This is a basic tomato based Italian sauce I make to use on pasta dishes or any Italian dish that called for a spaghetti sauce. So many market sauces have added oils and natural flavors that I just make my own. It doesn’t take long and it’s better than anything I can buy!
Ingredients
Spicy Marinara Sauce
- 1 18.3 Jar whole tomatoes (Plus the liquid) I use Jovial tomatoes from a glass jar
- 1 Tbsp Calabrian Chili paste I use Trader Joes's
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Puree
- 1/2 Large sweet onion Diced fine
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 Tsp Dried Basil or 3 Tbsp fresh
- 1/2 Tsp Himalayan Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg May sub Coriander
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Parmigiano - optional I use Follow Your Heart brand
- 1 Roasted Red Bell pepper Optional. I use Divina peppers from a jar.
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 Tbsp Finely crushed almonds - optional
- 1 Tsp Course ground black pepper - optiona
Instructions
- Peel the onion and dice half into a 1/2" dice.
- Dice the red pepper into a 1/2" dice.
- Place all sauce ingredients (except fresh basil) into a large sauce pan. Use a double boiler if you have one.
- Bring the sauce to a slight boil then turn down to a simmer. Stir to avoid sticking.
- Simmer the sauce until the onions are soft and translucent.
- An optional step is to blend the sauce for 4 minutes on low if you want a smooth sauce.
- If using, add freshly chopped basil to the final dish and not the sauce.
- Pour into a bowl to be used for your recipe or place in a jar and keep for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep Recipe
I sometimes prefer oregano to basil and I prefer fresh basil to dried. If fresh basil is not available, use dried or fresh oregano. If using fresh oregano, 1 Tbsp is sufficient for this recipe.
Basil turns brown and bitter in the cooking process so I add fresh, chopped basil to the dish rather than the sauce.
Like most vegan cheeses, Follow Your Heart has added oil. If you are 100% no oil, use crushed almonds in place of the cheese. I like a little coarse ground pepper as well.
Pasta really does better when it is added directly to the sauce. A little of the pasta water generally gets included unless you drained it really well. Up to 1/4 cup of pasta water can be added to your sauce as it lends a little flavor and texture to your sauce.
If you add your pasta to the sauce, I suggest holding out about 1/2 cup of sauce and pour that directly over the top of the dish of pasta that you tossed in the remaining sauce. It makes the plate pretty and gives people the ability to get a little extra goodness on the plate.
Toss the pasta in you sauce to completely cover the pasta. Top with the sauce you held out then add your basil, no-cheese, crushed almonds, pepper and basil to the top for the final garnishes to your dish.
