This homemade marinara sauce is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes better than anything you could buy at the store! How-to recipe video in the post!
I am so excited to share the best homemade marinara sauce with you! This week is going to be pasta themed, and I’m so excited to share these classic recipes with you! I am half Italian, and while I don’t claim to make authentic Italian cuisine, my Italian heritage runs deep on my mother’s side of the family and cooking of all kinds has always been intertwined with that heritage.
This homemade marinara sauce recipe is one that I have been making forever, my mother has been making forever, and her mother has been making forever. I’m sure my grandmother learned it from her grandmother and so on. I think we all make it a little differently and it never turns out the same, but that’s why it’s always amazing. It’s the perfect recipe to kick off this pasta themed week!
The other great thing about this homemade marinara sauce is it can be transformed into a meat sauce in a second, that’s the version I had made up when I snapped these photos, and I’ll explain how easy it is to make that variation a little later.
First things first, the secret to the sauce is in how long you cook it {this is great in the crock pot
! – details in the recipe}. The longer and slower it cooks, the better it is. It’s even great if you make it a day in advance, put it in the fridge overnight, and then reheat it the next day.
I’m telling you, the secret to good pasta is always in the sauce. When my mother or grandmother makes this homemade marinara sauce, we don’t say we are having pasta for dinner. We all say we are having sauce for dinner! We are all pretty passionate about our food.
I will never forget the first time I made this sauce for Andy’s family. We were on a family trip, we had only been married for about 4 months, and it was actually my first time ever cooking for them. I always mix a little sauce into the pasta to keep it from sticking and then let people serve themselves.
Well.
I had made a huge batch of sauce and pretty much it was all still there when dinner was over. Additionally, I found out later that everyone was grossed out I had mixed some sauce with the pasta. To top it all off, Andy’s brother piled the pasta on his plate, dumped some sauce on it, and then SMOTHERED it in ranch dressing.
My Italian blood was boiling and I think all my dead Italian ancestors rolled over in their graves. HA! Those are some funny memories. Needless to say, I learned a few lessons about cooking for the in-laws.
Anyways, this homemade marinara sauce is always my go-to recipe, whether I’m cooking for my family or a crowd. It’s so good, I’ve given out this recipe more times than I can count!
I do have a hard time giving exact measurements for this marinara sauce, so this is pretty close to what I do when I make it. The beauty of cooking is learning what you like and adjusting from there, so make it according to the recipe a few times and then alter it a little to your taste.
To make it into a meat sauce, I brown some ground beef or sausage or both before sautéing the onions. When it’s almost browned, I sauté the onions, add the herbs, and continue on with the recipe.
Additionally, if you have some sausage links {used in this photo shoot!}, a chicken breast, a pork chop, really anything you can just stick that whole in the sauce after it’s prepared and let it cook away. After it’s done, I remove the meat, roughly chop it, and serve it with the sauce. It’s really up to you.
In the recipe I use canned crushed tomatoes, you can use plain tomato sauce or homemade crushed tomatoes. I love using fresh tomatoes from the garden! You’ll want to blanch them, then peel them, then crush them or grind them. An immersion blender
works really well for that job.
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The Best Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 24 ounces crushed tomatoes 2 cans
- 6 ounces tomato paste 1 small can
- 6 ounces water fill the tomato paste can up with water
- 1 carrot whole
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped fine
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- meat of your choice optional, see note for instructions
Instructions
- Stovetop Directions
- In a medium pot or dutch oven, heat oil until shimmering.
- Sauté onion until translucent. Add the herbs and salt and cook a minute or two longer.
- Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and water. I just fill the empty tomato paste can up with water.
- Place the whole carrot in the sauce.
- Cook on low for at least an hour, preferably longer, up to two hours. You can simmer a pot on very low on the stovetop, or put it on the middle rack in a 275 degree F oven.
- Stir occasionally to make sure it isn't burning.
- When finished cooking, remove the carrot and taste to adjust seasonings.
- Crockpot/Slow Cooker Directions
- In a sauté pan, heat oil until shimmering.
- Sauté onion until translucent. Add the herbs and salt and cook a minute or two longer.
- Pour crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and water into the slow cooker. I just fill the empty tomato paste can up with water.
