Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce is a simple yet delicious sauce made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion, and herbs. While there are many variations of marinara sauce, nothing tastes better than homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes!

Prep Time2

Cook Time30

Total Time2 30

Course: Main Course, Main Dish, sauce

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

Servings: servings

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

12-14 ripe tomatoes or (2) 14.5 ounce cans stewed or diced tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 TBSP dried parsley
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 TBSP olive oil
½ cup onion finely diced
½ cup white wine
1 bay leaf
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar {optional}

Instructions

Prep tomatoes: Get started by picking the tomatoes and washing them well. Then, cut the core out of the center and slice an X on the bottoms. Set them aside. Next, boil a large pot of water.
Peel tomatoes: Proceed to place 2-3 of the tomatoes into the boiling water and let them rest in the water for about 1 minute. Then, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and place them onto the counter until they have cooled enough to safely handle.
Place your hands on the tomatoes and the skins should just slide away as you press your thumbs on them and massage the tomatoes a little. If the tomato has a few blemishes, you may find that a paring knife helps. Note that ripe tomatoes can be more difficult to peel.
De-Seed tomatoes: Once all the tomatoes have been peeled, slice each one into quarter sized pieces. This will make it easier to remove the excess liquids and seeds. Run a finger along the wall of the tomatoes and watch as the seeds come off almost all at once. After the seeds have been removed, squeeze some of the liquid from the tomatoes. Don’t wring them dry, just a gentle squeeze will suffice.
Squash tomatoes: At this point, you need to fill a large 4 cup measuring cup with the tomatoes. This is a personal preference, but you may wish to make the tomato quarters into smaller pieces at this point. You can run them through a food processor really quickly or use a Pampered Chef tool to chop them up if you like them a bit chunkier. Kitchen shears and sharp knives also work well. When you are finished you should have a measure of 3 ½ cups of prepared tomatoes.
Assemble sauce: At this point, you are ready to add the tomatoes to a large pot for cooking or place them into a crock pot. Proceed to heat the olive oil in a small frying pan with the onions, parsley, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Sauté the ingredients until the onions are softened and sizzling, this should take about 7-8 minutes.
Then, add in the white wine and allow the mixture to come to a boil for a few minutes. Next, add in the can of tomato paste and stir to combine. Now, transfer this mixture to the large pot (or crockpot) with your tomatoes and add in the bay leaf. Continue to cook on the stove for 30 minutes or in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low heat. Serve on pasta, or as desired, and enjoy!

Notes

Homemade pasta sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Alternatively, it can also be frozen for up to 3 months. When reheating, make sure to heat it thoroughly to kill any bacteria that may have grown.

Nutrition