Name: Homemade Marinara Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 heads of garlic, peeled (approx. 32-35 cloves); 5 large heirloom tomatoes – cut into chunks; 8 beefsteak tomatoes – cut into chunks; 3 medium orange tomatoes – cut into chunks; 6 medium yellow tomatoes – cut into chunks; 20 cherry tomatoes; 2 lbs 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 spicy oregano, roughly chopped (or regular oregano); 1/4 cup dried oregano leaves; 2 Tablespoons dried basil leaves; 3 Tablespoons kosher salt (more to taste); 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 cup olive oil; 1 1/2 cup dry red wine

Description

Homemade Marinara Sauce – your go-to spaghetti sauce recipe! Turns out beautifully every time! Whole30/Paleo Friendly!

Recipe Video: I have included a Small Batch recipe below in the Notes Section – the Small Batch recipe is used in the recipe video. It is cooked the exact same way, it just uses about 1/4 of the ingredients! Enjoy!

Ingredients

Scale

3 heads of garlic, peeled (approx. 32–35 cloves)
5 large heirloom tomatoes – cut into chunks
8 beefsteak tomatoes – cut into chunks
3 medium orange tomatoes – cut into chunks
6 medium yellow tomatoes – cut into chunks
20 cherry tomatoes
2 lbs 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 spicy oregano, roughly chopped (or regular oregano)
1/4 cup dried oregano leaves
2 Tablespoons dried basil leaves
3 Tablespoons kosher salt (more to taste)
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup dry red wine

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Instructions

Preheat: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine: Take large aluminum roasting pan and add all of your tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil and wine.
Mix: Mix everything together thoroughly.
Oven: Place in oven, uncovered, and let roast for at least 5 hours.
Stir: Stir about every 30-45 minutes, especially the last 2 hours.
Cool: After 5 hours, remove from oven and let cool for an hour or so.
Spoonfuls: Take blender and add several large spoonfuls (about 3 ladle-sized scoops) to it.
Pulse: Cover with thick towel and pulse the blender: 3 times for chunky sauce and approximately 8 times for smoother sauce.
Serve or Save: Serve some immediately and can or freeze the rest.

Notes

Aluminum Pan: you will need a large aluminum roasting pan for this recipe
Clean Tomatoes: make sure your tomatoes are clean before use. I typically 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 getting specifically the exact same number and type of tomato listed. While this is what I used, you ultimately need 22-23 lbs (352 ounces) 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 2 cups 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: To make Paleo/Whole30 simply use pomegranate juice in place of the red wine.
Is 425 Degree Temp Too Hot?: I promise this 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 approximately 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!
Immersion Blender or Food Processor: you could also use an immersion blender or food process to blend up the sauce.
Eat, Freeze, Can: Feel free to use some right away, store some in the refrigerator for a week or so if you are going to use it, freeze it or can it! I have a great post on How to Can Spaghetti Sauce 101 that can answer a lot of questions!
Recipe Video: I have included a Small Batch recipe below – the Small Batch recipe is used in the recipe video. It is cooked the exact same way, it just uses about 1/4 of the ingredients!
Small Batch Recipe: Cook in a Dutch Oven, uncovered, for 3 hours stirring every 30-45 minutes or until liquid has reduced. All other instructions are the same! Makes approx. (3) 1-pint jars.
- 1 head of garlic, peeled
- 6-7 lb of tomatoes with a mix of
  - - heirloom tomatoes – cut into chunks
    - beefsteak tomatoes – cut into chunks
    - orange tomatoes – cut into chunks
    - yellow tomatoes – cut into chunks
    - cherry tomatoes
    - roma tomatoes – quartered
- 1 large white onions – quartered
- 1/2 cup tightly packed fresh sweet basil, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup tightly packed Italian basil, roughly chopped
- ½ cup fresh oregano
- 2 Tablespoons dried oregano leaves
- 1 Tablespoon dried basil leaves
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- Teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry red wine