Emulsifier Free Tomato Sauce (Marinara)
A great marinara should taste like tomatoes, garlic, and nothing else — and that's exactly what you get here. So many jarred sauces and even restaurant versions sneak in emulsifiers to stabilize texture or extend shelf life, which makes a truly clean tomato sauce harder to find than it should be. This one is built from just a handful of real ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil. There are no additives, no stabilizers, no shortcuts — just honest cooking. Crushing the tomatoes by hand keeps the texture rustic and uneven in the best way, and a slow simmer coaxes out that deep brick-red color and rich, rounded flavor. The finishing drizzle of olive oil pulls everything together into something that tastes genuinely homemade. Toss it with pasta, spoon it over pizza dough, or use it as a dipping sauce — it's the kind of recipe you'll come back to every single week.
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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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