Easy Marinara Sauce made with crushed tomatoes and fresh or dried herbs is simple, quick, and the perfect sauce for your pasta!

A wooden spoon of easy marinara sauce in a large pot.

This easy marinara sauce takes about 30 minutes to make and will keep for days in the refrigerator or months in the freezer. It’s bursting with tomato flavor, the way a marinara sauce should be. And it’s way better than jarred sauce!

You can add ground beef or sausage (or both) to make this a quick and hearty marinara sauce.

  • Dutch oven – I love my Le Creuset Dutch ovens, but this option from Lodge is less expensive and gets great reviews! And this one from Amazon Basics is nice too!
  • Olive oil
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Crushed tomatoes
  • Red wine – adds a subtle flavor to your marinara sauce
  • Granulated sugar
  • Fresh or dried basil
  • Fresh or dried oregano
  • Fresh or dried parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
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How to make easy marinara sauce

Step 1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and stir for about a minute then add garlic. Turn heat to low and stir just until garlic and onion turn light but not brown.

Step 2. Add crushed tomatoes, wine, sugar and seasonings. Stir well and simmer about an hour.

Cook’s Tip: Here’s a tutorial for how to make crushed tomatoes.

This sauce is wonderful over any type of pasta, meatballs or chicken for chicken parmesan. One batch usually makes enough for one meal and a nice bit of leftover marinara sauce for the freezer.

Note: I clipped this recipe from a newspaper about 20 years ago, from an article titled “An Italian Grandma’s Kitchen.” So while some marinara sauce recipes will omit the onion, the Italian grandmother in that article added it.

A wooden spoon stirring a pot of marinara sauce.

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4.84 from 12 votes

Easy Marinara Sauce

A simple Italian marinara sauce with crushed tomatoes and seasonings. It’s great for pasta and quick enough for a week night.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 

  • 4 tbsps olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 28- ounce cans crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen organic)
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)
  • 2 tbsps chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried
  • 1 tbsps chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
  • 1 tbsps chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
  • Add onion and stir for about a minute then add garlic.
  • Turn heat to low and stir just until garlic and onion turn light but not brown.
  • Add crushed tomatoes, wine, sugar and seasonings.
  • Stir well and simmer about an hour.

Notes

Add cooked ground beef or Italian sausage (or a mix of both) to make this a quick and easy meaty sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 6servings, Calories: 194kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 614mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 13g
Course: Sauces
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 194
Keyword: easy marinara sauce, easy tomato sauce, marinara sauce
Love this recipe?Mention @southernfoodandfun or tag #southernfoodandfun!

Update Notes: This post was originally published March 8, 2011, and on February 19, 2020, was updated with one or more of the following: step-by-step photos, video, updated recipe, new tips.

More Italian-American recipes:

Lucy standing behind a counter with a cheese board and glass of wine.

About the author

Hi, I’m Lucy! I’m a home cook, writer, food and wine fanatic, and recipe developer. I’ve created and tested hundreds of recipes so that I can bring you the best tried and true favorites.

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Recipe Rating




18 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this a good few times now and just making it again for Cheesy Mozzarella Chicken Bake. This is a really tasty and easy sauce to make. My go to marinara sauce recipe. We love it x

  2. 5 stars
    Since I tried this recipe, I have not used any other, and certainly not jarred sauce. This is so delicious. Thank you!

    1. Thank you so much! I just love how easy this sauce is, and how you can add whatever you want.

    1. I have never canned it but I just about always double or triple the recipe anyway! I like to keep some in the freezer.

  3. I’m putting this recipe on the inside of my cabinet door to join all my other favorite recipes!! It’s quick to make, I always have these items in my pantry and it’s delicious!! I left out the sugar and only had one can crushed tomatoes so I used some stewed tomatoes I had in the freezer.
    Thank you!!!

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I think pretty much any tomatoes will work, I just like the texture of the crushed tomatoes.

  4. This is a keeper. An excellent pantry staple meal. I did blend the sauce and added bay leaf with the tomatoes and about 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Very nice weeknight meal.

  5. is there something i could subsitute for the wine -i have everything else i need to make this except the wine and no way to get to the store

  6. 5 stars
    That looks awesome. I will probably make it and try to sub a tiny drop of local honey for the sugar.

    1. Thanks, I’m sure honey would work fine. It just adds a little balance to the acid of the tomatoes to avoid bitterness. And you should taste before you add either — you may find that you don’t need to add anything. Enjoy!

  7. 5 stars
    That looks awesome. I will probably make it and try to sub a tiny drop of local honey for the sugar.