Comments on: How to Make Basic Marinara Sauce

By: Darleen P.

Darleen P. — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:01:17 +0000

This is so good. I used this last fall to use up huge quantities of fresh tomatoes. Just did a quick boil and cold bath to remove the skins. I froze batches and batches of it and we have been enjoying it all winter. Today I actually made a fresh batch with more tomatoes that I had frozen from the garden! Love it!!! We also add meat to it sometimes and mushrooms and chunks of zucchini..Thanks for sharing.

By: PatB

PatB — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:01:53 +0000

I am a vegetarian so was looking for flavorful Marinara. When I make vegetable soup , I use about a third cup of canned tomatoes (I prefer organic like Muir Glen) then freeze the rest of the can in a Tupperware container. Having found a few of these while cleaning out the freezer, I am making your sauce. It is still cooking and already delicious. Caramelizing the onions seems to make a big difference.

By: formerchef

formerchef — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:48:52 +0000

No, canned tomatoes doesn’t really shorten the cooking time. The longer the better (within reason of course).

By: pravin

pravin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:04:37 +0000

thanks for an eye opening,i always thought that marinara sauce contain some sort of seafood into it.

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:20:17 +0000

If you’re using canned tomatoes instead of fresh, does that shorten the cooking time? Or is it one of those situations where the longer it cooks, the better it tastes?

By: formerchef

formerchef — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:08:52 +0000

Debbie- I’m so glad you like it! I have one request; please, please, please don’t buy anything labeled “cooking wine” at the grocery store. Those wines are very poor quality, over priced and over salted. You’d do much better to buy an inexpensive bottle of red wine (under $5) and use that for your cooking. It will even keep, opened, in the refrigerator (for use in cooking) for a few weeks.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:39:58 +0000

AHMAZING!!! Scream from the mountain tops… THIS IS DELICIOUS!!! You gave me a very simple recipe with some nice deep flavors! I love recipes like this that make it so easy for home chefs like me to make amazing dishes for my family! I made this for the sauce to my calzones. The only thing I did do was add just a little splash of Worstershire sauce ( I like the beffy flavor) and I added some diced up carrots (trying to incorporate more veggies into the children’s diet). Now I don’t drink wine but I cook a lot of recipes that call for it so I use “cooking wine” and it seemed to do the trick also. I did down size it just incase I wasnt going to like it ( you never know) but it did not disappoint!!!! On my way to the store to get more ingredients! Way to go Former Chef!!!

By: formerchef

formerchef — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:18:46 +0000

Thanks John! I totally agree!

By: John S.

John S. — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:03:22 +0000

Just saying, I just had a batch a had frozen 4 months ago. It’s better now than it was then!
Nothing better than a nice plate piled high with pasta and “gravy” on a cold December night!

By: formerchef

formerchef — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:50:46 +0000

It’s not that I don’t know how to can, it’s that I choose not to can my sauce and choose not to get into the instructions on how to do so on my blog. As for canning a meat sauce, to ensure food safety, foods with a pH above 4.6 (meats, vegetables, dairy, fish, eggs) MUST be processed in a pressure canner (not a pressure cooker) as opposed to the water bath canning method. A lot of information on canning safely at home can be found here http://nchfp.uga.edu/