A super simple but flavorful tomato marinara using canned tomatoes, carrots, onion, and herbs. Doesn’t get easier or more delicious!
When I lived in La Maddalena, Italy, I quickly learned that the spaghetti sauce I had been purchasing in grocery stores in the United States was quite different than the marinara made and served in Italy. I asked my dear Italian friend, Rita, what the secret was. At first, I don’t think she understood my question. But as she showed me how to make her marinara, I remember being very surprised. As it turns out, the “secret” is actually four different things – the type of tomatoes used, the profuse amount of olive oil, the time spent actually cooking the sauce, and the addition of diced or grated carrots. Yes, carrots.
I had always used canned diced tomatoes to make marinara in the past; but as it turns out, Italians, like my friend Rita, typically use canned whole tomatoes, tomato puree, or crushed tomatoes. This results in a much smoother and tastier sauce. You probably already knew this, but it was news to me.
Rita also told me to use a lot of olive oil, which creates an even more smooth mouth-feel, a trademark for Italian marinara. I include a little olive oil as an option in case you prefer to use it; but I no longer use oil to sauté my vegetables or in my marinara – solely in an effort to keep my husband’s cholesterol and blood pressure down. I just don’t feel that it’s necessary for every-day family meals. I may add a little if I’m serving guests or celebrating a birthday though, simply because it does add to the sauce, and many people do prefer it.
Now that I reside back in the United States, I’m shocked at the amount of sodium in jarred or canned spaghetti sauces. Unless you’re willing to pay a lot more money, most pasta sauces are chock-full of sodium. For this reason, I’m grateful Rita was kind enough to show me how to make what is now My Favorite Marinara. You can add salt if you choose, but I find the amount of salt added to most canned tomatoes is plenty to go around.
The third big secret is the amount of time it takes to cook the marinara. As it turns out, you don’t need to simmer or cook marinara for very long at all. Essentially, a good marinara takes about fifteen minutes, start to finish. I remember being very surprised at this. It’s a huge game changer. You really just need enough time to sauté your onions and carrots, then stir in your herbs and tomatoes. Let it simmer for just a few minutes, and that’s it! Seriously.
As promised in the description, this really is the easiest and tastiest marinara you can make. You don’t have to use onions and carrots but they really do add so much natural flavor to this tomato sauce – it just wouldn’t be as delicious without them. Remember, the addition of sautéed carrots is that fourth and final cool “secret” Rita shared with me. I’ve learned that if you keep your heat on a medium-low, it’s hot enough to sauté the vegetables without the need for any oil. And it works like a charm! If your onions and carrots do start to stick, reduce the heat just a touch and add in a teaspoon of water or vegetable broth.
Once the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender, add in the herbs and tomatoes. While you can use a bunch of individual herbs, I really like using two primary herb blends – Italian Seasoning and Herbs de Provence. They each contain a different set of herbs which complement each other well and really balances the flavors. It also makes this ingredient list much shorter. I’ve been told my list of seasonings and spices tend to intimidate some. But I love flavor and the best way to get flavor is to use a variety of spices and herbs.
And that’s it. My Favorite Marinara really is that easy. It will take longer for you to boil the water and pasta. Seriously.
Speaking of pasta, you can serve this delicious marinara on any pasta you choose. Over the years, my family has enjoyed it on a number of different foundations, including black bean pasta – it was perfect with plant-based meatballs and made for an awesome dinner on Halloween. Though, my favorite pasta is traditional spaghetti. Yeah, I know. Not very original, but it’s still my favorite.
One great vegetable pasta option is something I affectionately refer to as zoodles. They’re just spiralized zucchini. This version of whole food plant-based vegetable pasta is so good! I use a spiralizer, though you can use a cheese grater or food processor if you don’t have a spiralizer. The zucchini shreds may not look like noodles, but they are still super healthy and delicious.
