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This Five Minute Marinara Sauce is everything I want in a pasta sauce. It’s fresh and oh so flavorful, with an unexpected brightness from fresh lemon – don’t doubt the sauce without trying it, the combination really works!
Every single person who has ever tasted this sauce in my home has asked for the recipe. Best of all, this easy marinara sauce is made from just a few simple ingredients and takes almost no prep time at all.
I’ve been sitting here staring at these photos for several minutes, trying to find the right words to describe this Five Minute Marinara Sauce. I’m actually at a loss for words to describe this perfect easy pasta sauce.
I’ve made a lot of different spaghetti sauces over the years and this is among the best tasting in addition to being far and away the fastest and easiest recipe.
How To Make Marinara Sauce
Fresh tomatoes, roasted, stovetop, crockpot, you name it and I’ve probably tried it. I’ve even been told that I make great spaghetti by numerous people. However, this sauce trumps them all.
I stumbled onto this Tomato Sauce recipe by 101 Cookbooks almost nine years ago.
I kept tasting this marinara by the spoonful the first time I made it. I was truly shocked that something so unbelievably easy could taste so delicious.
The olive oil combined with the red pepper and the lemon zest elevates this marinara sauce to a level I haven’t seen before in my own kitchen. I’m not one to wax on and on about a red sauce. If it’s good, it’s good, right?
Well, I actually sat there eating dinner that night, a basic plate of angel hair with this sauce and I was contemplating what else I could possibly eat with this sauce. With such simple ingredients, this is going to be a pantry staple in my house.
After many years of making this sauce, it is now my go-to sauce to serve with spaghetti, angel hair, penne pasta or any time I’m cooking something that calls for tomato sauce. Every single person I have ever served it to has raved about it.
Make a big batch of this sauce to serve with meals throughout the week or freeze it in a freezer-safe ziploc bag to make meal prep even easier. Pour it over pasta, serve it as a dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks or breadsticks, serve it with chicken, the possibilities are endless.
It takes so little time and energy to make this fresh, flavorful homemade sauce that you’ll never want to buy jarred sauce again.
This sauce is delicious just as is but could also be a great canvas for experimenting with different herbs and spices. If you learn to make one pasta sauce in your life, this one should be it!
Easy Marinara Sauce
Looking for an easy side to serve with pasta and marinara? Made with plenty of butter, herbs, and garlic, this Garlic Herb Bread is an easy way to elevate your next pasta night.
If you’re a fan of spaghetti squash and looking for a delicious vegetarian meal, check out this Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Skillet Recipe with marinara sauce and this Easy Baked Penne.
What are your favorite marinara sauce recipes?
Five Minute Marinara Sauce Recipe
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Combine the olive oil, pepper flakes, salt and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the pan over medium-high heat.
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Saute for 45 seconds to a minute, just until everything is fragrant. Avoid letting the garlic turn brown.
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Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, this should only take a couple of minutes.
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Remove from the heat and taste the sauce. If it needs more salt, add it now.
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Stir in the lemon zest and taste again.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 - 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes the full amount makes a very spicy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 3 medium cloves of garlic minced or finely chopped
- 1 28- ounce can crushed red tomatoes not diced, not pureed, not whole, no additional seasonings at all
- 1 tsp zest of one lemon
Instructions
- Combine the olive oil, pepper flakes, salt and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the pan over medium high heat. Saute for 45 seconds to a minute, just until everything is fragrant. Avoid letting the garlic turn brown. Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, this should only take a couple minutes.
- Remove from the heat and taste the sauce. If it needs more salt, add it now. Stir in the lemon zest and taste again. Try not to eat the entire pot of sauce with a spoon. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 5/11/11 – recipe notes updated 4/9/20}
Hmmm, lemon – interesting! I like the marinara sauce I make, but I am now intrigued to try adding the lemon. Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Oh Mary, this is really a must try! Isn't it amazing that often the best ideas come from those hours when you think you can't really think of so much productive things to do? haha
I have to admit, I am intrigued… Maybe with the next can of whole tomatoes… Right now I have about 5 pounds of ripe Roma's that are destined to become some sort of sauce.
That good?! Well, I will give it a try. I love a good pasta sauce!
I've never tried lemon zest in my tomato sauce before but it sounds awesome so I'll bookmark it and try it! Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
You know I feel like such a cheater when I use store bought sauce because I always figured making real homemade sauce would take HOURS! This recipe looks great! I cannot wait to try it!
Simple and delicious!
You got any good butternut squash recipes? I bought a bunch for a recipe…and, um, now I can't find the recipe.
Missy, I would probably do something like this:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/delicious-baked-acorn-squash/
I'm all about the butter and brown sugar on my winter squash. Although, I might go a bit easier on the butter! ha ha. I haven't posted any butternut recipes yet, but I will this winter. I'm sure the garden will be full of them.
Oh wow, this sounds wonderful. I'm definitely going to try it. Maybe this weekend when a couple of girlfriends are coming over to check out the garden.
Speaking of… I wonder if I can adapt it successfully to use the fresh tomatoes. I've finally started the "OMG what am I going to do with all these tomatoes?!?" stage of the growing season.
Maybe the girls and I can figure it out together…
I can tell this sauce would be fantastic. I love the addition of lemon zest, I've never tried that before. I'm always just focused on dumping lots of red wine into my homemade red sauces. 😉 Looks amazing!
This does look like the perfect sauce! I love the kick of crushed red pepper! Yum!
Mary you are inspiring! This looks and sounds wonderful. I bet you could put this sauce on everything and anything! A must try on my list. Thanks!
This looks so easy and so much better than anything from a jar!
These are the kinds of recipes I put together quite frequently and I am aware of how yummy the simplest recipes can be – I'll take that plate tyvm 🙂
btw, like the name of your blog – i love being barefeet, pretty much always 🙂 cheers, Priya – And do pop by when you have a moment – love to see you on my blog list :))
Great sauce and have added it to my go to recipes… next time though I will go a bit easier on the pepper flakes (I even did the smallest amount and less than that!) as there was a bit too much heat, I must have picked up some extra potent flakes 😉 and I like spicy
I love a great marinara sauce and your recipe sounds wonderful. Am I surprised? Not!
I have always been disappointed when making marinara sauce from a can because the sauce tastes "of the can." I have tried many brands of tomatoes, looking for a brand that has the taste closest to fresh tomatoes. I have ruled out Hunts. I have 3 other brands in the pantry now that I am going to work my way through. What do you use to make this sauce that tastes so fantastic?
Thank you for your expertise and your recipes! =)
I use Muir Glen tomatoes when I have them in the house. San Marzano are awesome, but I'll admit that I've only bought them once. They are at least twice the average store-brand price, sometimes triple that.
I regularly make this with store-brand tomatoes though and I've had great luck. Some of the national chains do sweeten the tomatoes more than I like, so I don't typically buy Hunts for this dish.
There is something about the hint of red pepper and that unexpected lemon zest that truly cancels the "canned" taste of the tomatoes in this sauce. Every single person I have ever served it to has raved about it. I hope you love it as much as we do!
I keep a fresh lemon in the freezer and use it on a lot of different dishes. Just grate it into or onto your dish! Lemon really makes the flavor pop!
What would be the proportions if you use fresh picked tomatoes?
I've never made this with fresh tomatoes, but about 3 cups of roughly pureed tomatoes should be the right amount.
Would this sauce work with meat in it?
Sure. I use this sauce with meat all the time.