Marinara Sauce
DIY Components

Marinara Sauce

DIY Components This is my kind of perfect marinara sauce: it's rich, umami, savory and sweet. Gone are the days of subpar jarred marinara, or versions that lean too acidic, or bland. We want aaalll the flavor in all the right places, and this sauce has it, as well as what has now become my irreplaceable secret ingredient. It's so easy, and so so good.

This is my kind of perfect marinara sauce: it's rich, umami, savory and sweet. Gone are the days of subpar jarred marinara, or versions that lean too acidic, or bland. We want aaalll the flavor in all the right places, and this sauce has it, as well as what has now become my irreplaceable secret ingredient. It's so easy, and so so good.

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Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min – 2+ hrs
Yield 5 cups

SaucesFamily Favorite

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 tbsp oil (olive or avocado)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • ½ tsp celery seed
  • 4 whole garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (or whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand)
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ cup coconut aminos (TJ’s organic)
  • ¼ cup cane sugar
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 lb ground beef, cooked (optional, for a heartier sauce like with spaghetti)

Directions

  1. 1

    Cook the aromatics

    Heat the oil in a deep medium or large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and stir to coat them in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the Italian seasoning, dried basil, and celery seed. Stir and spread the onions out as evenly as possible. Stir periodically until the onions are translucent and starting to caramelize (pick up some color). Add the garlic, stir, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and mix until everything is thoroughly coated and pasty. If the onions look dry or thinly coated, add a little more paste. Cook for another minute or so.

  2. 2

    Create the sauce

    Add the crushed tomatoes and mix everything together, scraping the bottom of the pot so any fond (browned bits) gets worked into the sauce. Add the Worcestershire sauce, coconut aminos, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. These add flavor and dimension, and the sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes. Taste and adjust the salt, sugar, or anything else it needs. For the heartier version, stir in the cooked ground beef once all of the sauce ingredients are incorporated.

  3. 3

    Reduce the sauce

    Turn the heat to medium high to bring the sauce to a simmer, then lower it to medium-low to maintain. If you have time, go lower for a slow bubble. If you need the sauce sooner, keep the heat closer to medium for a more rapid simmer, which evaporates the water faster. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2+ hours. The longer it simmers, the more concentrated the flavor gets, as the tomatoes release their water and all the components settle in, get to know each other, and infuse the sauce with their goodness.

Notes

  • Use a splatter guard over your simmering sauce to avoid a splattered stove top, and possibly you!
  • I know the secret ingredient is very specific, and that not everyone has access to a Trader Joe's! I like the one from TJ's because it's more sweet than it is salty, whereas I've noticed that other coconut amino brands (granted I haven't tried all of them) vary in flavor and can be too salty for my taste (after all, it is made to be a substitute for soy sauce). I'm sure you can use other brands of coconut aminos, but I would recommend adding much less (maybe 1 tbsp?) and going from there, or even taste testing before adding to gauge how much you may or may not want to add.
  • For the ground beef: crumble the meat into small pieces on a plate and set aside. Heat a couple tbsps of oil (one with high smoke point, such as avocado) in a large frying pan set over medium-medium high heat. Once hot (faint but visible tendrils of heat rising from the oil), slide/shimmy the meat into the pan so that it lays in one even layer (try to avoid overlapping pieces, use tongs to disperse if needed). It should sizzle aggressively/crackle as soon as the meat touches the pan (careful!). If not, turn up the heat. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper, then let it sit untouched for a few minutes before flipping to the other side. There should be a beautiful deep browning happening. This is that Maillard reaction/caramelization that makes the meat so much more flavorful! Once flipped, let it sit untouched until all the water has released and evaporated, around 5 mins. At this point you can break up the meat into a fine crumble, but don't stir it around yet. Let it sit for a few minutes to let it fry and caramelize. Toss a couple more times, allowing all the beef bits to become deliciously browned and crispy. Remove from heat and set aside till ready to add to the sauce. It will be the most flavorful plain ground beef you've ever cooked!