Mario Unclogged: Marinara Sauce Recipe

By Mario Batali
Updated Dec. 01, 2020

My take on marinara sauce (actually the sauce of the seafarers) is a basic tomato sauce. In some places it just means garlic oil and parsley, and in others it is as elaborate as tomatoes, peppers, and lots of herbs.

I use it as a building block in lots of dishes as well as just a simple quick pasta sauce that can be transformed in a thousand ways. If you add chile flakes, you have arrabbiata; if you add anchovies, chile flakes, olives, and capers, you have puttanescaboth only for pasta and so on and so forth.

I have seen places in the States serve fish or meat with the preceding two Italian phrases and am embarrassed for the chefs who have not traveled to Italy. Anyway, this is my recipe, and it is as simple as opening a can. The key here is San Marzano tomatoes from Italy, not from Chile and not from California.

Recipe Facts

5

(1)

Total: 0 mins
Serves: 6 servings

Rate & Comment

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons virgin olive oil

  • 1 Spanish onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

  • 4 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)

  • 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded

  • Two 28-ounce cans tomatoes, crushed by hand and mixed well with their juices

  • Salt

Directions

  1. Place oil into a sauce pan with onions and garlic, and cook over medium heat until translucent but not brown (about 10 minutes). Add the thyme and carrot; cook 5 minutes more. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to just bubbling, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

  2. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately or set aside for further use. The sauce may be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 6 months.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
139 Calories
14g Fat
5g Carbs
1g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 139
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 17%
Saturated Fat 2g 9%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 588mg 26%
Total Carbohydrate 5g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 4mg 19%
Calcium 15mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 89mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes