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Quick and Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

December 7, 2008 by KimiHarris 28 Comments

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Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*
This lovely simple sauce uses basic pantry items, and its secret lies in the wine lacing it.


This easy to make marinara sauce is seasoned with basil, onions, and garlic and laced with wine. This is the sauce that convinced my husband that spaghetti sauce does not need to be sweetened (he has gladly thrown out those Prego spaghetti sauce jars in exchange for this one!).

Although it is a full flavored sauce, is it quite simple and fast to make. It’s the time of year for Christmas baking and shopping, card writing, and relative visiting. In other words, we are busy! It can be tempting to fudge a bit on our healthy cooking, but there are easy, nourishing dinners that you can throw together quickly.

This easy to make marinara sauce is quick to throw together after a busy day and makes a wonderful main dish when poured over some spaghetti noodles (perhaps with meatballs and Parmesan cheese). To keep things easy you can use brown rice noodles, paleo grain-free noodles, or you can use my soaked noodle recipe.

We use this sauce as part of many other dishes, but we love it simply tossed with some hot noodles. Serve with a green salad and some garlic bread and you have a gourmet meal that is nourishing and easy as well.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

I use whatever wine I have on hand. I have used white and red with good success (though red is probably a more natural fit). Just make sure you use drinking wine (those cheap cooking wines aren’t worth having in your kitchen!). You can adjust the wine amount to personal preference, sometimes I don’t even measure, but pour to taste. You can also easily use other herbs, or fresh herbs. I often use this as the foundation for more elaborate sauces.

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3-6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 28 ounce jar of pureed or chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 cup of wine
Sea salt and pepper to taste

1-Heat a sauce pan on medium high heat with the olive oil. When hot add the onion and salt well. Sauté, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and transparent. Then add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes more (don’t let them brown). Add wine and simmer until slightly reduced in volume (around 3 minutes or less).

2-Add the tomatoes and dried basil, and salt and pepper and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, taste test and add salt and more pepper, if needed (by the way, it will taste much more “winey” before it is poured over the noodles. The noodles dilute the flavor a bit).

Serve as desired (with noodles, polenta, etc).

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KimiHarris

I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

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Filed Under: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nourishing Frugal Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly the Kitchen Kop

    December 7, 2008 at 7:54 pm

    Can’t wait to try this, Kimi!

    Question about the brown rice noodles – do you notice a difference in brands? I have tried Tinkyada (sp?) and can’t stand the taste!

    Thanks, Kelly

    Reply
  2. Kimi Harris

    December 7, 2008 at 10:10 pm

    Hi Kelly,

    Different brands of brown rice noodles do have different characteristics. Some fall apart much easier, for example. But I am really surprised that you don’t like Tinkyada’s! We love it! How did you serve it? With a flavorful sauce, we have served it to unsuspecting guests without them noticing anything different (we asked them after the meal!). 😉

    My sister actually ate some leftovers from the fridge once and didn’t notice anything being different than regular pasta.

    While if you are paying attention, there is definitely a difference, we have always thought certain brands, like Tinkyada to be very mild.

    All to say, if you didn’t like Tinkyada’s you probably won’t like Trader Joes, because it is very similar.

    Too bad, since it makes such a healthy pasta. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Jenn

    December 8, 2008 at 12:55 am

    Yum!
    I make a sauce like this, and add cooked red lentils for protein, so it looks like a bolognaise sauce, and serve with noodles/rice/whatever.

    I like how versatile this recipe is.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    December 8, 2008 at 6:46 am

    Hi Kimi,
    This looks and sounds really yummy, healthy and quick….I can’t wait to try it….
    Do you have a certain wine brand that you like for cooking with?

    Jessica O.

    Reply
  5. Cathy

    December 8, 2008 at 8:29 pm

    Okay, we tried this tonight for supper and it was absolutely delicious!!! I will be making this again and again! Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Kimi Harris

    December 8, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    Cathy,

    I am so thrilled that you like it. 🙂 You are more than welcome.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    December 9, 2008 at 2:52 am

    I have made a sauce like this for a while. Recently, because I was out of canned chopped tomatoes I used a can of peeled whole tomatoes. When it was finished cooking I used my hand blender to mix it together.

    What a difference. The sauce was thicker, with a heartier (and I think) more satisfying texture. It also didn’t seperate as my usual sauce did.

    I also throw in a pinch of dried red chili flakes in the olive oil with the garlic.

    ps I love your web site – its so informative and the recipes are awesome.

    Sephaya

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    December 9, 2008 at 6:16 am

    Kimi,
    I made this last night for supper…It was so very good….everyone loved it….Thanks for posting it….
    Jessica O.

    Reply
  9. Kimi Harris

    December 9, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    Sephaya,

    Thanks for the comment. 🙂 I bet that would be good. And I am sure that added red peppers flakes would add a zing. Yum!

    Jessica,

    Wow, you guys are fast! I can’t believe that two people have already tried this recipe. I am so glad that you like it. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Liz

    December 10, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    If there were no pasta, my children would not eat… I’m going to give this a try as it sounds delicious. I have a homemade recipe for a sauce that takes hours and hours, and I have another from Weight Watchers, but really, can’t you always use another pasta sauce recipe? Love it!

    Have you heard about the new cookbook featuring Trader Joe’s products? It’s called “Cooking With All Things Trader Joe’s” and lets busy cooks make quick and easy gourmet meals using TJ items. I am always looking to cook healthy (byproduct of Weight Watchers!) and the ideas in this cookbook are exactly right for that. The recipes combine fresh ingredients and lots of veggies with TJ products. I always feel so good about using TJ sauces and ingredients because they’re so much healthier than other brands — the ingredients are natural and preservative-free.

