BEST Marinara Sauce
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Look no further for the BEST Marinara Sauce recipe EVER! You won’t find a more flavorful marinara sauce. It’s easy to make and is absolutely PACKED with flavor! Canning instructions are included so you can enjoy the fresh flavor of tomatoes all year long!
What is Marinara Sauce?
Marinara sauce is a popular tomato sauce that is an essential staple in Italian cuisine. It consists of tomatoes, garlic, onions, olive oil, and a variety of herbs and spices. It’s known for its bright and fresh flavor, is highly versatile, and is a key component in many Italian dishes such as chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan, pasta alla norma, and spaghetti and meatballs.
Ingredients
It’s hard to beat a simple dish of fresh pasta topped with homemade marinara sauce. The key is using quality products and when you have those these simplest of dishes come to life. The Italians have relied on the best of the best tomatoes for centuries: Sun-kissed San Marzano tomatoes. They’re stronger in flavor and much sweeter than most any other variety. And for that reason it’s hard to replicate the flavor of the marinara sauces you find in southern Italy. Our tomatoes require the help of a few flavor boosts, a dash of sugar being one of them.
This marinara sauce is slow-simmered with a variety of herbs and seasonings for 2 hours. The end result is a delicious sauce you can either eat right away, freeze or can for long-term storage so you can enjoy the vibrancy of Summer all year long! This is the BEST marinara sauce for canning!
I am often asked if you can use fresh onions instead of dehydrated onions. I recommend dehydrated onions for two reasons 1) fresh onions are high in water and can dilute and interfere with the pH level of the tomato sauce (this is not important however if you are not canning the sauce and 2) dehydrated onions are especially suited to canning because their flavor is more concentrated and they contribute a better flavor long-term.
Can You Freeze Marinara Sauce?
Yes, this marinara freezes really well and there is no need to add lemon juice or citric acid. Put the cooled marinara sauce in freezer ziplock bags and lay them flat to take up less space or freeze the sauce in containers. It will keep for up to 6 months. Simply thaw and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Marinara Sauce Recipe
Select the best tomatoes you can find. The ideal tomatoes are ones that are very meaty with few seeds. Roma tomatoes fall into that category and are the most readily available and they, like other paste tomatoes like San Marzano’s, develop the best flavor when cooked down into a sauce. That said, you can use whatever tomatoes you have available and if they’re grown in your own garden so much the better.
Blanch the tomatoes for a minute in boiling water to loosen the skins. Peel the tomatoes and squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes.
Place the tomatoes in a large pot with all the ingredients (except for the citric acid/lemon juice). Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring every once in a while. Adjust seasonings to taste. Discard the bay leaves.
Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and puree until desired consistency.
I use and recommend Cuisinart’s Immersion Blender, I’ve been using mine for 10 years and it’s still going strong.
The sauce is ready but the flavor is even better after a day or two.
You can either enjoy the sauce now, freeze it, or can it for future use.
How to Can Marinara Sauce
Before you fill the sterilized jars with the marinara sauce, add 1/4 tsp Citric Acid per pint or add 1 tbsp bottled lemon juice per pint (double those quantities for quarts). This is per USDA guidelines as a requirement for safe canning. Fill the hot marinara sauce into the jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Screw on the clean lids and rims.
Next you’ll use a water canner to process the jars. This complete canning set has everything you’ll need. Place the jars in the boiling water canning and process for 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts (wait for the water to return to a boil before you start the time). Turn off the heat and let the jars rest for 5 minutes before removing.
Adjustments for canning at high altitude:
- At 1,001 to 3,000 feet (305 to 914 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 5 minutes.
- At 3,001 to 6,000 feet (914 to 1,829 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 10 minutes.
- Above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) increase processing time by 15 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars from the water canner and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals. Stored in a dark, cool place the jars will keep for at least a year but for best flavor use within six months.
Enjoy!
For more fabulous canning recipes be sure to try our:
- Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers
- Pickled Jalapenos
- Pickled Okra
- Dill Pickle Relish
- Giardiniera
- Corn Relish
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish
- Pickled Onions
- Pickled Carrots
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Pickled Green Beans
- Pickled Asparagus
- Pickled Beets
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BEST Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 pounds ripe tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dried/dehydrated minced onion (provides a great flavor boost and is especially suited to canning for long-term storage)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil * omit if canning (see note)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon dark balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ground sage
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- citric acid or bottled lemon juice, if canning (per USDA guidelines as a requirement for safe canning)
Instructions
- Blanch the tomatoes for about a minute in a pot of boiling water to loosen the skins. Peel the tomatoes, squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes.
