Hi friends!
Today I’m excited to share my homemade marinara sauce with you! Making homemade sauce is very special to me. My mom’s side of the family is Italian, and I associate marinara sauce with holidays and family gatherings. I don’t think there’s been a Thanksgiving or Christmas that has gone by without a gravy boat filled with marinara sauce, hot Italian sausages, meatballs and pasta!
A couple of years ago, when I first discovered that I couldn’t eat grains anymore, I thought it was a death sentence! I hated that I had PCOS and that my body reacted negatively to foods I loved. Luckily, feeling vibrant and healthy helped me realize that giving up pasta wasn’t the end of the world.
I started to discover that zucchini noodles (zoodles!), spaghetti squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and butternut squash were all good stand-ins for pasta. I’ve even gotten my mom on board for these pasta replacements! And with these pasta replacements, I can still achieve the same flavors and enjoy food with my family.
Now that we’re getting closer to the holidays, I want to post the most basic of recipes for you. If you’re from an Italian family like me, I hope to inspire you to find creative ways to eat the same traditional foods – just healthier! Over the next month I have a few family recipes that I plan on sharing with you that use this marinara sauce – but they’re all paleo and PCOS friendly (and some could even be considered Whole30).
Now: marinara sauce. If you’ve never made it homemade, I have a warning for you. Once you go homemade, you don’t go back to store bought! Homemade is far superior, and any jarred version just won’t do anymore.
So if you’re prepared to risk this, read on!
I typically make homemade marinara in massive batches. At minimum, I’ll quadruple the recipe below, and then store the extras in freezable mason jars. Then the next several times I want marinara, all I have to do is defrost a mason jar! Easy!
The majority of the time, I use cans of whole, peeled tomatoes. I’ll use fresh tomatoes when they’re in season (and let’s be real – that’s only if I have time and am in the mood to do it this way!).
When you buy your canned tomatoes, make sure there’s nothing extra in it. I personally avoid the ones that have salt and spices, and of course those darn additives and sugar that some companies insist on adding. You really just want tomatoes, and maybe some citric acid (which is Whole30 friendly and used to preserve the tomatoes).
What are some of your family food traditions around the holidays? Have you come up with a healthier alternative?
xo Jess
- 2-28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 1-6 oz can of tomato paste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp red pepper (omit if you don't like spicy)
- 2 tbsp oregano
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp thyme
- ½ tbsp sage
- 1 tbsp rosemary
- 1 bunch of basil
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup of water
- Blend tomatoes, tomato paste and half of the basil leaves in food processor or blender to desired consistency (chunky or smooth). You may need to do one can of tomatoes at a time.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, then onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until onion starts to become translucent.
- Add all spices to the pot, stir around until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Add blended tomato mixture to the pot and one cup of water.
- Simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes. I usually let it go for about an hour and a half. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt. Garnish with remaining basil.
