Quick Look at this Homemade Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
- Ready In: 3 1/2 hours
- Serves: 12
- Difficulty Level: easy, beginner-friendly
- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ : over 90 five-star reviews!!
- Main Ingredients: fresh garden tomatoes, onion, garlic, oil, red wine, dried herbs, and fresh herbs.
- Dietary Info: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, and Whole30/Paleo-friendly
- Cooking Method: slow roasted in the oven for a rich, concentrated flavor!
- Best For: enjoying on spaghetti, lasagna, or meatballs. Also, great for meal prep – learn how to can marinara sauce or store in the fridge or freezer for later.
Share and summarize this recipe:
Why You’ll Love With This Homemade Marinara
- Ditch all of the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, jarred marinara – only FRESH tomatoes here!
- No peeling or blanching required!
- So easy – toss it all in a pot and let it slow roast in the oven to perfection.
- Variety of tomatoes with fresh + dried herbs for the BEST flavor!
- Meal Prep-Friendly – make canned marinara sauce, keep in the fridge or freezer.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Fresh Tomatoes – highly recommend using a variety of different types of tomatoes to get the most depth of flavor.
- Red Wine – use a dry red wine or substitute pomegranate juice to make this sauce Whole30/Paleo compliant.
- Fresh Herbs – option to use both sweet basil and Italian basil or just stick with one if you can’t find both.
- Olive Oil – the higher quality the better or swap it out for avocado oil.
How To Make The Best Homemade Marinara Sauce
Step 1 – Prep all the ingredients and put them in a dutch oven.
Step 2 – Mix everything together.
Step 3 – Roast in the oven for 3 hours, stir every 30-45 minutes.
Step 4 – Let the tomato mixture cool for a bit before blending.
No Blender? No Problem!
Feel free to use a food processor or simply blend right in the pot with an immersion blender for minimal clean-up!
Step 5 – Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender.
Step 6 – Blend or pulse to reach your desired consistency. Serve or store for later!
Large Batch of Homemade Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
- This recipe for the best marinara sauce was originally born with 20+ pounds of fresh, garden tomatoes in a LARGE batch if sauce.
- It all roasts together in a large aluminum pan in the oven for about 5 hours.
- Exact ingredients and instructions are included below in the Notes section of the recipe card.
Best Ways To Serve Homemade Marinara Sauce
Bring the best flavor to any recipe that you would typically use jarred marinara sauce in, like these:
- Pasta: serve over spaghetti noodles (or zoodles), make our easy homemade lasagna, or a cheesy baked rigatoni.
- Baked Dinners: like oven baked chicken parmesan or baked eggplant parmesan.
- Meatballs: enjoy with some oven baked Italian meatballs.
- Dipping: use a little for dipping our cheesy Italian dunkers!
Marinara Sauce Storage Tips: Fridge, Freeze, Can
- Fridge: store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: fully cool, transfer to a freezer-safe container (leave room for expansion), and freeze for up to 6 months.
- Can: simply follow our tutorial on how to can spaghetti sauce to keep your marinara for longer in the pantry!
Homemade Marinara Sauce FAQs
Do you need to blanche the tomatoes before making this homemade marinara sauce?
No, there is no need to blanche the tomatoes before cooking. The roasted tomatoes will be blended to smooth and I honestly think they add more flavor and authenticity to the sauce.
Can I use dried herbs instead of fresh in this homemade marinara sauce?
I highly recommend using fresh herbs for the added flavor, but if you need to substitute some dried herbs that can be done at a ratio of 3:1 (1 teaspoon dried herbs for every 1 tablespoon of fresh).
Can I make this homemade marinara sauce into a meat sauce?
Yes, feel free to serve over easy baked Italian meatballs or brown a pound of ground beef in a skillet and then add your desired amount of sauce.
Other Italian-Inspired Recipes You Might Like
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Our incredible Homemade Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes is slow roasted with garlic, fresh herbs, onion, oil, and red wine for a marinara sauce that is full of flavor and naturally sweetened for your pasta, lasagna, or freeze for later!
