Recipe from Lidia Bastianich
Adapted by Julia Moskin
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- 5(8,944)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Homemade marinara is almost as fast and tastes immeasurably better than even the best supermarket sauce — and it's made with basic pantry ingredients. All the tricks to a bright red, lively-tasting sauce, made just as it is in the south of Italy (no butter, no onions) are in this recipe. Use a skillet instead of the usual saucepan: the water evaporates quickly, so the tomatoes are just cooked through as the sauce becomes thick. (Our colleagues over at Wirecutter have spent a lot of time testing skillets to find the best on the market. If you're looking to purchase one, check out their skillet guide.) —Julia Moskin
Featured in: Marinara Worth Mastering
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Ingredients
Yield:3½ cups, enough for 1 pound of pasta
- 128-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, certified D.O.P. if possible
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 7garlic cloves, peeled and slivered
- Small dried whole chile, or pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 1large fresh basil sprig, or ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, more to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (7 servings)
94 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 276 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and crush with your hands. Pour 1 cup water into can and slosh it around to get tomato juices. Reserve.
Step
2
In a large skillet (do not use a deep pot) over medium heat, heat the oil. When it is hot, add garlic.
Step
3
As soon as garlic is sizzling (do not let it brown), add the tomatoes, then the reserved tomato water. Add whole chile or red pepper flakes, oregano (if using) and salt. Stir.
Step
4
Place basil sprig, including stem, on the surface (like a flower). Let it wilt, then submerge in sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and oil on surface is a deep orange, about 15 minutes. (If using oregano, taste sauce after 10 minutes of simmering, adding more salt and oregano as needed.) Discard basil and chile (if using).
Ratings
5
out of 5
8,944
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Cooking Notes
CFXK
Just leave your preconceived notions of marinara sauce at the door and make this exactly as presented here. Don't listen to the modifiers. You won't be disappointed and you will NEVER feel the need to modify or tweak.
Andrea
I have a different opinion especially concerning the use of the basil , to get the most flavor from this unique though fragile herb the secret is not to cook it along the sauce but just at the end when the sauce is done and you are going to pour the pasta , you lay down a top of the plant and you mix it with the whole , the heat will make the herb screaming out its taste and flavor , better , perfum ! That is the way to take the maximum from our most distinguished herb.
Jamadan
I suggest avoiding a cast iron skillet. The acidic tomatoes can pull a metallic taste into the sauce.
Stephanie
I am Italian and this is so right.
Holly
Recipe is PERFECT!!! dont change a THING!!! Please try as written before you go "tweaking" -show the chef some respect--do it ONCE as they wrote it, then go ahead and do as you wish. You may find there is a reason for not putting your pre-conceived "shoulds and shouldnt's"--and you may be missing out on one of the best recipes ever!! I think that applies with this one!!
Had to chuckle at the "marinara has fish in it" post. NO. just NO....
Anshel
Whom ever thinks that one should cook without salt is the one who has no idea how to cook, especially, especially the tomato sauce. Tomatoes are acidic and if cooked without salt acidity will be the only flavor. Salt helps to mellow the acidic flavor.
Cassiadk
When I lived in Italy I was taught a similar sauce with onion instead of garlic. You cooked the onion with the chili flakes until the edges started to color slightly then you add a 1/2 cup of wine, cooked it off a minute or two and added tomatoes water and basil just the same as the recipe above. It's a lovely quick sauce and I love both versions
Joe
My wife is Sicilian and she puts these same ingredients into a crock pot in the morning (on low). By the end of the day it's truly amazing. Have to make sure crock pot's setting is really low else burns.
Jim
Most canned tomatoes are already peeled. If you use fresh tomatoes peeling will avoid pieces of skin but takes a lot more more work. I often do not peel them for sauce but just remove the pieces of skin as they float to the surface during cooking.
Another trick is to freeze the whole fresh tomatoes to store, then put the frozen tomatoes under warm water when ready to use. The skin splits and peels off easily
Jenny
This recipe was flawless. I followed it almost exactly. I doubled it, but used a normal sized skillet, so it took more like 40 minutes to thicken. Couldn't fit a whole can of water in so just used half. Added a shake of black pepper. Went with the fresh basil and not the oregano option. Seriously this was the best marinara sauce of my life.
Nicole
Also great if you like puttanesca: Add 1/4 cup drained capers, 1/2 cup dried and cured olives, chopped fine, 3 anchovie fillets, chopped fine. Top with a big handful of chopped parsley, integrate parsley in sauce for 2 minutes, and voila! Do not use salt with this recipe.
anne
An absolute must is to use San Marzano DOP dell'agro Sarnese Nocerino canned tomatoes which must have a certification on the can(they cost more,but it is not filet mignon),otherwise your canned tomatoes could come from anywhere.Invest in a tomato mill,the cost is about $25 for stainless steel,just pour canned tomatoes in,stir and in a few minutes all the seeds are eliminated.Seeds and skin make a tomato sauce bitter.All tomato sauces and ragù freeze perfectly so make big batches and freeze.
