What is better than sliced bread? This make-ahead marinara sauce. I love this recipe because it has no added sugars in it and tastes amazing.
Marinara sauce is a staple in our house. We almost always have at least one bottle of it in here. The problem with the store bought marinara sauces is the amount of sugar that are in them, along with some ingredients that you can’t pronounce. In terms of points, it doesn’t mean much. But I do personally love making this marinara sauce ahead of time, so that I can use it anytime I want. And because it’s homemade, I know exactly what is in it.
To me, marinara sauce should only have tomatoes, garlic, basil, and some yummy olive oil. This sauce contains only those ingredients – plus a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. And it is delicious.
To make this make-ahead marinara sauce:
Heat the oil in a large pot and add in the garlic. Add in the tomatoes and start crushing them with a wooden spoon. After about 3 minutes, add in the bay leaves, thyme, and basil. Cook on low for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, if canning. If you are using this immediately, add it to the recipe as needed.
Make-Ahead Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
- 3 leaves bay
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 sprigs fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it's fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, crushing with a wooden spoon as you stir. Cook about 5 minutes.
- Add in the bay leaves, thyme, basil and cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Keep crushing the tomatoes as the sauce is cooking.
- Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in the refrigerator in your favorite jar.
Thank you so much Christine. And yes, it can definitely be tweaked to use your fresh tomatoes. 🙂
This sounds like the perfect recipe to tweak for the tomatoes in my garden!