Video
Ingredients
- 6-7 pounds fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks (mixture of heirloom, beefsteak, orange, yellow, and roma)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 head garlic, peeled and separated into cloves
- ½ cup fresh oregano
- ½ cup fresh sweet basil, roughly chopped and tightly packed
- ½ cup dry red wine
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh Italian basil, roughly chopped and tightly packed
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Combine: In a large dutch oven, add all of the tomatoes, onion, garlic, ½ cup fresh oregano, ½ cup fresh sweet basil, ½ cup dry red wine, ⅓ cup olive oil, ¼ cup fresh Italian basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix everything together to combine.
- Roast: Place in oven, uncovered, and let roast for 3 hours, stirring every 30-45 minutes. After 3 hours, remove from oven and let cool for an hour or so.
- Blend: Carefully transfer the roasted tomato mixture to a blender or food processor (alternatively, you could also use an immersion blender in the dutch oven). Cover and pulse a few times for a more chunky sauce or blend on high for 1-2 minutes for a smoother sauce.
- Serve or Save: Serve some immediately or fully cool and store for later.
Notes
- Aluminum Pan: you will need a large aluminum roasting pan for this recipe
- Clean Tomatoes: be sure to clean tomatoes before use. I soak them in a 50/50 vinegar and water mixture for about 10-15 minutes and then rinse clean.
- Cutting Garlic Tip: dreading peeling a ton of garlic – simply cut each clove in half lengthwise and you can peel them so much easier!
- Total Pounds of Tomatoes Needed: don’t get hung up on the exact tomatoes used. You just need about 6-7 pounds of tomatoes, using a variety of different types and colors (for better depth of flavor).
- Basil: If you can’t find both Sweet AND Italian Basil, just use 3/4 cup of fresh basil and don’t worry about the type.
- Red Wine: I don’t use any particular brand and really any red wine you have will probably be fine, but you will get the best flavor with a dry red wine.
- Paleo/Whole30: simply use pomegranate juice in place of the red wine.
- Is 425°F Too Hot?: I promise it isn’t too hot! Once those tomatoes start cooking down there is going to be A LOT of liquid that needs to be cooked off.
- How much will it make: This recipe resulted in about (3) 1-pint jars. The large batch noted below will make about (14) 1-pint jars, but it will vary a little. Feel free to use larger jars – we use smaller ones because that seems to work for a family of 4 making spaghetti and if we stored them in larger jars we would open them and not all of it would get used. Personal preference!
- Eat, Freeze, Can: Feel free to use some right away, store some in the refrigerator for a week or so, freeze it or can it! I have a great post on How to Can Spaghetti Sauce 101 that can answer a lot of questions!
- Large Batch Recipe: If you are looking to make A LOT of sauce or have an abundance of tomatoes (makes approx. (14) 1-pint jars). Cook in a large aluminum pan for 5 hours, stir every 30-45 minutes (especially the last 2 hours). Cool and blend as noted in the recipe card:
- 3 heads of garlic, peeled
- 22-23 lbs of tomatoes with a mix of
-
- 5 heirloom tomatoes – cut into chunks
- 8 beefsteak tomatoes – cut into chunks
- 3 orange tomatoes – cut into chunks
- 6 yellow tomatoes – cut into chunks
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- 2 pounds roma tomatoes – quartered
-
- 3 large white onions – quartered
- 1 cup tightly packed fresh sweet basil, roughly chopped
- 1 cup tightly packed Italian basil, roughly chopped
- 1 cup fresh oregano
- 1/4 cup dried oregano leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
Calories 54kcal
Nutrition
Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 506mg | Potassium: 299mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 948IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
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Original post published on 8/20/2020. New photos added and retested on 8/3/3026.
Janet T. says
8# tomatoes from our garden today. I’d lost my oven roasted sauce recipe and found yours. What a lucky find! IT IS OUTRAGEOUS!!! the flavor is so rich and intense. And embarrassingly easy! We are thrilled!! Haven’t decided how to preserve it. Probably freezer. What type of container would you suggest? One change. I purchase garlic from our coop already peeled. I store it with just enough olive oil to cover it in a jar. I used the garlic and the infused oil in the recipe. I’m sure it’s even richer for that addition. Thanks so much!
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Janet! For freezing you can use any freezer safe jar with a lid – just be sure to leave a little room at the to to allow for expanding in the freezer! And thank you so much for your feedback – I really appreciate it!!
Libby says
I’m already making my second big batch of this sauce since you posted the recipe! It’s so good!
Erin says
Yay! So happy to hear that, Libby! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback – I really appreciate it!
