Best Marinara

Very good sauce - I did however cut the amout of onion down to 1/4 cup though and sauteed that along with the garlic and celery in olive oil instead of veg. oil. I also used one can of crushed tomatoes instead of one and a half - I mean what's the need of opening up an extra can. This really makes enough sauce. I had fresh basil on hand so I subbed that for the dry. This is a very thick sauce so if you're like me and don't want it as thick add 1/2 cup of white wine or water. A number of reviewers commented on this sauce being "tangy", that comes from the acidity of the tomatoes. To combat that I always add about 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar. I let the sauce some to a boil for a few minutes, then let it simmer for a couple hours. It's great over angel hair pasta!

I increased the oil a touch and use EVOO instead of vegetable oil. I didn't want to measure out the onion, I used one medium sweet onion. After tasting the sauce once it had time to simmer, I did add more basil and oregano because it didn't seem to be enough for me. This was a nice, basic marinara that was a bit on the thicker side. It went well over ravioli.

Makes me think I should never use sauce-in-a-jar again! Easy, quick, and, yes, hearty. Even the husband liked the meat-free menu with this sauce! Will make it again.

This was great. I had been looking for a nice marinara that wasn't in a jar. It was really thick so I did add 1/2 cup water and I also added a little sugar. Yum!

Great basic marinara! I use it frequently. I do make additions to suit my tastes, a bit of sugar, a can of diced tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, more garlic. Possibilities are endless.

This was fantastic. I used a combination of crushed & diced tomatoes. I had to add a little water to thin it out, but otherwise this was PERFECT. Thanks for making me look like a pro!

Pretty good, but not the best I've ever had. Tangier than I prefer.

I like this recipe I just substituted celery salt and used whole canned tomatoes and used a hand blender to make it the consistency I liked. Seasonings to me and family were right on target.

This was amazing! My entire family loved it. The only things I changed was to add a tablespoon of sugar, added a small zuccini (I don't like meat sauces), and didn't drain the tomatoes. Even the meat lovers in the house enjoyed (and got full from) this sauce, which I served with rotini.

This was a good and easy throw together marinara sauce. I wouldnt say is was the best but it was good. It was a little on the tangy side. Ill probably tweak it a little next time. Thanks for sharing!

Very good and quick! I cut the recipe to 4 servings as I only needed a dipping sauce for munchies. This went over very well. It couldn't be quicker to throw together.

I thought this was a pretty good recipe. Easy to make. although I found the tomato a little nasal and slightly over powering. A little sugar cured this problem slightly and all in all it was pretty good.

Pretty good...very similar to 'Best Marinara Yet'. I added white wine to this one, though.

I used a good olive oil in place of the vegetable oil and added 1/2 cup of white wine. The wine really enhances all the flavors. I've used this several times and found it is a great sauce to simmer with the large Italian sausages from Costco. Some nights I prepare the pasta, covering half with the marinara sauce and the other half with grated mizithra cheese and a good browned-butter & garlic sauce. The combined flavors make really happy taste buds.

Very easy, inexpensive, and tasty

Good basic sauce. Very basic and nice. I added fennel seeds and a couple tablespoons of half & half to bring down the acidity.

I made this with fresh italian parsley, basil, and a bit of oregano. I added water because I served it with homemade meatballs and I needed enough sauce to let them all simmer together. Tasty!

Gave it a 5 star for simplicity and good flavor. I like to add more spices and play with it but as is, it's a very good, very simple recipe.

Good recipe for a basic marinara sauce.

Wonderful base for a marinara sauce! Since my sauce was thicker than we prefer, I added a half a cup of water to thin the sauce and also about a half cup of red wine for depth of flavor. I then added a tablespoon of sugar at the end of the cooking period to counteract the tanginess. I simmered it for over an hour. Thanks for sharing!!!

This is an excellent marinara and so easy to make. My only criticism is that it is a little thicker than I am used to. I thought I had tried all the best pasta sauces but I was wrong about that! The flavor is simply wonderful and it is delicious for a quick recipe. I will undoubtedly make this again and add a small amount of water to thin it out slightly. Thanks, Shannon!

Excellent sauce. Like a few other reviewers, I added a tablespoon of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and increased the garlic to three cloves. I also used 2 full cans of tomatoes. I will definitely make this again and again!

This marinara sauce is absolutely delicious! I added a little sugar, and it made it taste even better.

Prepared this recipe as written. It was OK. Better than most jar sauce. But nowhere near the best marinara I have had. Perhaps some red wine and added simmer time would develop the flavors.

This was very favorful. My son who doesn't like marinara sauce had seconds. I have shared this recipe with a few friends. Fast and easy, I will continue using this recipe. Thanks!

Like others have said this is a great basic marinara. Simple and flavorful on its own yet easily dressed up.

This was a good recipe, I really enjoyed it.

This gets five stars for its ease of preparation and rich taste. I prepared it with tomato puree as my kids don't care for the texture of crushed. I did add two garden tomatoes. (Skipped the tomato paste.) I used fresh herbs from the garden and it was perfect. Will definitely make again and try using as a pizza sauce.

I didn;t think it was anything special. In fact, I found it a little weird that there wasn't even a pinch of salt to neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes. I addded some sugar and found even then that it was still quite acidic.

I'm not a celery fan, so I left it out, and I switched out vegetable oil for olive oil. It still tasted great!

