Magnificent Marinara Sauce

So as you can see in the vegan lasagna photo above, I like a lot of marinara sauce with my pasta. And I was a bit heavy-handed with the sauce ladling that day but it was just so good. Because sometimes you gotta have a little pasta with your bowl of sauce, ya know what I mean?

Anyway, It’s not a fancy recipe. And it’s nothing too tricky. It’s just throwing together a few ingredients, a little simmering, and voila! Before you know it, you have a mouth-watering marinara of your own!

Should have made this marinara sooner!

I mistakenly believed a good marinara sauce was complicated and time-consuming. Now if only I started making homemade marinara sooner! Because it wasn’t a big undertaking, like I thought, after all.

The store-bought jars were my way around a marinara sauce. Whatever. Because when my four kids were little there wasn’t a lot of extra time to look up a recipe, let alone make one.

There was homework, dance class, gymnastics, football, softball, baseball, and lacrosse. And boy scouts, girl scouts, playdates, and music practice, and, and, and, everybody had something going on like every day of the week! Wow, flashback. (Deep breath in, deep breath out).

So, yeah, sauce in a jar. Done.

But now, I’ve found, it was never really that difficult to make a nice homemade marinara sauce. Who knew?! 😉 Because it just simmers while the pasta is cooking or while you make a salad. And no wasted time.

No shame

But I’m not here to shame anyone for using a jar no matter how easy this sauce is. I still keep a jar, like Victoria’s Vegan Sauces, in the cupboard. Because it still comes in handy. And I’m not going for the Martha Stewart wannabe award in this lifetime. Although, secretly, I did aspire to that unattainable dream once upon a time. Yup, I was most definitely a closeted Martha fangirl.

So, anyway, I hope you like our Magnificent Marinara Sauce! And I hope you find, as I did, that great taste doesn’t have to involve an overabundance of effort or time.

Buon Appetito!

vegan marinara sauce — The magnificent marinara sauce simmers!

P.S. Incorporate our marinara sauce into the Lovely Luscious Vegan Lasagna!

It also delivers in our Elegant Eggplant Parmesan.

vegan eggplant parmesan — Elegant Eggplant Parmesan made vegan

And try our Perfect Parmesan-vegan style sprinkled on top!

vegan parmesan — perfect parmesan vegan style

thehamptonsvegan

Magnificent Maranara Sauce

A vegan marinara sauce that takes little time or effort but delivers big, flavorful results.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings: 4 cups

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian, vegan

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

28 ounces diced tomatoes
14 ounces tomato sauce
10 ounces bruschetta sauce can use another 14 ounces diced tomatoes in place of bruschetta
1/3 cup red wine
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce can use sugar instead
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced garlic about 4-6 cloves
3-4 leaves basil, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet.
Add sliced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes -until fragrant, not brown.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and bruschetta- or additional diced tomatoes if not using bruschetta- and basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Cook for about 5 minutes.
Add in wine and apple sauce.
Simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

So many uses for Pesto!

Jump to Recipe

basil leaves — It all began with a little basil.

pesto ingredients — Then basil and their friends get together.

Pesto is one of those necessary recipes that everyone needs to have. And this recipe is also vegan. Plus, it can be frozen for a quick dinner.

It’s wonderful to mix into pasta or to add another level of flavor to your food. Or mix it into your vegan mayo for a great sandwich spread. Also, it gives a depth of character mixed into your vegan ricotta recipes. And my favorite way to indulge my pesto urges is in Pesto Pasta Primavera.

I usually just chop up some carrots, some broccoli, and whatever other veggies I have on hand. Maybe I’ll use brussel sprouts, red peppers, or zucchini. Then I roast those in the oven while boiling penne or farfalle pasta on the stove. Of course, any type of pasta will do!

Sometimes I might sauté onions and mushrooms in a skillet, as well! Then I take out my freezer stash of the green goodness, mix in a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water, and mix that into my cooked pasta.

Add that to your dinner plate surrounded with all the veggies and you too can enjoy an easy dinner of Pesto Pasta Primavera!

Pesto all year!

There’s just something about pesto that makes it feel like a spring or summer day. Maybe it’s the bright green color or perhaps it’s the basil scent. But it’s great not only to eat this when basil is abundant in the spring and summer months but also when all the leaves are off the trees and the grass has turned to brown.

The long dark cold days of winter need a burst of vivid green! And we need to taste and smell the aroma of plants long past gone. So thank you, freezer, for bringing me a connection to the seasons that I miss when they’re gone (aka summer), by keeping my pesto for me! And thank you, blender, for helping me mix this little taste of plant life happiness into my favorite green sauce whenever I want. So three cheers for Posh Pesto! Wait, actually, four cheers!! One for each season of the year to eat this treat! Oh yeah.

Oh the Possibilities

I’ve read many an article about this green sauce. (Yeah, I sound like a pesto-nerd, I know) But the point is, there are plenty of possibilities! According to Cooks Illustrated, bruising the basil leaves, either with a mortar and pestle or with a rolling pin inside of a gallon plastic bag, imparts a bigger basil taste. Tried this and I’m not sure I tasted the difference. Also, I think the bruising contributed to a less green outcome. Probably won’t do this tip again! (And why the gallon plastic bag, anyway?)

Cook’s Illustrated also recommends blanching the basil leaves to preserve the bright green color. They say 30 seconds in boiling water, then remove and dry. Another site recommends only 5 seconds in boiling water, then plunging into an ice water bath. Haven’t tried this one as one of the reviewers said the flavor was lost.

Ina Garten (fellow Hamptonite!)’s tip to store basil is to rinse the basil leaves in water, spin them dry, then store them in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel in the fridge to help them stay green for several days.

I’ve also heard, to store basil, treat it like a flower by placing it in a jar of water and covering it with a plastic bag over the top to act as a greenhouse effect.

Posh Pesto Please!

There is a bundle of basil advice and a plethora of pesto possibilities swirling around out there so we hope you give our recipe a try. And let us know how it goes!

Best basil wishes for all your pesto pursuits!

It sits atop our Elegant Eggplant Parmesan

we often add it to our Lovely Luscious Vegan Lasagna

and it gives a nice addition to the flavor of Ricotta Replica, too!

And how about a little Posh Pesto mixed into our Pilaf recipe?! Yum!