John K.
Made this for the first time and followed it to the letter. I used Centro San Marasano whole tomatoes. Will never eat jarred supermarket sauce again. I made Italian sausages with it and it was quite the treat!
Mary
My Mom grew up in Naples and this is the real deal. It's my go to sauce for pizza, pasta, lasagna, gnocchi! I double, even triple the recipe and save some in the freezer. Use San Marzano, there is a difference!
Michael
A teaspoon of kosher salt is not "WAAAAY too much salt!" That much salt will not overpower the flavors. You should not have to "salt to taste" at the table.
Victor
Quite good, but I simmered the tomatoes for at least 45 min to get the consistency and flavor I wanted.
Victor
Changed my mind after reading this comment from Richard:Read the accompanying article (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/dining/marinara-worth-mastering.html) to learn how marinara differs from tomato sauce.“Everyone thinks you have to have a grandma in the kitchen, stirring for three hours, to make your own sauce,” said Frank Prisinzano, who makes four different tomato sauces at his restaurant Sauce in the East Village. "Marinara, after 25 minutes, it’s dead.”
helplessduck
The only thing I modified was adding a teaspoon of sugar to the tomatoes. Perfect. The tomatoes cook down beautifully, but it takes a little longer than 25 minutes.
Joey
I just attempted this sauce and it looks like an oily glob of tomatoes and garlic. Is it supposed to be like this? Did I do something wrong? Some people say simmer longer, some people say absolutely do not. I did double the recipe, making it 1/2 cup olive oil. Was that too much?
Seline
Anyone use fresh basil and dried oregano?
Elizabeth
Truly the most perfect marinara sauce I’ve ever made. I followed the recipe exactly, as I always do the first time I make a (new to me) recipe. I used the basil (no oregano since it was written as an “or” or “if desired.”)Many times the simplest thing is the best thing and this recipe is no exception. Just perfect. No changes needed. I used this for my husband’s birthday meal of manicotti made with crespelle. Divine. ⭐️
mk
Added 1/4 tsp sugar after 10 minutes.
LMD
Have been making this for years with fresh (or usually Boiled, iced, peeled and then frozen fresh and later defrosted/thawed) tomatoes and will never quit. It's the best!
Way too watery!
When prepared according to the recipe this sauce is way too watery! Not thick and flavorful at all. Minus the additional water it MIGHT be OK...
Lorbug
Wonderful as it is, but also adaptable to my palate. A little bit of sugar, or a half cup deep red wine and half cup water sloshed in the tomato can instead of just water.
Michelle
Mama Mia!!!! This recipe is so yummy. My family loved it. I used it in making Chicken Parm for the first time. Totally a keeper . . . and did I mention super easy to make. note: use qualtiy tomatoes :)
JBandK9s
Followed instructions exactly for my double batch, including "slivering" 14 cloves of garlic into little matchsticks - this was new to me. Is cutting the garlic in this time-consuming way important to the outcome, or could one just chop willy-nilly as usual? Either way, this little recipe surprised me, it was the perfect simple marinara I was dreaming of. A KEEPER. Viva Italia and grazie Lidia.
Richard
Chopping willy-nilly gives different results in terms of garlic intensity. From Serious Eats: "Garlic's intensity in a dish isn't just dependent on how much garlic there is, but also how it's been prepared: a single whole clove will deliver less intensity than a crushed one, a crushed clove will be milder than a sliced clove, and a sliced one isn't as pungent as a chopped or pureed one—the more cells we rupture when cutting garlic, the more potent it is."
Amanda S.
Came out delicious! Will double the recipe next time :)
Holly
I was craving pasta and simple red sauce on a day when we are snowed in at home. So I used what we had in the cupboards. I didn't have fresh basil, but next time I will. It is a wonderful sauce, and I agree with many others here. Don't mess around with it--at least on the first go-round, which this was for me. Then if you feel like adding and subtracting, by all means, do.
margaret
I love this sauce! Quick, easy and delicious!I add the garlic to the cold oil and heat them together before adding the tomatoes. It tastes just the same without risking the splatter.
shannon
Instead of squishing the tomatoes by hands I added them whole and just squished them with the back of my spoon as they were cooking as not to create another dish to wash. I only added about a half can of additional liquid and let simmer 10 additional minutes, it was absolutely divine.
Richard X
The recipe does not call for a whole can of water. It calls for one cup of water in the can, which is less than 1/3 of the can.
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