- Add the onion and herb mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add the carrot.
- Cook on low up to 8 hours or high for up to 4 hours. Stir occasionally.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Erica Schwarz says
I love your recipe! I have made this for large church suppers because homemade marinara is lightyears better than anything at the grocery store.
Alli says
So happy to hear this, Erica!!! Thank you!
Taylor says
This marinara is so flavorful and delicious! Tastes so fresh!
Alli says
Thank you, Taylor!!
Gina says
I love your sauce and it is almost identical to my mom’s. She would use fresh herbs and garlic. No onions. Also she used to grind her blanch her tomatoes in a food mill to remove the seeds and skin and puree the tomatoes.
Are the pictures you use your own or are they linked from other sources. I would love to use them in a family cookbook.
Alli says
I’m glad you like the recipe, Gina! Thank you! The photos are mine, feel free to email me at [email protected] for more information on image licensing.
Cc says
I always put a carrot in my sauce. But I’m the one who eats it! If you don’t like bits of onion in the sauce just add a whole onion then you can take it out after sauce is done.
Alli says
Great tip!! Thanks CC!
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does it freeze well?
Alli says
Yes! I freeze this all the time.
Suzanne says
This looks good! I bet the carrot adds some nice subtle sweetness!
Alli says
It sure does! Thanks, Suzanne!
Steve Barker says
Q. Can this sauces be put on pizza ? The ingredients look great and I look forward
to making your recipe . SB
Alli says
Hi Steve! Yes, you can definitely use this on pizza. We do that frequently with leftovers! I also freeze 1/4 cup portions for using on pizza later.
Ralph topete says
Goodmorning everybody, this recipe is really good my kids loved it especially my son. I did two things to this recipe 1st instead of carrots i used sugar and second while i had the onions and garlic going i added about a pinch or two of crush peppers to give it abit of spicey kick flavor. The choice of protien i used is ground Italian sausage. I gotta say i attended Le Cardon bleu and we made pizza sauce and marinera sauce but this one here is way better. Its simple and easy.
Alli says
So glad to hear you liked it, Ralph!! Love your addition of crushed red pepper.
Susan says
Is this enough for a lasagna?
Alli says
Hi Susan! Yes, it is enough for lasagna. If you’d like a recipe specific for lasagna, you can find mine here!
Valerie says
When using fresh tomatoes is there a way to get the seeds out of the tomato? Or is it normal to just leave them in?
Alli says
You can just squeeze them out actually! I cut them in half and just squeeze out the seeds if I don’t want the seeds. You can leave them in too if you want.
Angela says
Can you can this sauce
Alli says
Hi Angela! I’ve never canned this sauce but I’m sure it would be great.
Tammy says
Does this recipe mean (2) 12 oz cans or (2) 24 oz cans??
Alli says
24 ounces total, which is two 12 ounce cans. Hope that helps! I’ll make that direction more clear in the recipe, thanks!
Tammy says
Thank you!! I’m making this tomorrow ???? I’m going to put it over manicotti!!!!
Tammy says
What? No garlic?? ????
Alli says
Hi Tammy, garlic and onions usually aren’t present together in traditional Italian sauce recipes. While I don’t claim that any of my recipes are authentic Italian, all of the American-Italian dishes I share are recipes that have been passed down through three generations – straight from Italy so they tend to loosely follow that guideline. You can definitely add garlic if you wanted too.
Heather says
Can I do this in a regular medium sauce pan?
I have a large crockpot that is bigger than the one pictured on this website.
I think this looks delicious.
Alli says
Hi Heather, yes a medium saucepan should be fine. Thanks!
Janee says
Hi, I would love to use your recipe for chicken meatballs! I would like to cook it in the crockpot. Should I add the meatballs after the marinara sauce has cooked on low for a few hours? Or should I cook it all at the same time in the crockpot? Thanks for your help!
Alli says
Add the meatballs when there are 2 hours left of cooking time (on low) in the crockpot. They should turn out perfect that way! Meatballs usually hold together better if you brown them in the oven before adding them. I hope that helps Janee!
Anonymous says
Awesome! Thank you
Sammi Windley says
I never thought about putting a carrot into the sauce, but I’m hooked now!