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!)