Skip the bottled pasta sauce. You can make your own marinara sauce, simple enough for everyday, yet tasty enough for all your favorite dishes.
When I was a starving college student and poor newlywed, I thought the only way to buy spaghetti sauce was to buy the jar from the grocery store. Even back then, it was several dollars a jar, a little less if I bought the multipack from Costco.
If I only I knew then, what I know now….
It’s incredibly easy to make your own pasta sauce at home! And I can make about four times as much for the same price. Who knew?
Homemade Marinara Sauce
Over the years, I’ve played with different homemade sauces. There are those I simmer all day in the slow cooker and those that get extra oomph from sausages simmering in their depths.
But, sometimes, I don’t have a jar of one of those long-cooking sauces in the freezer, and I need sauce pronto. That’s when I whip up a batch of this marinara sauce that’s simple enough for everyday, but tasty enough to work wherever it’s needed.
What do you use marinara sauce for?
Over spaghetti, atop stuffed shells, layered in lasagna, or dousing a meatball sub, this sauce plays fair. And while it doesn’t make the mondo batch that my other sauce recipes do, it’s still extremely affordable.
What’s the difference between marinara sauce and spaghetti sauce?
Marinara is a simple seasoned tomato sauce. You can definitely use it for topping spaghetti.
Spaghetti sauces can vary, depending on what you add to the tomato sauce, such as cooked beef, turkey, sausage, and vegetables.
How do you make marinara sauce from scratch?
Marinara Sauce is super simple to make from scratch!
- Heat some olive oil in a saucepan. Add chopped onion and cook until the onion starts to turn translucent.
- Stir in a can of crushed tomatoes as well as oregano, basil, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes, and you’re good to go!
How much does it cost to make homemade marinara?
It would be a bummer to spend time making homemade marinara sauce only to find out that buying a bottle were cheaper. Let’s break down the cost of the ingredients and see what it really amounts to.
The following are non-sale prices from a mid-range grocery store:
- olive oil – $0.21 ($6.49/16oz)
- onion – $0.40
- crushed tomatoes – $1.79/28 oz
- spices – $0.25
This adds up to $2.65 for about 30 ounces of sauce, or 9 cents an ounce! A 24-ounce jar of name brand marinara sauce costs $3.69 or 15 cents per ounce.
Without really trying, homemade is cheaper than the commercial brand, but you can save even more!
How to make this even more economical
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Shop the cheapest store for your area. There’s a big difference between Whole Foods and ALDI, in what they provide as well as what they cost. Where homemade marinara is concerned, you don’t need to go to a fancy pants store. I’ve found that ALDI has very competitive pricing on crushed tomatoes. $0.79 for a large can is a steal in these parts, so I buy a lot every time I’m there. In the case of this recipe, that cuts the cost dramatically.
- Shop the sales. Wherever possible, stock up on olive oil, onions, tomatoes, and spices when you see a great sale.
- Buy in bulk. Large containers of basil, oregano, and thyme cost a lot less per ounce than those small jars. Go big and store the extra in the freezer.
- Cook in bulk. Likewise, a food service can of crushed tomatoes costs less than $3. You can make a lot of sauce with that 108 ounces and freeze the extra sauce for homemade convenience.
How I make this recipe easy:
This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- 5-quart pot with lid – I have this one. It’s perfect for cooking chili or a big pot of rice.
- dual-sided silicone spatula/spoon – This is great for the cooking process as well as scraping every last bit out of the pan.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Marinara Sauce for Everyday
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion chopped, about 1/2 cup
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Cook the onion until it starts to go clear. Add the tomatoes, herbs, and pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta or use as you would any marinara sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 6, 2017. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Jamie says
Have you ever used fresh tomatoes from a garden and then canned the sauce?
Jessica Fisher says
I have not made sauce from fresh tomatoes in a very long time, but I remember that it does take a while to cook it all down.
Donna says
Hey Jessica, I buy the 10# can of the san marzano style tomatoes at Costco (whole tomatoes with basil) and then I just puree them with basil. They turn out fine for sauce… I just throw in a couple 4 oz cans of paste with the large can of pureed tomatoes. Delish. I figure it costs me about $5 for a VAT of tomato sauce!
Jessica Fisher says
I did puree the chopped tomatoes like that during the pantry challenge, but I didn’t like the texture as well. I think possible adding a can of puree to that mixture would probably make the difference. I still like the crushed variety the best. 😉
Mar says
I make your slow cooker red sauce on a regular basis – this is really just the same thing on the stovetop, right?
I haven’t purchased pasta sauce in a really long time.
Jessica Fisher says
It is very similar, yes. A smaller batch with a higher herb-spice ratio. Made it again the other night for meatballs and have to say it was one of the best meals we’ve had in the last month.
Marci says
Me too, I do the slow cooker red sauce. its been about a year and we love it. But I like having this one handy in a pinch. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher says
That’s pretty much it. It’s a fantastic, reliable pinch-hitter.
Kathy says
Thank you! I always look for the lowest sugar sauce and the one I love, Rao’s, cost a fortune. I’m gonna ing to try this instead.
Jessica Fisher says
Rao’s is yummy. I think you’ll be pleased with this. My eldest didn’t come to the table soon enough last time I made this and he was very, very sorry. LOL!
Pamela says
Thanks for this recipe! I am going to try quadrupling it for a #10 can of tomatoes.
Jessica Fisher says
Perhaps don’t 4x all the herbs. They can have a multiplying effect. Go light (maybe double?) and add more later if you need to.
Diane Lesher says
Can I freeze.
Jessica Fisher says
Great question, Diane. Yes, I’ve added freezing instructions to the recipe.
Pixie says
I made this, it turned out great! I used half a can of the large crushed tomatoes you get at Costco. So I added a whole onion, 1 1/2 taps of all seasonings, I added in some red wine I had in the fridge…about 1/3 cup and some garlic and 2 bay leaves as I have a bay tree in my garden.
Yay! It was very good and much less acidic than jarred sauces for some reason?????.
Thank you for a great recipe…?
Jessica Fisher says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your feedback.
Pat says
This sauce is handy when the slow cooker red sauce is not in the freezer or you need it in a hurry! Mighty tasty too!!
Jessica Fisher says
Yes!