This Basic Marinara Sauce Recipe is an easy homemade sauce that you can make with just a handful of simple ingredients. It’s flavorful, versatile, and a great option when you want a homemade pasta sauce without a lot of extra ingredients or added sugar.
This Weight Watchers-friendly marinara sauce is perfect for pasta, lasagna, chicken Parmesan, pizza, or dipping your favorite breadsticks and mozzarella sticks. Make a batch on the weekend and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer so you always have an easy sauce ready to go.
I make this all the time when I want something cheap, easy, and reliable—and once you try it, you probably won’t go back to jar sauce either.
Looking for more ways to use up marinara sauce try these - (17 Ways) How to use Marinara Sauce
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Why You Will Like This
- Budget-friendly – cheaper than most store-bought sauces
- Simple ingredients – nothing fancy required
- Quick to make – ready in about 30 minutes
- Versatile – use it for pasta, pizza, or casseroles
- Customizable – adjust seasoning to your taste check out this recipe for Low Sodium Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
This is one of those recipes that looks impressive but is actually very easy to pull together.
Ingredients Needed for Marinara Sauce
- Tomatoes - There are many different varieties of tomatoes out there such as stewed, crushed, and whole tomatoes. It all depends on how you like the consistency of your tomatoes. Do you like them chunky, well pureed, or whole? I prefer mine crushed.
- Onions and Garlic - These 2 vegetables are great to store in your pantry at all times. When I get onions from the store I will set them in the fridge right away and they will keep longer. Plus, if you store onions in the fridge, you won’t cry at all when chopping them. For Garlic, I buy it already minced in the jar. (Don’t like stinky garlic hands!)
- Seasonings - Oregano and Thyme are classic spices found in a lot of marinara sauce recipes. If you like basil use fresh basil leaves. It almost acts like a bay leaf and the bay leaf can sit there and flavor the sauce while it is boiling away!
Substitution Tips
- Use diced tomatoes (blended) if that’s what you have
- Swap olive oil for avocado oil
- Add fresh basil if you want a fresher taste
- Skip sugar or use a small amount of honey if preferred
How to make Marinara Sauce
Step 1: Spray a large dutch oven or non stick skillet over medium heat with Cooking Spray. Add onion and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
Step 2: Pour in tomatoes.
Step 3: Season with oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and stir in basil. Bring mixture to simmer.
Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced slightly. Add in ½ to 1 cup of extra water and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Discard basil before serving. Check for taste and season with more salt if needed.
Ways to Use Marinara Sauce
- Spaghetti - Spaghetti with Ground Beef Sauce
- Lasagna Trisha Yearwood's Cowboy Lasagna
- Pizza -
- Quick and Easy Lasagna Pasta
- Dipping sauce for breadsticks - 2 Ingredient Dough Bread Sticks
Pro Tips for Marinara Sauce
- Use good-quality tomatoes: Since tomatoes are the star of marinara sauce, use a good-quality canned variety for the best flavor.
- Don't rush the garlic: Cook the garlic gently in the olive oil so it becomes fragrant without browning or burning.
- Adjust the seasoning: Taste the sauce as it simmers and add more salt, Italian seasoning, or red pepper flakes to your liking.
- Let it simmer: A longer simmer gives the tomatoes time to break down and the flavors time to develop.
- Blend if desired: For a smoother marinara sauce, use an immersion blender or carefully blend the sauce until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- Add fresh herbs at the end: Stir in fresh basil or parsley just before serving for extra freshness.
- Make it your own: Add red pepper flakes for heat or a pinch of sugar if your tomatoes taste especially acidic.
Serving Suggestions
Use Basic Marinara Sauce with your favorite pasta, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, stuffed shells, or baked ziti. It's also great as a dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, breadsticks, and toasted ravioli.
You can also use it as a base for Air Fryer Pizza, Weight Watchers Chicken Parmesan, eggplant Parmesan, or other baked Italian dishes.
Storage and Freezing
Store leftover marinara sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4–5 days.
For longer storage, freeze the sauce in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 3 months. Let the sauce cool completely before freezing and leave a little room at the top of containers for expansion.
Recipe FAQS
Yes, but canned is easier and more consistent.
Let it simmer longer or reduce the liquid slightly.
Other Easy Recipes
- One Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
- 2 Ingredient Dough Bread Sticks
- Air Fryer Garlic Bread
- Baked Chocolate Donuts
If you tried this Weight Watchers Basic Marinara Sauce or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
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Basic Marinara Sauce Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Easy
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Marinara sauce is a basic recipe that everyone should know how to make. It only requires at least 5 simple ingredients to make and they should all be in your pantry.
Ingredients
½ medium onion, minced
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
⅛th teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt to taste
2 large sprigs fresh basil
Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Spray a large dutch oven over medium heat with Cooking Spray. Add onion and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
- Pour in tomatoes.
- Season with oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and stir in basil. Bring mixture to simmer.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced slightly. Add in ½ to 1 cup of extra water and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Discard basil before serving. Check for taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Serve with 1 cup of prepared pasta. Serving size: ¾ cup
- Can be easily doubled or tripled to make more
Notes
myWW points: 0 (all 3 plans)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¾ cup
Jenna says
Yes
Leah says
Can this be pre made then frozen and taken out as needed?
Jenna says
When figuring out points for the marinara sauce I used No salt added canned crushed tomatoes it comes to 0 points on all 3 plans. I didn't scan the can. Thanks.
Debbie says
I did make your meatballs and your marinara sauce both came out excellent I am new to weight watchers tracking so I was just curious how you came up with zero points for the sauce when I scan the crushed tomatoes it comes to 2 points. Also using 93% lean ground beef one serving 3 ounces is four points