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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!
Got fresh tomatoes?
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Oh my this is so good!
Do not have fresh parsley. What could I use instead?
If you have dried parsley that would work well for this marinara (about 1 tsp) 🙂
Just multiplied this by 9, I had a lot of tomatoes ripen at the same time so I gave it a whirl. 112oz of sauce in total or 7, 1 pint jars. Basil was fresh from the garden same with oregano. I had some garlic confit and garlic olive oil around so I used that as well. I didn’t add any honey or sugar as it wasn’t needed the tomatoes were sweet enough on their own.
little bit of salt and this sauce is boss. Thank you this will be my go to!
Has anyone added ground beef to this recipe?
Give our vegan bolognese a try!
I have made a great number of pasta sauces over the the past 25 years, some from recipes and some my own creations. This simple and quick recipe resulted in one of the best sauces I have ever tasted. I tripled the recipe as we usually make sauces in quantity for an immediate dinner with the remainder being frozen.
This makes me so happy to hear, Caleb! Enjoy! 😀
I made this and it was wonderful. The whole family loved the sauce and it made it even more special because I grew all the tomatoes myself. I used Romas. Thank you!
Isn’t it so magical to make something tasty with something you grew? Enjoy!!
Just finished making it.. cooling now, delicious ……
This is the first recipe I ever made from scratch! I wanted to cry when I tasted it because it was soooo good! My husband keeps bragging that I make the best spaghetti sauce!
Aw this makes me so happy to hear, LeeAnn! 😀 Enjoy!!
Delicious, and easy to make!
Excellent fresh tomato marinara sauce