Wheat Free Tomato Sauce (Marinara)
A great marinara is one of those kitchen essentials that quietly makes everything better — pasta, pizza, braised proteins, a simple bowl of polenta. This version keeps things beautifully stripped back, relying on San Marzano tomatoes, good olive oil, and fresh basil to do the heavy lifting. Every single ingredient here is naturally free of wheat, so there's no label-scanning or substitution stress involved — it's just a clean, honest sauce from start to finish. The technique is what sets it apart. Garlic and red pepper flakes bloom slowly in olive oil until pale golden and fragrant, building a savory base before the hand-crushed tomatoes ever hit the pan. That unhurried simmer — about 20 minutes uncovered — transforms the sauce from bright and sharp to a deeper, richer brick-red that clings beautifully to whatever you're serving it with. A finishing drizzle of olive oil and torn fresh basil at the end keep it tasting vibrant and alive rather than heavy or overcooked. Whether you're spooning it over gluten-free pasta or using it as a dipping sauce, this is 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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