Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes is a delicious, homemade pasta sauce is bursting with ripe, juicy tomatoes, savory garlic, and fresh herbs…but the best part is that it’s ready in 30 minutes!
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Happy Friday, friends! I'm back today with another fabulous recipe that's amazingly full of flavor for being so quick and easy to throw together. And conveniently enough, this 30-minute Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes can actually be used as an ingredient in the 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna that I posted last week!
In many ways, I am sad to see summer go. I've been spoiled all season long by fresh produce from my in-laws' garden, roadside stands, and farmers markets, from zucchini to yellow squash to cucumbers to peaches.
But my favorite fresh summer produce of all, hands-down, would be tomatoes. Whether I'm enjoying caprese salads, thick-sliced tomato sandwiches, Marinated Tomatoes, or refreshing Gazpacho alllll summer long, I am addicted to tomatoes, I tell ya.
At the height of tomato season this year, there were times that we had almost more tomatoes than we could eat, if you can imagine such a thing. So rather than just enjoying them in their raw glory as we typically do, I began incorporating them as roasted tomato side dishes and started making my own marinara sauce. And TA-DAAAA...that would be the recipe I'm sharing today!
30-Minute Marinara
If you've been visiting Five Heart Home for any length of time -- or heck, even if this is your first visit (welcome!) and you've done little more than read the tagline at the top of my site -- you already know that I'm all about quick and easy recipes. In fact, I somehow (unintentionally) manage to work that phrase into just about every post...not because I'm trying to, but because it's true! If a recipe is not quick and easy, odds are that my three young children won't afford me the time (or the energy) to make it.
So this 30-Minute Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes is not your Italian grandmother's slow-cooked-all-day, secret family recipe marinara.
Rather, as the name implies, it starts with fresh tomatoes and it's done in about half an hour.
Now I ask you...how can you beat that?!
How to Make It
If you've made homemade marinara sauce before, you know that it typically involves blanching and peeling tomatoes and slowly simmering them for hours to develop a deep, rich, mellow flavor. Well, this is not that marinara sauce. For one thing, let's just be honest here...I am too lazy to blanch and peel tomatoes. And that's okay, because I don't at all mind little bits of tomato skin in my sauce. In fact, I enjoy a marinara with a bit of texture, and this one has that.
My method for making this sauce is to cut my tomatoes into chunks and then squeeze them with my hands into a big pot to break them up into little bits. This can be a messy process, so if you would rather give your tomato chunks a few pulses in the food processor to achieve the same effect, I would completely understand.
Ingredients
In addition to fresh tomatoes, this recipe features olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, and a bit of seasoning/flavor-balancing thanks to salt, pepper, sugar, and balsamic vinegar.
That's it!
Simple ingredients...simple, fresh-tasting, flavorful marinara.
Fresh Herb Shortcut
I'm all about shortcuts, and if you are, too, I've got one more for ya.
When making this marinara, I toss a big bunch of fresh herbs directly into the sauce, stems and all. All that's required is to give them a quick rinse...no chopping required. During the simmering process, the leaves will fall away and it's easy to pick out the stems after everything is finished cooking.
How to Puree
After the sauce has cooked down for 30 minutes, I like to give it a quick whirl with my immersion blender so that it's slightly pureed but still has texture.
If you don't have an immersion blender, you could also pulse it a few times in the food processor...just be sure to let it cool down a good bit before doing so!
And if you prefer a chunky marinara, simply leave your sauce as-is.
Subbing Canned Tomatoes
If you get a hankering for this quick marinara after tomato season is over, feel free to simply use canned, preferably high-quality tomatoes (like San Marzano). Four pounds of fresh tomatoes is approximately equal to 2 (28-ounce) cans or 4 (14.5-ounce) cans.
Look for tomatoes canned in their own juices without the addition of garlic, herbs, or extra seasonings.
Canned whole tomatoes will need to be cut/mashed up as directed in this recipe; canned diced tomatoes may be used as-is.
And finally, if using canned tomatoes, drain and reserve the juice, only adding to the marinara sauce if more liquid is required.
To Can or to Freeze?
This recipe was not developed with canning in mind and, alas, I am not a canning expert. So unfortunately, unable to advise as to whether this marinara would be a good candidate for canning, nor can I give directions on how to do so.
However, I do know that this Homemade Marinara freezes beautifully!
- Allow the sauce to cool to lukewarm.
- Transfer into freezer safe containers. (If you use a freezer-thickness gallon-sized plastic bags, squeeze out any air, spread the sauce into a thin layer, and freeze the bags flat. Then once they're frozen, you can stand them up to save space, like books on a bookshelf!)
- Label and freeze for up to 6 months.
- The day before you'd like to enjoy your Marinara, move the frozen container to the fridge to thaw overnight. Then transfer the sauce to a pot and reheat on the stove.
Whether you make it with fresh tomatoes or canned, in July or February, this quick and easy Marinara Sauce is perfect over pasta or incorporated into any recipe that calls for marinara, from Slow Cooker Meatball Subs to Zucchini Marinara to Baked Tortellini anything in between.