Kary says
This is delicious!!! Have you found a way to really pulverize the skins? Got a texture sensitive person in my house. Was going to try already skinned tomatoes and leave out the cherries. I also thought of blending in smaller batches. Will report back on how my second batch goes.
Erin says
Hi Kary! I have only made with the skins, but definitely feel free to remove them beforehand and omitting the cherry tomatoes would be helpful too! Here is a great tutorial just in case you need it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QliTTXJidZw
Kelly says
Love this recipe. It takes a while to make it but it’s well worth it.
Erin says
So glad you are enjoying it, Kelly! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂 I really appreciate it!
Shannon Matt says
Hi Erin
Quick question – Are the roasting pans covered or uncovered?
Thanks!
Shannon
Erin says
Uncovered! That way all the juices can get cooked off :).
Dave says
Erin – Thanks for this recipe – my garden is full of tomatoes and i’m going to give this a try. One question: Have you gotten any feedback regarding hot bath canning vs pressure canning? I plan to add a couple hot peppers to add some zing. With the peppers, garlic, onions, etc is botulism a concern? I know it’s cooked at high temp for a long time but liquid can only get to 212 degrees before it boils off. Thoughts?
Erin says
Hi Dave! Typically with marinara sauce there is so much acidity from the tomatoes that botulism isn’t as much a concern, but I have some resourced linked in this blog post that talks about botulism more in depth (and links to some good sources): https://thewoodenskillet.com/canning-101-how-to-can-spaghetti-sauce/. Give that a read!
Sheila in MD says
I can’t wait to try this! Thinking about doing 1/2 recipe as there is I live alone and thinking that should work fine (keeping an eye on the pan of course in case it cooks down quicker);…can you think of any reason NOT to try that? I realize no guarantees of course :-). Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Sheila – I think you will be just fine! You can drop the temp to 400 (if you want) but otherwise just keep checking every 30-45 minutes and let the liquid remaining be your guide 🙂 Please report back if you don’t mind (I am certain we have done this at some point in the past, but not in the last couple of years) – I know it would be helpful for others to hear how long it took to cook down. Excited for you to make it!
Sheila in MD says
I did do the half recipe-used about 11 pounds of tomatoes-still took 5 hours but came out great!
Erin says
Hi Sheila!! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback – I really appreciate it! 🙂
COREY says
Is the 23 lbs tomatoes for the 3x batch?
Erin says
Approx. 22-23 pounds of tomatoes is used for the 1x recipe (the regular recipe in the recipe card – written as-is). It already makes a pretty huge batch so I don’t think you would want to do the 3x batch! Does that makes sense?
Janet Theilen says
I read an article once that said if your tomatoes stay on the vine for a while after ripening the acid content goes down low enough to be a little risky. Something to remember when making a big batch.
I made the half batch, used the 425 temp and 3 hours. After checking I gave it another hour because there wasn’t much liquid cooked off. I suspect if you made it any lower it would take much longer. As it was 8# tomatoes and all other ingredients as listed in the half batch still gave me about 4 quarts of rich sauce.
Monica dotseth says
What brand of wine do you use
Erin says
Hi Monica! There isn’t one particular brand of wine I always use – honestly I just use whatever I have open in the house (if any) or I buy a not-too-expensive bottle of red (dry is best). Hope that help!
Casey Gayer says
Is wine mandated or can it be omitted??
Erin says
Hi Casey – you can definitely omit it, but the flavor might not be quite as amazing – but it will still turn out. Otherwise, you can sub pomegranate juice instead for a similar flavor! Totally up to you!
Jenny Z says
Can this sauce be frozen? Also, have you ever tried an Emersion blender?
Erin says
Hi Jenny! Yes, it could definitely be frozen! Just remember to leave some room in your container for expansion (aka don’t fill it up all the way). I haven’t personally tried an immersion blender, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Jenny Z says
Thanks 😊
Erin says
Of course!
Janet T. says
I used an immersion blender. Worked perfectly. No splash, no explosion, and lots of control over how chunky we like it. I’ll never blend anything hot without it.
Bethany Wallin says
Can you just tell me, how long did you PC the jars please? 5 or 10# pressure? Thank you!
Steve Gardner says
Hi, this recipe looks wonderful and I am looking forward to trying it. A question I have is why would one blend only 3 or 4 spoonfuls of the sauce? Seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a couple of ounces of blended sauce relative to the entire batch. Am I missing something?