There are a couple of different ways to cook zucchini noodles or shreds. You can sauté them in a skillet or you can steam them in a steamer basket over boiling water. You can also cook them in the microwave oven. Regardless of how you cook them, please note that the zucchini noodles release quite a bit of water. So be careful not to overcook them – they will literally disappear…
We also enjoy serving My Favorite Marinara on another incredible vegetable pasta –> spaghetti squash. Seriously, spaghetti squash is Mother’s Nature’s very own whole food plant-based pasta. I like cutting the spaghetti squash in rings and cooking them in my Instant Pot, though you can roast it in the oven, steam them in a steamer pot, or microwave them, just like the zoodles. I think I’ll have to share the full details on these options in another post. I simply adore spaghetti squash!
Sometimes we add a bunch of other vegetables to our marinara, including chopped broccoli, riced cauliflower, sliced or chopped mushrooms, zucchini, green garden peas. A California vegetable blend with carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower is fantastic in this marinara. Just be sure to cook the vegetables or mushrooms with the onions and carrots before adding the tomatoes and herbs.
Honestly, it really depends on what we have in the refrigerator and what we’re in the mood for. This is My Favorite Marinara with zucchini and kale added to the mix and served over spaghetti squash. Super tasty and nutritious! At this point though, I fully acknowledge that this really starts to resemble spaghetti sauce, since marinara is theoretically a simple tomato sauce. And I’m okay with this, too.
As you may have noticed, many of these photos contain plant-based meatballs – My husband loves them. I keep a package of Aldi’s plant-based meatballs in my freezer for a gotta-get-dinner-on-the-table-quick kinda meal. This is especially great for busy weeknights. When I have time and can meal prep on the weekend, I like making my own Plant-based Meatballs. They’re fantastic when paired with My Favorite Marinara.
I love that my Plant-based Meatballs don’t contain any added oil or salt. Instead, these little nuggets of wholesome goodness are packed full of healthy nuts, beans, grains, and vegetables. The leftover meatballs and marinara make the absolute best meatball subs or miniature personal pizzas the next day. Yep, there’s no doubt about it, this really is My Favorite Marinara, and for many great reasons – it’s ridiculously easy, delicious, nutritious, and versatile.
And lastly, almost every time we have this marinara, my husband reaches for some vegan cheese. When I don’t have time to make my own, I have to curb my husband’s cheese addiction by purchasing commercially prepared vegan shredded mozzarella cheese. He likes Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds and Follow Your Heart’s parmesan-style shreds. I prefer mine without.
When I do have time, I like making my own oil-free Vegan Mozzarella cheese. It’s very simple and uses cashews and potatoes to create a great tasting and meltable plant-based cheese that is great on pizza, spaghetti, and lasagna. Check out my shredded Vegan Mozzarella cheese atop this delectable marinara with added sautéed riced cauliflower on a bed of spaghetti.
I hope you enjoy My Favorite Marinara as much as I do.
I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Enjoy!!
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Ingredients
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil (optional)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, shredded or diced
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic or 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
- 1 tsp Herbs de Provence blend
- ¼ – ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- Salt to taste (optional)
- Instructions
- In a large skillet or saucepan, sauté the chopped onion and carrots on low heat until onions are translucent and carrots are cooked through. Add a tablespoon of water or broth to prevent sticking, as needed.
- Stir in the tomatoes, herbs, nutritional yeast, and salt (if using), and continue simmering about 5 more minutes.
- Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Ladle the sauce over the pasta, zoodles, or spaghetti squash and serve.
Notes
- Diced or shredded carrots lend a natural sweetness to this otherwise acidic marinara.
- While I have made meatballs before, we enjoy the plant-based meatless meatballs from Aldi for a quick and easy weeknight splurge.
Easy Marinara
Equipment
- stove
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tbsp oil (optional)
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup carrots shredded or diced
- 28 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic or 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
- 1 tsp Herbs de Provence blend
- ¼ – ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast optional
- salt to taste optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet or saucepan, sauté the chopped onion and carrots on low heat until onions are translucent and carrots are cooked through. Add a tablespoon of water or broth to prevent sticking, as needed.
- Stir in the tomatoes, herbs, nutritional yeast, and salt (if using). Simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
- Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Ladle the sauce over the pasta, zoodles, or spaghetti squash and serve.