Artificial Flavors Free Tomato Sauce (Marinara)
A great marinara lives or dies by what you leave out, and this one keeps things beautifully honest. San Marzano tomatoes, fresh garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and torn basil are all doing the heavy lifting here — no flavor packets, no shortcuts, nothing that doesn't belong. That matters more than it might seem, because a lot of jarred and even restaurant-style sauces sneak in artificial flavor additives that are hard to spot on a label. Making it from scratch means you know exactly what's going in the pot. The garlic is coaxed low and slow in olive oil until it turns pale golden and fragrant, which builds a savory base that no extract or powder could replicate. A long, unhurried simmer deepens the tomatoes from bright red to a rich brick-red, concentrating everything naturally. Finish it with a drizzle of good olive oil and fresh basil, and you've got a sauce that tastes like it took all day — because real ingredients actually work that well.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
- ½ tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp granulated sugar (optional)
- 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
For finishing
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing
Instructions
- 1
Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and crush them by hand until broken into rough, uneven pieces — some chunks are fine.
- 2
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is pale golden and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Watch closely, as the garlic can brown quickly.
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