    Give it a look!

    Reply
  11. Kimi Harris

    December 10, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    Liz,

    My daughter loves pasta as well. I also enjoy many of Trader Jo’s products and appreciate their low prices so much! Thanks for letting me know about their cookbook, it seems like I did hear something about it when it first came out.

    And you are right, one can always use another pasta sauce. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Caroline

    December 11, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    Ah, I was totally inspired to make my own tomato sauce for dinner! This was my first time making it myself (though I’d seen my mom make homemade sauce growing up). I didn’t have any wine open (and I know that will really kick it up a notch) but I did have the rest of the ingredients, and I subbed Herbes de Provence for the dried basil (since I couldn’t find any in the kitchen).

    It was superb over wheat pasta! Thanks for the inspiration and I look forward to making the version with wine as well.

    Reply
  13. Kimi Harris

    December 11, 2008 at 9:38 pm

    Caroline,

    I am so glad that you liked it, even without the wine. I bet that herbes de provence would be wonderful. Isn’t it so easy to make? That’s what I love so much about it. 🙂

    Reply
  14. Johanna

    March 6, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    I made this tonight and it was a hit! Really tasty, and so easy! I didn’t have any wine in the house, so I used homemade chicken stock instead. I served it over whole wheat pasta and put some meatballs I had made before and frozen with it. I plan to make this a regular in our menu plan!

    Reply
  15. gerry

    March 20, 2009 at 8:43 pm

    This entry prompts me to share my favorite pasta-quick “sauce”. Trader Joe’s has little
    jars of sliced sun-dried tomato strips in pure olive oil that is my base…heat it, add whatever you like after pushing the little strips to the side so they don’t burn. I usually
    add onion, garlic, pepper, fresh tomato or whatevere else I have that I like on pasta. Deglaze the pan with white wine, add a can of chopped tomatoes if that is your thing. I
    add a spoonful of capers at the end and finish the plate with toasted pine nuts. Love it!
    I’ve enjoyed browsing this website this evening. As you can tell I like assertive flavors!

    Reply
  16. Diane G.

    July 17, 2009 at 11:14 am

    This is the recipe I have been looking for. I have been, at my children’s request, trying to duplicate my mother-in-law’s sauce recipe and this comes pretty close. I added one small can of tomato paste and that seemed to make it complete. I also cooked my meatballs in the sauce. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  17. Darla

    July 28, 2009 at 4:42 pm

    Thanks for posting this recipe; it sounds great. I have tons of tomatoes, so I’m looking for ways to make them last. Do you think this recipe would freeze well?

    Reply
  18. B. Stoll

    July 2, 2010 at 8:19 pm

    Hello and thank you for posting this wonderful recipe! This is the first home made sauce I’ve ever made and I followed it pretty much to the letter (I did cheat and get crushed tomatoes that already had basil in it, but everything else, to the letter). I added in some italian sausage. Thanks again, easy recipee and very fast!

    Reply
  19. Simply Life

    July 16, 2010 at 3:31 am

    Just wanted to let you know I just tried this sauce and posted about it! Thanks!

    Reply
  20. Jay

    July 27, 2010 at 7:57 am

    this was great. Only change I made was added oregano and puree’d it afterwards…was great.

    Reply
  21. Carisse

    May 5, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    Hi Kimi,
    I stumbled on ur website and am very glad about it! Have tried a few recipes and they are great! Check with you though, is there any substitute for white wine as my family do not take wine. Can I use water? Thanks!

    Reply
  22. Chelsea

    July 23, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    Just made this sauce tonight over webcam w/ my long-distance bf. Due to our different cooking styles and timing the sauce ended up simmering for closer to 30+ min instead of 10, but all the better. We both added a little extra wine and a small bit of sugar too. Great basic starter recipe that we both adjusted to our tastes and turned out excellent on both ends! Two happy bellies here…thanks!

    Reply
  23. Lauren

    November 12, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    Hi Kimi,
    This recipe looks great. I too am wondering if there’s a particular brand of red wine you like to cook with? I honestly have no idea what to use so any help would be appreciated.

    Reply
  24. Insirah Mim

    March 12, 2013 at 7:23 pm

    OMG i am 12 years old and i made this it was soooo delicious!

    Reply
  25. laila

    September 14, 2013 at 3:08 am

    can we substitute wine for anything else.

    Reply
  26. Erin

    December 4, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    Hi … is there a typo or is this calling for a 128 oz can of tomatoes? Seems like a lot! 🙂 Thanks

    Reply
  27. Erin

    December 5, 2014 at 4:37 pm

    I was obviously cross eyed from looking at recipes last night. I now realize it said “one” 28 oz jar of tomatoes. Sorry.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Soft Polenta: Soaked, Nixtamalized and Delicious says:
    March 12, 2009 at 7:40 am

    […] I served a bowl of this soft, flavorful polenta, topped with simple marinara sauce to my two year old daughter last night, she dug in with enthusiasm even though she had never eaten […]

    Reply

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The information you find here at The Nourishing Gourmet is meant to help you become a better cook! This site is primarily for sharing family friendly recipes. It's not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases.This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Also, any links to sponsors or affiliates (including Amazon) may give me a percentage of the sale or a pay per click. Thank you for supporting this site.

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