Why use a grocery store marinara sauce when you can make this homemade Spicy Marinara Sauce recipe? This recipe is quick and easy and makes the most delicious pasta sauce from the comfort of your kitchen. This simple sauce is made with just a handful of basic ingredients, dried herbs and, of course, a variety of tomatoes.
I always find that homemade sauces pack the best punch of flavors when made from scratch. Since this Spicy Marinara sauce can be used in so many different Italian recipes, it’s a no-brainer to make a batch whenever a recipe calls for it without needing to make a trip to the store. Making your own red sauce will also save you money in the long run! Of course, you can swap in any fresh ingredients that you’d like for an equally delicious marinara sauce.
Make a batch to store in the refrigerator and use it for your pizzas, pasta nights, casseroles and so much more! You can try this sauce in my Bow Tie Lasagna or this sauce would be delicious on your own homemade noodles How to Make Homemade Pasta. We also love a white sauce sometimes or the combination of both Alfredo Sauce Recipe.
Jump to:
What is Marinara Sauce?
Marinara Sauce is a tomato-based sauce used in Italian-American cuisine and includes ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs. It can also be modified to include additional ingredients such as capers, wine, spices and olives too! Marinara sauce is extremely versatile!
🍝 Ingredients:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic – minced
- Herbs – Basil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, onion flakes, parsley (all can be dried or fresh)
- Tomato paste AND Tomato sauce- use your favorite brand
- Diced tomatoes – Use your favorite brand or fresh from the garden
- Sugar – White granulated
- Parmesan cheese – for garnish
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add a variety of fresh herbs (fresh basil, Thyme, Oregano, Sage) or whole tomatoes from the vine to customize your homemade sauce straight from the garden.
- The spice comes from the red pepper flakes, can be adjusted for spice level. The longer the sauce simmers, the more the heat develops.
- I also sometimes ad in a bay leaf during the simmering process or even a sautéed small yellow onion or white onion.
- Feel free to ad in some ground meat such as beef, turkey, chicken, sausage or even meatless plant base options.
- Roast a head of garlic cloves or add a great dry red wine for a more robust depth of flavor.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté fresh garlic over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.
Step 2: Add all remaining ingredients except for the bit of sugar and garnish: basil, oregano, red pepper, onion flakes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes.
Step 3: Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook 30 minutes.
Step 4: Taste the sauce and add granulated or brown sugar to taste (the sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes).
Pro Tip: It’s this stage in the cooking process to adjust any flavors you may want. Taste and add more herbs or red pepper flakes for more seasoning or more spice. Also, you can ad in some sea salt and/or black pepper to taste.
Step 5: Serve over any type of pasta or add it to any of your favorite Italian dishes.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Top with parmesan cheese and parsley and serve alongside a salad and garlic bread for a complete meal.
Recipe Tips for Spicy Marinara Pasta Sauce
- Other things to try this sauce with:
- Pizza, Casserole, Creamy tomato soup, Meatballs in Marinara, dipping sauce for Mozzarella sticks or fried calamari or even the base on Minestrone soup.
- If you are using fresh tomatoes, you can either opt to keep the skins on or remove them prior to adding them to the other ingredients. The skin left on may come across in the overall texture of the sauce which is not bad at all but if you prefer a smoother sauce then I suggest removing the skins. The skins are already removed if you use canned or crushed tomatoes.
- Select the best quality, organic tomatoes for your marinara sauce to enhance the flavors. Make sure that you also wash your tomatoes well if you choose to keep their skins on.
- Marinara sauce is flavorful but not spicy hot. If you enjoy a spicy sauce, then add in some cayenne pepper or additional red pepper flakes to your marinara sauce and taste to test.
- A good option for tomatoes is San Marzano tomatoes which are really flavorful and have a lovely sweetness to them compared to the more acidic Roma tomatoes (although those could work too, especially considering that I’ve used sugar in this recipe to cut some of the acidity down!)
Recipe FAQs
For Refrigerator: Allow the sauce to completely cool before storing it in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for 4-5 days.
For Freezer: Once completely cool, transfer your homemade marinara sauce into a freezer-safe container or bag and store it for up to 4 months. I suggest that you store your sauce in smaller serving portions if you’ve made a large batch. This will be much more convenient to pull out the right quantity than having to thaw excess. Two-cup portions are usually my go-to amount.
If chilled from the refrigerator, simply transfer to a pot on the stovetop and heat on low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly. You could even heat in the microwave – just use a microwave-safe cover over the sauce so it doesn’t splatter.
If your sauce is frozen, to thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight and then heat as directed above. If you’re in a rush, you can thaw the frozen sauce in a bowl of cold water or as a last resort, defrost it in the microwave.
More Italian-Inspired dishes
If you tried this Spicy Marinara Sauce Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Best Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
- 12 oz. can tomato paste
- 29 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2-15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Fresh basil oregano, and/or parsley for garnish
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add all remaining ingredients except for the sugar and garnish: basil, oregano, red pepper, onion flakes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes.
- Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook 30 minutes.
- Taste the sauce and add granulated sugar to taste (the sugar cuts the acidity in the tomato sauce).
- Serve over pasta or …
Notes
- Other things to try this sauce with:
- Pizza, Casserole, Creamy tomato soup, Meatballs in Marinara, Dip for Mozzarella sticks or fried calamari or even the base on Minestrone soup.
- If you are using fresh tomatoes, you can either opt to keep the skins on or remove them prior to adding them to the other ingredients. The skin left on may come across in the overall texture of the sauce which is not bad at all but if you prefer a smoother sauce then I suggest removing the skins. The skins are already removed if you use canned or crushed tomatoes.
- Select quality, organic tomatoes for your marinara sauce to enhance the flavors. Make sure that you also wash your tomatoes well if you choose to keep their skins on.
- Marinara sauce is flavorful but not spicy hot. If you enjoy hotter sauces, then add in some cayenne pepper or additional red pepper flakes to your marinara sauce and taste to test.
- A good option for tomatoes is San Marzano tomatoes which are really flavorful and have a lovely sweetness to them compared to the more acidic Roma tomatoes (although those could work too, especially considering that I’ve used sugar in this recipe to cut some of the acidity down!)
Nutrition
Make this recipe?
Share it with me on Instagram @girlinspired1 and follow on Pinterest for more!
Leave A Reply!