda