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This homemade marinara sauce is made ultra-simply from scratch with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. No cans here, just delicious, fresh from the garden tomato sauce! With hundreds of five-star reviews, you can be sure this homemade tomato sauce will be a hit!
save this recipe!If it’s the peak of summer, your garden is churning out more tomatoes than you know what to do with, and you’re hungry…I have two words for you: homemade marinara.
More specifically, a homemade marinara with fresh tomatoes (no canned tomatoes or tomato paste here)! Because summer is all about celebrating that garden-fresh produce, and this marinara is the perfect way to celebrate.
Reader rating
“This is THE marinara sauce! When it was finished cooking and cooled, I tasted it and could not believe how delicious! When one of my daughters arrived for dinner I asked her to taste it just to be sure. She did but said nothing. I asked if it was all right. She said she was just savoring the flavor and didn’t want to interrupt that. Other guests said it was the best marinara they had ever eaten.” —Claudette
Most recipes will have you blanch the tomato to remove the skin, but I find that it’s unnecessary and takes too much time (plus, the skin has insoluble fiber – double win). Let’s cook!
What’s the best texture for marinara?
This homemade marinara sauce recipe is naturally chunky, but you can easily make it into a smooth and silky marinara with a quick blitz in the blender. I prefer to use a handheld immersion blender to puree it right in the pot, but you could also transfer it (carefully – hot!) to a countertop blender.
- Keep it chunky for use with your favorite pasta (like these vegetarian stuffed shells)
- Blend it smooth for use as a dipping sauce (like with air fryer mozzarella sticks!)
Homemade Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 fresh tomatoes, 1 to 1.5 lbs, diced
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp honey, 15 g
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Tomatoes: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and allow to simmer uncovered until tomatoes have mostly broken down, about 25 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning.
- Herbs: Stir in remaining ingredients. Continue simmering about 10 minutes.
- Serve: You can serve it like this or puree it in a food processor or blender for a smoother sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Seasonal Tip
They say what grows together goes together, so why not use the fresh cucumber growing in your garden to make this easy tzatziki sauce? Serve it as a dip with veggies, as a side, or as an appetizer with this marinara!
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GUUUURLLLLLLLLLL. I have a dumb amount of tomatoes from my garden and I’ve needed recipes to use them up. This was the best one I’ve made. So flavorful, I swear I was stuffing my face faster than I could chew. I don’t think I’ll ever buy marinara from the grocery store ever again!
We ran out of honey had to use corn Syrup, and we added ground beef. This was a great sauce
Yummy. I agree with you on using fresh rather than can I’ve ALWAYS used fresh. Been making my own marinara for years & every now & then I try a new recipe. LOVE the honey rather than sugar. Thank you for sharing your love of food with us!! Can’t wait to try out more of your recipes!
Healthy, easy and delicious!
My family loved the fresh marinara sauce they have asked me to save recipe thanks so much for this great 👍 recipe had it with angel hair pasta and caramelized eggplant 🍆
Delicious and easy to make. Have made this again and again
how many pints would this make? I am assuming 1 pt., am I correct
Yes! 1 pint 😀
First time making my own sauce and this was such an easy simple delicious pasta sauce!!! Thanks !! Having mine with meatballs 🤤
What a great base sauce! I like my pasta sauce with lots of vegetables so lightly sauteed onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and spinach before adding the tomatoes. It takes a lot longer to cook out all the added moisture, but creates a richer, darker sauce. So good. Also, here in the California desert, I can get date syrup which adds an earthy sweetness in place of honey or maple syrup. Thanks for this terrific recipe.
Delicious and easy. I didn’t have any honey or maple syrup. Sugar worked. I’m definitely trying this again. I saved the pasta water to add to the sauce and it was amazing