Marinara Sauce in Minutes

FASTER

VEGETARIAN

GLUTEN-FREE

Makes about 3½ cups

Honestly, this marinara sauce will take you about 5 minutes longer than opening a jar and heating it on the stove—mostly because of canned crushed tomatoes, almost a reduced sauce on their own. And the results are far superior, with a lovely and balanced sweet/tart flavor. If you want to double or even triple the recipe, the sauce will take longer to mellow and become flavorful, perhaps up to three times the stated timings. Freeze 1-cup portions in sealed containers for a stash of marinara and better meals in the months ahead.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup frozen chopped onions (do not thaw)

One 28-ounce can plain crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon granulated white sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

Up to ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

1. Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they give off their liquid and it mostly evaporates, about 3 minutes.

2. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes, if using.

3. Stir well and bring to a low simmer. Simmer, uncovered but stirring fairly often, for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by a quarter to a third of its original volume. It should taste thick and rich. Use at once or store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Test Kitchen Notes

• Frozen chopped onions, available in the frozen vegetable section of your supermarket, are a good time-saver and work well in this simple marinara because we use them to add sweetness, not texture.

• Because of their excess moisture, start those frozen onions on high to reduce them quickly.

• No-salt-added canned tomatoes are best. Add salt to the final dish, even if you just spoon marinara over cooked pasta, rather than starting with overly salty canned tomatoes.

Voilà! A wooden spoon placed over a pot of boiling pasta can keep it from boiling over. The spoon pops many of the bubbles as they rise up. It’s not fail-safe but it’ll work enough that you can get to the stove before a mess happens. And less cleanup is more time saved!