- Place the chopped tomatoes in a large pot along with the remaining ingredients (except for the citric acid). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 2 hours, stirring every now and then. Discard the bay leaves. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree until desired consistency is reached.You can use the sauce now (flavor gets better in a day or two), freeze it or can it for long-term storage.
- To can the sauce: Place 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice in the bottom of each sterilized pint-sized jar (double the quantity for quart jars). Ladle the hot marinara sauce into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth. Screw on the clean lids and rims. Place the jars in a boiling water canner and process 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts. Turn off the heat and let the jars sit for 5 minutes. Remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals. Stored in a dark, cool place the jars will keep for at least a year but for best flavor use within six months.Makes approximately 6 pints.
Notes
- At 1,001 to 3,000 feet (305 to 914 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 5 minutes.
- At 3,001 to 6,000 feet (914 to 1,829 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 10 minutes.
- Above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) increase processing time by 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 8, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Just made this sauce today and it is wonderful. It was easy to make and it tastes incredible. We just added 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a more intense flavor. This is a keeper that we will enjoy all winter long.
Fantastic, Martine, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
This is now the second batch I make marinara Sauce using this recipe. It’s so good, I used also for baked fish and chicken.
Thanks for sharing your recipe
Thanks so much, Miracle! :)
Hi Elise. I have made six batches of your salsa canned, and so when I decided I had enough, but just picked a full hydrator pan full of various tomatoes, I decided to try my hand at canning marinara. So, of course, I googled YOU to see if you had a recipe! A couple questions, can I roast the tomatoes to have roasted tomato salsa? I do this on the charcoal for the salsa and then peel. Wondered if it would work for marinara. Also, I have all the herbs, minus the fennel and bay leaves, fresh. Can I substitute fresh rather than dried? This was a great season for us in Folsom, for tomatoes and peppers ! I dont want to waste them! Thanks again!
Hi Karen! I’m not sure whether or not roasting the tomatoes will alter the pH level. The only way to know for sure is to test the finished batch with a pH strip and add more acid (vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid, etc) if needed.
Thanks!
Can you leave out the olive oil?
Hi Sherry, yes you can.
Hello and thank you for the recipe! I’m a bit concerned about water bath canning vs. pressure canning. Can you ease my mind and confirm we’re ok NOtT to pressure can? Thank you!!
Hi Kimberly,
I used and adapted your recipe for my first time canning marinara. I tripled the recipe and used the vegetable strainer attachment for our KitchenAid blender, with this we processed all 36 lbs of tomatoes in an hour. Your recipe is fantastic! We are very happy with the results. Thank you for sharing this.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Greg, thanks so much for the feedback!
Thank you, your comment answered my question. Did it still have a pretty thick consistency?
Yes, but we simmered the sauce for 4 to 5 hours to get it to the consistency we wanted.
I read online that I could not safely can sauce with olive oil. I am very new to canning, I did this recipe and only altered the spices, as reading that it was okay to do with canning, as long as it was only the spices, so is it actually safe to can this recipe? I’m worried now!! Lol
Hi Heather, there is conflicting information out there for sure. Even the National Center for Home Food Preservation, a leading authority on canning, contradicts itself. On the one hand one article recommends against using oil while on the other hand they present multiple “tested and safe” water-bath-canning recipes that use as much as 2 cups of oil. Here are a couple of examples:
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/marinated_mushrooms.html
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/marinated_peppers.html
Another leading authority on canning is Ball. Here is one of their “tested and safe” recipes for tomato sauce that also uses olive oil:
https://www.freshpreserving.com/basil-garlic-tomato-sauce-%7C-recipes-for-tomato-sauce-%7C-ball-preserving-br1045.html
The main thing is to be sure the jars are properly sealed by wiping the rims so they are free of any oil residue.
“Store in a dark, cool place for at least a year, but for best flavor use within 6 months.” This sentence should be corrected to read “The jars should be stored in a cool, dark place for up to a year, for best flavor use within six months.”
Thanks, Debbie. Even better it should read “Stored in a dark, cool place the jars will keep for at least a year but for best flavor use within six months.” I’ve made the correction.
I need to use up a #10 can of tomato sauce. Can you tell me how that amount compares with your 12 lbs of tomatoes cooked down? How many quarts\pints did this re Ile make? Any other adjustments you think I should make or any advice? Thanks!