Rhode Island Red Marinara Sauce

When I kick the bucket, I want my grandkids to think, “There’s nothing like Grandma’s sauce!” My ultimate goal was a recipe that would have a slightly spicy kick since it couldn’t be sweet, and that would use fresh tomatoes, nothing from a can. If I could do this, the world would be my oyster. In the process, I consulted a few chefs and a few grandmas. To my surprise, almost all used canned tomatoes, and some of them (gasp!) secretly use prepared tomato sauce in their mix. I decided to defy the odds and spent a whole winter making the perfect sauce using fresh tomatoes. The result is a blend of three plum tomatoes that have their own unique strengths in consistency, sweetness, and tartness. By making your own tomato paste, you’ll bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes as they carmelize in the oven. This Rhode Island Red Marinara sauce will be your new go-to for zoodles and even homemade pizzas. A serving is 1/4 cup and it makes about 16 servings.

Recipe Tip: If you can’t find some of these tomato varieties, mix up to 2 pounds of tomatoes. Plum tomatoes work best because they have less juice and reduce faster than larger tomatoes such as beefsteak.

Rhode Island Red Marinara Sauce

Servings: 16 – 1/4 cup servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes

Nutritional Facts: 2g Net Carbs| 30 Calories | 2g Fat | 3g Carbs | 1g Protein | 1g Fiber

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces, diced Roma tomatoes
• 12 ounces, diced Amish Paste tomatoes
• 8 ounces, diced San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 of a diced white onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp dry red wine
• 3 leaves of chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp Red pepper flakes
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

1. Put the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and pulse several times until smooth (or still a bit chunky if you prefer your sauce that way).
   
   
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
   
3. Add the tomatoes, red wine, basil, onion powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper, and bring everything to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low.
   
4. Transfer 2 cups of the sauce to an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Continue to simmer the sauce in the pot for about 30 minutes. At the same time, put the baking dish with sauce in the oven and bake, stirring every 10 minutes so it doesn’t burn, until the sauce becomes thick like a tomato paste, about 30 minutes.
   
   
5. Stir the paste into the tomato sauce and let it simmer a little longer about 5 minutes.
   
6. Use an immersion blender (or pour the sauce into a standing blender) to blend the sauce one more time. This is an important step to get the most flavor and consistency from the fresh tomatoes, especially if you’re not using the sauce right away.
   
   

Rhode Island Red Marinara Sauce

Print Recipe

5 from 1 review

This Rhode Island Red Marinara sauce will be your new go-to for zoodles and even homemade pizzas.

• Author: Amanda C. Hughes
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 16 – 1/4 cup Servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 12 ounces, diced Roma tomatoes
• 12 ounces, diced Amish Paste tomatoes
• 8 ounces, diced San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 of a diced white onion
• 3, minced garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp dry red wine
• 3 leaves of chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp Red pepper flakes
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. Put the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and pulse several times until smooth (or still a bit chunky if you prefer your sauce that way).
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, red wine, basil, onion powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper, and bring everything to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low.
4. Transfer 2 cups of the sauce to an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Continue to simmer the sauce in the pot for about 30 minutes. At the same time, put the baking dish with sauce in the oven and bake, stirring every 10 minutes so it doesn’t burn, until the sauce becomes thick like a tomato paste, about 30 minutes.
5. Stir the paste into the tomato sauce and let it simmer a little longer about 5 minutes.
6. Use an immersion blender (or pour the sauce into a standing blender) to blend the sauce one more time. This is an important step to get the most flavor and consistency from the fresh tomatoes, especially if you’re not using the sauce right away.

Notes

 If you can’t find some of these tomato varieties, mix up to 2 pounds of tomatoes. Plum tomatoes work best because they have less juice and reduce faster than larger tomatoes such as beefsteak.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 16 – 1/4 cup Servings
• Calories: 30
• Fat: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 3g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 1g

If you like this sauce, try my Rhode Island 5-Minute Fried Upside-Down Pizza recipe next.