Tomato & Onion Basic Sauce
A super simple but delicious homemade marinara sauce recipe – using just 4 ingredients and 15 minutes; perfect for pizza, pasta, soups, casseroles, chilli, and much more!
This is the perfect sauce to have in the fridge or in the freezer ready to go on a recipe on those days that you don't have to much time.
Whether you want a delicious spaghetti sauce, or one for pizza, soups, etc. This homemade marinara sauce is simple and delicious. Made with just 4 ingredients and around 15 minutes, you can make an easy marinara sauce that tastes rich and delicious. Plus, making it at home means there are no preservatives or other things added in the sauce, and it is naturally gluten-free and vegan. You can use in tons of recipes!
I always make a huge batch and freeze in separate containers. Just makes my life so much easier having this marinara ready for my recipes! I will link this sauce into many recipes that I have been using.
What I love about this easy marinara sauce is that it is made with just 4 base ingredients: crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and onions! However, this resulting tomato sauce is incredibly versatile, and can easily be tweaked to your needs. I will leave you some recipe notes and variations for some suggestions.
The Ingredients
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Tomatoes are loaded with a substance called lycopene. It gives them their bright red color and helps protect them from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. In much the same way, it can help protect your cells from damage. Tomatoes also have potassium, vitamins B and E, and other nutrients.;
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Garlic Cloves – Feel free also to add one shallot/small onion as well for extra flavour. However, I find the garlic more than enough. I use raw garlic – though you could also roast the garlic with the peppers for a different flavour;
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Oil – I used olive oil. You can use another oil of your choice.
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Onions vary in size, shape, color, and flavour. The most common types are red, yellow, and white onions. The taste of these vegetables can range from sweet and juicy to sharp, spicy, and pungent, often depending on the season in which people grow and consume them.
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Salt & Pepper
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3 tomatoes
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1 Tbsp of garlic
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2 Tbsp of olive oil
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2 Onions
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sea salt and pepper
The Method
Slice the onions and place in a fry pan. Let them cook until they are light brown. Don't let them burn, otherwise it will give a terrible taste to the sauce.
Once they are ready add the tomatoes previously cut in small cubes.
Add the garlic, salt and pepper(Optional).
Let the sauce cook for about 10 minutes adding some water if needed.
You have two options here, a thinner or thicker sauce. Depending for what you would like to use.
If it is for a Pizza base you want thicker, so don't add to much water. But, for example if you are going to use for a pasta sauce you can have it thinner, so feel free to add a bit more water.
You can use the marinara in two ways:
As it is with chunky bites, so you can feel the onions and some bits of tomato;
or
You can blend the sauce for those who don't like to feel the onions and tomatoes. Some children are very fussy and won't eat if they can see, but if they are blended it's actually a good way to make them eat onions and tomatoes. And doesn't make any difference to use on your recipes.
Storage tips:
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOMATOES
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the variety of tomato that you choose for this recipe will have a significant impact on the flavour. That is not to say that you can’t grab whatever tin of tomatoes that you have in your cupboard, or choose in between fresh tomatoes. But if you want to make the most of your tomato sauce, then choose fresh Vine Tomatoes, they are the best in flavour for this sauce. They are probably a bit more expensive but well worth it!
You can store this homemade marinara sauce in an airtight container – I like to use a jar for up to 5 days. Alternatively, it can be frozen for up to three months. I am a bit of a "Junky Jar", but at this time they are absolutely perfect to freeze this sauce.