This quick store cupboard Clean eating Marinara sauce is SO good! Not only is it versatile and goes with just about anything, it's quick to make, lasts for a few days in the fridge and will be there waiting for you on those days when cooking's the last thing you feel like doing!
Clean Eating Marinara Sauce
How many jars of Marinara must be sold in supermarkets all around the world? My guess is millions. This popular sauce is a favorite of kids literally everywhere. It's sweet from the tomatoes, it's got no super string flavors and is often a picky kids dream tomato sauce :)
Having a basic Marinara sauce recipe has been a life saver on so many occasions in this house, usually those nights when we've barely got anything in the cupboards, I've not been grocery shopping and everything's looking a bit sad and miserable.
While I do buy jarred tomato sauces from time to time if the ingredients list is Clean, this sauce is so easy, so basic and yet so kid friendly that if I'm out of a good jarred sauce and out of time, this really doesn't take a lot more time to make. And if you have an onion hanging around the kitchen, this is a real store pantry recipe.
More Clean Eating Pasta Recipes
- Ham and cheese tagliatelle
- Lemon spaghetti with chicken
- Clean eating mac and cheese
- Mushroom and mozzarella pasta bake
- Creamy avocado fettuccine
Simple Tomato Sauce
If your kids are anything like mine one of their main 'bug bears' is bits of tomato in sauces. One of them will tolerate them, the other not so much! I struggled to get them eating tomatoes when we started eating Clean, they certainly wouldn't entertain a fresh tomato (which is a common kid thing I'm told!) but they're better now.
However, in anticipation of one of them in particular picking out the tomatoes, I blend this sauce in my Nutribullet until it's super smooth. You don't have to do this and can instead have the sauce slightly chunkier, so go with whatever your kids prefer.
While my kids will now (after how many years...!) eat a tomato with no tears and no complaints, I always make this sauce smooth. It just works!
I've added a little garlic to this recipe, not enough to have an overpowering flavor but enough to make a bit of a difference. Absolutely leave this out if you have garlic haters in your house.
Additions
Being a simple kinda tomato sauce there some variations you can make depending on your families likes and dislikes. Here are some of the things I've added to this sauce that you might like to try:
- Olives
- Anchovies
- Capers
- Chilli flakes
- Tuna
Making Ahead And Storing
This sauce is a fridge favorite!
Despite this sauce being exceptionally easy to make and super fast to boot, if you've got one of those weeks ahead of you it'd be a good idea to make this at the start of the week (or better, the weekend) and then it's on hand ready for you to simply boil some pasta and add the sauce to.
I don't even heat this up before adding it to the freshly boiled pasta, just stir through the sauce with the hot pasta and leave it to warm through with the heat residue from the pasta, add a little parmesan and it's good to go.
After you've cooked and cooked this Marinara sauce, pop it into a clean jam jar that has a lid and you can keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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What To Serve With Marinara Sauce
Tomato sauces like Marinara are often served with pasta. If I'm putting this on pasta, I boil a big pan of wholemeal and then add the sauce. Add as much or as little as you like, smoother it or be a touch more restrained, it's up to you.
Pasta in this house always, without fail, comes with a (usually large) serving of grated cheese on top. Parmesan cheese is the classic, but try it with other cheeses to, stir some mozzarella through while it's warming on the stove to help the mozzarella melt into the sauce, crumble some blue cheese on top if the kids like it or scatter some feta on top.
Cheese and tomatoes go hand in hand, so eat both liberally!
I also use this sauce for this chicken parmesan recipe and it works perfectly. You could also use this sauce as a dip for nachos, with raw vegetable sticks and just about anything else.
More Clean Eating Sauces
- Healthy Bolognese sauce
- Clean eating mushroom sauce
- White bean cheese sauce
- Basil pesto (no garlic)
- Homemade cranberry sauce
- Smoky chipotle sauce
How To Make Clean Eating Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Can Chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 Brown onion Peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- ½ tsp Garlic Crushed
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Water
- Salt and pepper To season, to taste
Instructions
- In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat and then gently fry the chopped onion until it's soft and cooked through. If the onion starts to dry out add 2 tablespoon of water to the pan and continue to cook until all the water has reduced
- About a minute before the onion is done, add the garlic, if you're using it
- Put the whole can of chopped tomatoes and the tomato paste into the onion pan and add the dried oregano. Season the sauce well with salt and pepper and then stir to combine
- Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes and then remove from the heat
- Using a Nutribullet or food processor, blend until the sauce is smooth
- Serve!
Clean Eating Marinara Sauce Recipe
Clean Eating Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat and then gently fry the chopped onion until it's soft and cooked through. If the onion starts to dry out add 2 tablespoon of water to the pan and continue to cook until all the water has reduced
- About a minute before the onion is done, add the garlic, if you're using it
- Put the whole can of chopped tomatoes and the tomato paste into the onion pan and add the dried oregano. Season the sauce well with salt and pepper and then stir to combine
- Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes and then remove from the heat
- Using a Nutribullet or food processor, blend until the sauce is smooth
- Serve!
