Quick and easy Homemade Red Sauce in Less then 40 Minutes is infused with red wine, fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices sure to elevate any Italian meal!
Everyone should have a go-to, high-quality Red Sauce, sometimes called Marinara, in their recipe box. A good red sauce that doesn’t have to simmer for hours is such a versatile element in so many recipes, especially if you want dinner on the table in under an hour.
This is the sauce I always use for The Bomb Italian Sausage Sandwich, Baked Chicken Ricotta Meatballs (pictured below), chicken parmesan, for meat sauce, lasagna and so much more. The options are endless and after 5 minutes of preparation, the remaining time is just the sauce coming together as it simmers.
How to make Homemade Red Sauce in Less then 40 Minutes
Start with a 3 quart or larger saute pan with a lid or a dutch oven with a lid over medium heat. I use this, see <>. Savor with Jennifer participates with the Amazon Associate Program, which means if you make a purchase from a link below, a small percentage comes back to this blog at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Add the olive oil to the pan. Add onion, celery, and salt and cook just until they start to soften and become translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and tomato paste and cook 1-2 minutes until everything becomes fragrant.
Cooking the red pepper flakes and tomato paste first really helps to wake up the flavors as opposed to adding them to the sauce later.
Add 1/2 cup of red wine and bring the sauce to a simmer. I always choose a dry red wine that I would like to drink with the meal. Please never use anything that says ‘cooking wine’. It hurts my heart and really does make difference in the overall recipe flavor profile.
Add a good quality 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, dried oregano (or fresh if you have it), fresh basil, and fresh Italian parsley.
Bring up to a gentle simmer. Cover sauce and cook for 30 minutes, stirring upon occasion. Serve over pasta as is or use in your favorite recipe, like The Bomb Italian Sausage Sandwich (pictured below) or Chicken Ricotta Meatballs. Enjoy!
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Homemade Red Sauce in Less then 40 Minutes!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion minced
- 1 rib celery finely minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 28 ounce can quality crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper - fresh ground
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Add onion and celery to pan and sprinkle with salt.
- Saute onion and celery until soft and transparent, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add wine and cook until you have a gentle simmer.
- Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, and black pepper.
- Stir to combine and bring to a low simmer.
- Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring as necessary.
- Taste sauce and add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Enjoy!
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Nutrition
Mother, Gardener, Book Devourer, and Food Obsessor. I love being inspired with fresh, seasonal ingredients and relish every opportunity to elevate my home cooking. Join me!
Elizabeth
Hi, thank you sharing! Question, what dry red wine do you use or recommend?
Jennifer Grissom
Hi Elizabeth. My current favorites are a Pinot Noir and a Red Zinfandel. I love dry reds and will use whatever I currently have at the moment, however. I recommend choosing what you enjoy drinking.
Betsy
My family loves this recipe, it’s fantastic. The red sauce is absolutely delicious and so easy to do.
Jennifer Grissom
So glad to hear that Besty.
Joanna
The sauce was very flavorful and good!
Jennifer Grissom
Awesome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Melissa
Loved this sauce! I was so happy that it didn’t take all day to simmer. I didn’t have crushed tomatoes, so I used whole tomatoes and hand crushed them. I also added roasted red peppers (jarred). And blitzed with an immersion blender. It turned out really well. Thanks for the basic sauce recipe!
Jennifer Grissom
Love the idea of adding the roasted red peppers! I’m so glad you enjoyed.