Pretty good recipe. A few suggestions..add a half cup of finely chopped carrots, adds a little crunch. Think Italian... use olive oil!! 15 minutes simmering doesn't let the flavors blend. Try 30 minutes.

I really liked this sauce, and yes, I had to make a few modifications because of what I had on hand. I gave the onion and garlic a chop in my electric chopper to make it fine, and sauted in olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I omitted the celery because I didn't want chunks. I used 1 can of tomato sauce and 1 can of tomato puree. I also added about 2 tbsp. of brown sugar. Simmered for a few hours and loved it!

Excellent.....used tomatoes I put up last fall. Followed it to the letter. Thank you.....**smiles**

I didn't use celery in it, added an additional can of crushed tomato and a can of diced tomato with two cans of muchrooms. ground beef was added. we will use this recipe again and we decided to stop buying spaghetti sauce and other processed products

Absolutely perfect! I have this recipe memorized because of its simplicity. Cost effective too and since I hand make my pasta it works out very well. No changes needed...you can however bump up the spices a bit. After a few tries at this recipe, I did what Jillian did and cut the onions down to about 1/4 cup, but made sure they were fairly thin cut. I also grated the garlic and found the cook time was a lot quicker. Use this with any of the meatball recipes and take your pasta experience to a whole new level!

My wife loves this.

Have found the recipe very easy, but as others have stated they have added sugar to cut the acidity. I prefer to do this by adding several carrots or a can of carrots instead of sugar. Besides it adds quite a bit of Vitamin A .

I have been using a recipe exactly like this for 20 years - It is so versatile. Use either one or two cans of tomatoes, if I leave a 1/2 can in the fridge, I'll just have to throw it out later. Use a medium onion. No need for precise measuring here. Also, use whatever canned tomatoes you have: diced, whole, they are all fine. I agree with others to add Tbsp of brown sugar. I often add a red bell pepper, and sometimes some chili pepper flakes, depending on what the marinara is used for. Yep, 5 stars.

I consider myself to not be a great cook and this totally turned out for me. I didn't add the celery, simply because I didn't have any. I love that this recipe has such a lower sodium level than store bought. I added a little brown sugar, because I like sweeter things.

This recipe is just great, did not change one thing.

I'm not a celery fan, so I left it out, and I switched out vegetable oil for olive oil. It still tasted great!

This is a very nice marinara sauce. Make variations as you will, it’s all up to you! The main thing I changed was taking the onion/celery mix and running it through a blender/chopper to more finally chop it because my fine chopping abilities are not all that good. Added a little red wine because that’s what I was drinking at the time. All optional of course! Now my go-to. I think you will enjoy.

My husband loves this recipe. Every time I bring out a loaf of French bread he knows that we’re going to have the marinara sauce to go with it. He brags to everybody about how wonderful it is so thank you very much???

Very easy and quick to get together. I reduced the onion to 1/3 of a cup and used only one stalk of celery. It had a nice tomato flavor and was perfect with my chicken parmesan. I think next time I would use some fresh herbs instead of dried for a brighter flavor.

This truly is the BEST marinara sauce recipe. It's my "go to" recipe when making Chef John's Best Chicken Parmesan Bake. I double the batch and freeze the leftovers so that all I have to do is thaw it when needed. I use one onion and one sweet green pepper for a double batch. Delicious!

This was wonderful! I did not have any celery on hand, so I left that out. I added 1 lb of browned hamburger meat and let simmer for four hours. Was so good! I will be using this recipe as my go-to sauce from now on!

Great! Easy to prepare. I added diced mushrooms and might add 1/4 cup red wine next time I make it.

Very good marinara sauce. I made it exactly as written and the whole fam loved it. The only thing I did different is I chopped the onions and celery, then put them in a food processor.....my kids have a "texture" issue and won't eat any sauce with "chunks" in. LOL......

Love this recipe! Easy to make and so versatile! The only change I make to the basic recipe is to add some cocoa powder to cut the acidity of tomatoes and give depth of flavor.

Best Marinara Haiku: "Woah, this makes a ton! And it's very thick as well. I froze half of it." I only used one 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, and was fine that way b/c the sauce was really thick as it was, and I didn't want to open up another can just for half. Better than a jarred sauce, absolutely, but still needed ... something. I let is simmer for several hours, and checked on its flavor around 2 hrs., thinking it needed a bit of sugar, which helped cut the acidity. Served it w/ garlic breadsticks, parmesan chicken, and Chef John's butter roasted cauliflower, and it complemented everything nicely, so I'll look forward to thawing the other frozen half of it for use on just about anything.

Fast, easy , wonderful flavor. This one was a real hit!

Good recipe. I found it a little tangy. I did add some sugar, but will add a bit more next time. Definitely a good base recipe.

This receipt is so easy and so good... I made it with frozen fresh tomatoes from my garden and slow simmered all day with Moose Italian Sausage in it... Delicious!!!! I doubled receipt because I had a half gallon of tomatoes...

Truly lives up to the title of the Best. I substituted fresh basil and oregano and used celery seed instead of celery and added a fresh tomato from the garden. Came out great.

It was a very good sauce but I did make a couple of changes. I used olive oil and increased the onion and garlic. My family prefers it that way. Was really pleased with the recipe.

Amazing flavor. Will definitely make again!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Very good. My husband loved it. I used olive oil instead of the vegetable oil. It was very easy, and quick. What could be better?

It turned out delicious. I didn’t use the celery, I’ll try that next time. For a quick sauce, this was easy & tasty.