Homemade Marinara Sauce

If using fresh tomatoes, bring a large pot of water to a covered boil. Meanwhile cut the stems off all the tomatoes like in the picture above. Once the pot is boiling, remove lid, add the tomatoes, and cook uncovered for about a minute until the skins start to crack and peal. Then remove the tomatoes and transfer them to a colander or bowl to cool. You might need to do this in a few batches, depending on how much sauce you are making. Once cool, peal the tomatoes and set to the side, discard the peals.

Place canned or fresh tomatoes in a blender and blend till puréed. Then set aside. If you do not have a blender you can buy canned tomato purèe instead.

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. A 3 qt sauce pan should work perfect if sticking to the recipe, however if making a large batch, you will most likely want 1 or 2 large pots. Once the oil is hot, add onions and sauté for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add garlic, basil, and parsley. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Then add tomato purée, basil stems, and salt; stir well; partially cover (put your lid on but offset it slightly on a diagonal so it doesn’t quite cover the pot); and bring to a boil over high heat. Once rapidly boiling, reduce heat to medium high and keep a light boil. Stir occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom and burning. This is especially important towards the end when the sauce gets thick. Be careful when removing the lid to stir, because sauce can spit out and burn you.

If using canned tomatoes, cook for about 25 minutes till the sauce is nice and thick and the taste is to your liking (the sauce develops more flavor over time). If using fresh tomatoes, this may take 1 - 2 1/2 hrs, depending on the size of the batch. Just wait for your sauce to get thick then start taste testing it from time to time till it’s to your liking.

Serve with your favorite Italian food (I like mine over meatballs or in meatball stuffed peppers and save the rest in the fridge. It’s recommended to use with in 7 days but I usually find it lasts longer. If you made a giant batch, can your sauce to preserve it.

Gather jars with a rubber seal in the lid, 2 piece lids are ideal. I like to use mason jars. Remove the lids from the jars and place the jars and lids in a big pot of water (large enough to completely immerse the jars). Bring to a covered boil and let boil for about 5 minutes. Then remove the jars and lids (a jar lifter works great for this if you have one) and place them on a clean towel. Try not to touch the inside of the jars or lids to prevent bacteria from growing in your canned foods.

If the marinara is not hot, heat it now. Fill your jars with marinara sauces (a funnel can be helpful here), leaving a 1/4 in head space (empty space at the top) of each jar. Then wipe any rims that get marinara on them with a clean paper towel, put the lids on, and return the jars to the water. Make sure they are covered by at least 1 in of water. Then bring to a boil and boil for 40 mins if you are at an altitude of 1000 feet or less, 45 mins for 1,000-3000 feet, 50 mins for 3000-6000 feet, and 55 mins for 6000 feet or more.

Then remove the jars from the water bath and transfer to the counter to cool. After roughly 10 mins check to see if they are sealed, by pressing on the top. If you hear a popping sound and the center goes up and down, it's not sealed. Place any jars that didn't seal properly in the fridge to preserve. The jars that make no popping noise and don't have a center that goes up and down, have been successfully canned and can be kept in the cupboard.