Essential Marinara Sauce

Vegan

Enough already with the overpriced, sugary, chemical-laden pasta sauces. Seriously. Make your own damn pasta sauce for half the price and double the flavor. It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. If you really want the convenience of the jarred stuff, then make a doubled or tripled batch of this sauce, and freeze it for up to 6 months.

olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 head of garlic, cleaned and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cans of whole, peeled, tomatoes
a splash or two of red or white wine (optional)
1 bunch of fresh basil
a ton of dried oregano (use much more than you think you need to)
salt & pepper
a few pinches of white sugar

Heat up a few glugs of oil in a saucepot.

Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper, and cook on medium heat until everything is soft and beginning to brown.

Grab a tomato from the can and squish it into the pot. No joke. Squish them all in there with your hands. (This is a great project for kids, if you happen to own any.) Add any remaining sauce from the can. Stir.

If you have it on hand, add a splash or two of white or red wine.

Chop ½ of the basil and toss it in the pot along with a bunch of dried oregano, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Stir everything together, and taste it. Need more salt? How about some more basil? Continue to season and build flavor with herbs, salt, and pepper according to your taste. Finish the sauce with a splash of olive oil, and serve over pasta, vegetables, in a lasagna, or freeze and re-heat later.

What about a “meat” sauce you say? Easy. Before adding the tomatoes, brown a package of your favorite soy-based crumbles with the onion, garlic and red pepper. What else can you add to the sauce? How about olives, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, or pinenuts? If it sounds or tastes Italian, I promise it will taste great in this sauce.