It's a great beginner recipe for someone who's never made homemade marinara sauce before, but it's so delicious that you'll revisit it time and time again.
Enjoy, y'all!
More Fresh Tomato Recipes
- Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad
- Black Bean, Corn, & Tomato Salad
- Summer Couscous Salad
- Tex-Mex Corn, Tomato, & Avocado Salad
Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Video
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ripe tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch fresh herbs, such as basil, or a combo of basil, parsley, oregano, and/or thyme
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
- Additional fresh chopped herbs, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes into chunks. Using your hands, squeeze them into bits over a large, deep bowl or pot, including juices. (Alternatively, you may pulse them a few times in a food processor.) Set aside.
- In a large pot set over low heat, sauté minced garlic in olive oil until softened and fragrant. Add tomatoes and juices to pot, place fresh herb bunch on top, raise heat to medium, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When sauce has thickened and reduced, remove herb stems. Stir in sugar, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings. If desired, add crushed red pepper flakes and additional fresh chopped herbs. Use an immersion blender or food mill to slightly puree sauce. (Or you may allow sauce to cool and pulse it in batches in a food processor. Do not over-process...a bit of texture should remain.) Serve warm or allow to slightly cool and store in a container or jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- If fresh tomatoes are out of season, you may substitute high-quality canned tomatoes (canned in their own juices without the addition of garlic, herbs, or extra seasonings, such as San Marzano). Canned whole tomatoes need to be cut/mashed up as directed in this recipe; canned diced tomatoes may be used as-is. If using canned tomatoes, drain and reserve the juice, only adding to the marinara sauce if more liquid is required.
- The amount of sugar, salt, pepper, and balsamic required will depend on the sweetness and acidity of the tomatoes you use. Start with the directed amounts of seasonings and add more as needed. For this particular batch of marinara, I ended up increasing the amounts to 1 ½ tablespoons sugar and ¾ teaspoon salt.
Nutrition
Adapted from Food52.
Recipe originally posted at Love Grows Wild on July 27, 2014, and published here on August 28, 2014.
You leave the tomato skin on and include the tomato seeds?
Yes 🙂
I've made this with fresh herbs and it is delicious. However, it's the middle of November and I need to use up tomatoes that have been ripening in my garage. I no longer have access to the quantity of fresh herbs I did during the growing season. Buying fresh for 25-30 lbs of tomatoes would be very expensive. Could I use my dried herbs? If so, what quantities and should I put them in a bag of cheese cloth? I can likely figure this out on my own, but I would like your input.
Hi Linda! How lucky you are to have a final round of homegrown tomatoes! You could definitely use dried herbs in place of fresh and add them directly to this sauce...no need for cheese cloth. The important thing to keep in mind is that dried herbs are three times as potent as fresh herbs. So if you're able to estimate the quantity of fresh herbs you typically use, you would need 1/3 that amount of the equivalent dried herbs. Just guessing, I'd probably start with 2 teaspoons Italian herbs plus 1 additional teaspoon dried parsley for the quantity of sauce in this recipe (4 lbs tomatoes/1 quart marinara). Of course, it will all depend on how herb-y you like your marinara! You could definitely start with less dried herbs and then add extra at the end after you've tasted your sauce. Good luck and hope this helps! 🙂
I have loved, made, and canned it. FANTASTIC AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
This sauce turned out absolutely amazingly! I made this for the first time and added minced onion and garlic powder to it and the taste was so wonderful! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Excellent
I made this sauce.
Wonderful is all I can say about it. Very easy to make with such big flavor
HI! If I wanted to make this into a spaghetti would you recommend I make the marina first and then add the other items (cooked ground beef, mushrooms, peppers) like I would a spaghetti sauce and simmer again? Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Charm! This marinara sauce works great for spaghetti. While the marinara finishes cooking, I would probably start the ground beef/mushrooms/peppers, etc. in a second big pot. Then once the beef is browned and the veggies are tender, you can pour the finished marinara into that pot of cooked ground beef and let everything simmer together for a few minutes longer. 🙂
Simple and delicious!
How many tomatoes are in 4 lbs?
Hi Karen! The number of tomatoes in 4 pounds depends on the type and the size of tomatoes you're using. If you buy your tomatoes at a store, you can weigh them there, or you can use a kitchen scale if you have one at home. Otherwise, there are online charts that estimate how many tomatoes are in a pound depending on type/size. I'm sorry that I can't give you a more precise answer, but I hope one of these methods helps! 🙂
Do you think adding chopped onion would be good? I’m making it today! So excited!!
Yes, you can definitely add some onion if you like! 🙂
Just made it tonight with some tomatoes from the in laws. Served it with some psedo fresh raviolis. No sugar, we don’t like that and it is totally not needed in this recipe. Had fresh basil, oregano and rosemary. Left them on the stem, then at the last I added some chopped up. So fresh and exhilarating, definite go to when I have fresh tomatoes. I did blanch and ice to get the skins off. After ripening some weren’t too pretty.