Gluten Free Tomato Sauce (Marinara)
A great marinara is one of those sauces that feels like it should be complicated, but this version proves otherwise — just a handful of real ingredients and about twenty minutes of simmering. San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand for that rustic, uneven texture, form the backbone of a sauce that's bright, deeply savory, and just a little spicy from the red pepper flakes. Garlic is coaxed slowly in olive oil until pale golden and fragrant, which builds a mellow, sweet base that keeps the whole thing from tasting sharp or flat. A finishing drizzle of olive oil and torn fresh basil stirred in off the heat give it that restaurant-quality richness without any extra effort. For anyone navigating a gluten-free kitchen, this sauce is naturally in the clear — every ingredient here is whole and unprocessed, with no hidden thickeners, flour-based pastes, or ambiguous additives to second-guess. That matters more than it sounds, because plenty of jarred sauces carry sneaky label warnings or use modified starches you'd rather avoid. Made from scratch, you know exactly what's going in the pot. Spoon it over your favorite gluten-free pasta, use it as a pizza base, or keep a batch in the fridge all week — it's the kind of versatile, honest sauce that earns a permanent spot in your rotation.
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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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