With no added sugar and a few simple ingredients, you can prepare this healthy marinara sauce in no time at all. It’s easy to make ahead and will keep for days in a jar in the fridge.
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.
Ingredients you will need for this recipe
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.
This sauce can be used with so many dishes including this cheesy sausage pasta skillet or this skillet Italian chicken casserole.
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!