Thanks,
Steve
Erin says
Hi Steve! Thanks for that clarifying question – by spoonfuls I actually meant more ladle-sized spoonfuls 🙂 Sorry for the confusion! I am always careful not to put too much in the blender (especially if it is hot). If the mixture is more on the cooler side we have filled the blender about 3/4 of the way full though – just use your best judgment. Thanks and enjoy the recipe!
Steve Gardner says
thank you Erin. I appreciate your prompt response. I’ve blown up a blender full of soup before (years ago) and so I learned the hard way! The clean up took way longer than the preparation…..
I like that you created a recipe for a large quantity and look forward to trying it. And also thanks for confirming the temp/time — I also was concerned that it would burn to a crisp at 425 for 5 hours.
Erin says
Of course! And yes – I have totally been there with the blown up blender before … no fun! Yup, I know 425 seems high but when you have ALL those tomatoes and they start to cook down there is actually a ton of liquid. Stir every 30-45 minutes (as stated) and you can always take it out earlier if you like a thinner sauce or you can keep cooking it until a lot of the liquid is cooked off! The longer you cook it the thicker and more flavorful it will become, so it is fun to taste it along the way to figure out your own sweet spot.
Kevin R Thomas says
How many Lbs of Tomatoes….. I get anywhere from 1 to 3 lb. tomatoes…need to be more precise so you know the spices are correct…???
Erin says
Hi Kevin – the one thing I love about this recipe is you don’t need to get too hung up on exact number of pounds of tomatoes. I have made this countless of times each time the exact number of pounds differs a little. Not sure which type of tomato you are referring to that you get 1-3 pounds, but as long as you follow the guidelines in the recipe card (medium-sized, large, etc.) you will be fine! That being said, I know some people really prefer more exact measurements – I am re-shooting this recipe over the weekend and I will update the recipe card with more exact measurements then! Thank you!
Kevin R Thomas says
I just saw the 22-23 lbs… that will be fine.. I grow Beefsteak Heirloom..Sorry….Gonna try it … sounds good. Thanks much
Erin says
No worries, Kevin! Excited for you to try it – especially with some homegrown beefsteak heirlooms (we have some of those waiting to be picked in our garden as well). Enjoy!
Kimberly says
BEST. MARINARA. EVER!!!!!!
Seriously, when I run out of this we don’t have pizza, pasta, or the like until I can make more. This is THE perfect sauce!
I have been making this for a couple of years now and with a fresh tomato harvest just in from the garden I’m about to again.
Erin says
Yay!!!! That makes me so happy to hear, Kimberly!! I look forward to making this every year as well! Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback – I really appreciate it!
Michele says
I’m sorry I didn’t see in the directions if you’re going to Can am I to assume you waterbath it and for how long? I’m doing quart jars
Thank you
Erin says
Hi Michele – Yes! We use a water bath – I go to into the water bath process here: https://thewoodenskillet.com/canning-101-how-to-can-spaghetti-sauce/. You should find all the answers there 🙂
Sheila Belding says
Do you remove skins or core tomatoes
Erin says
Hi Sheila – nope! That is one thing I love about this recipe. That being said, if you want to remove the skins I would do so before you roast!
Jackie says
This recipe looks amazing… I currently use a similar recipe that uses balsamic vinegar and olive oil and no wine. Do you think the wine would still work well with a bit of balsamic vinegar in the mix.
Erin says
Hi Jackie! I think a little balsamic vinegar could work, I probably wouldn’t put too much in (maybe a tablespoon or two) just add even more depth of flavor! Could be really good! And if you add in a little and like the way the flavor is then you could decide if next time you want to add more!
NanaDeb says
This sounds yummy. How many does the ragu serve?
michele says
I normally make Sunday gravy and very rarely make marinara. This is the best! I may never make gravy again…God rest my Grandmother’s soul!
Erin says
Yay!! So glad to hear you liked it!!! It is a family-favorite!! 🙂
Janice Brash says
Isn’t 425 a little high for slow roasting. Are you sure it isn’t 325 or 225.
Erin says
Hi Janice – it is definitely 425! I have been making this recipe for years! There is lot of liquid in there when the tomatoes cook down so you really do need it that high!