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Italian

Marinara sauce

Vegetarian

Salsa alla marinara

A quick, meat-free southern Italian tomato sauce of good canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and oregano, simmered just long enough to lose its raw edge.

Marinara sauce is an Italian sauce from Italy, ready in about 30 minutes and made with garlic, canned tomatoes and dried oregano. It serves 6 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
5 min
Cook
25 min
Total
30 min
Serves
6
Level
Beginner
Calories
105

Ingredients

6 servings (about 120 ml each)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Tip the tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with your hands, removing any hard stem ends.

  2. Step 2

    Warm the olive oil (opens in a new tab) in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic (opens in a new tab) (and chilli flakes (opens in a new tab)) and cook gently until fragrant and just turning pale gold — do not let it brown.

  3. Step 3

    Pour in the tomatoes carefully (they will spit), add the oregano (opens in a new tab) and salt and bring to a lively simmer.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat
    A sauce simmering in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Nanda Mends on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Simmer, stirring now and then, until the oil starts to pool on the surface and the sauce has thickened slightly.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Taste for salt, tear in the basil (opens in a new tab) and use straight away, or cool and store.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
Naples / Campania, Italy · Commonly attributedIn Italy 'marinara' mostly describes the garlic-and-oregano pizza and sauce of Naples; in the US 'marinara' has become the everyday name for a quick tomato pasta sauce.Also popular in United StatesMore food from Italy
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Sauces
Cooking method
Simmered, Sautéed
Taste
savoury, garlicky, tangy, herby
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · Everyday · Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead · One-pan · Batch cooking
Cook more with
Garlic · Canned tomatoes · Dried oregano
Techniques
Sautéing · Simmering

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

105 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 125 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 4%
  • Carbohydrate 20%
  • Fat 75%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy105 kcal84 kcal
Protein1.2 g1 g
Carbohydrate5.6 g4.5 g
Net carbohydrate3 g2.4 g
Sugars3.4 g2.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre2.7 g2.1 g
Fat9.3 g7.5 g
Saturated fat1.3 g1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium542 mg434 mg
Salt equivalent1.4 g1.1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
268 mg
Calcium
52 mg
Iron
0.9 mg
Magnesium
14 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
27 µg
Vitamin C
18 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
11 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: red chilli flakes, basil.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A wide pan reduces the sauce faster and keeps the tomato flavour fresh.
  • If your tomatoes are very acidic, simmer a few minutes longer rather than adding sugar.

Common mistakes

  • Browning the garlic makes the whole sauce bitter.

Serve with

  • Spaghetti with a little grated pecorino
  • Base for pizza or baked aubergine
  • Dip for fried calamari or arancini

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Reheating

  • Warm gently in a pan with a splash of water.

Variations

  • Arrabbiata-style (Italy): Use 1–2 whole dried chillies or a generous teaspoon of chilli flakes and finish with parsley.
  • Italian-American marinara (United States): Often adds a little onion and simmers longer, finished with plenty of basil.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

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