Easy Marinara Sauce

4.62 from 21 votes

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

This is my favorite marinara sauce. We make it all of the time! It goes great with pasta, lasagna, polenta, and any other Italian dish you can think of!

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: marinara sauce

Servings:

Calories: 150kcal

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of fennel seed
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup freshly chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar, optional

Instructions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in the fennel seed, crushed red pepper, and bay leaf.
Stir in the tomatoes. Add the basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar, If using. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste the sauce and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.

Notes

Makes about 4 cups marinara sauce

You can easily double this recipe. I like to make big batches of this sauce and freeze it. You can also can this sauce.

Nutrition