• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes, with their juices
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoon oregano (or Italian seasoning)
  • 2 teaspoon basil
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

So I have been itching lately to make my own marinara sauce instead of using jarred sauce all the time. The one thing that drives me nuts is making the sauce and having it simmer for 6 hours or all day, granted I am all about the simmering to have all the flavors come out and make an amazing sauce but sometimes time is limited. So I looked around and put together a quick recipe for some homemade marinara sauce that only takes about 45 minutes to make, it certainly was a big hit in the house and I plan to continue working on adding other flavors and seasoning.

Directions:

  1. In a large saucepan or deep skillet, heat the olive oil at low heat. Add the garlic, onion and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
  2. Pour in the tomatoes with their juices, bring the sauce to a boil, and then add the salt, pepper, oregano, basil (or other seasoning you want instead).
  3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 45 to 50 minutes. As the sauce thickens toward the end, stir in the balsamic vinegar. Remove the pan from heat. Remove bay leaves.

Cook’s Notes:

When I turned down the sauce from a boil to a simmer I added in some sausage and meatballs to add some additional flavors. Be creative! This is a nice base to start with, add some bell peppers if you want.