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Marinara

A gentle garlic oil, good canned tomatoes, and fresh basil make a bright marinara that simmers only until it turns cohesive and spoonable.
Bright marinara with soft tomato pieces, olive oil sheen, and fresh basil in a shallow bowl.

This simple marinara depends on careful heat more than a long ingredient list. Garlic gently perfumes olive oil, and canned tomatoes need only a brief simmer to become a rounded, spoonable sauce.

Basil stems flavor the pot while it cooks; the leaves wait until the end, when their fresh aroma can stay distinct.

Let garlic scent the oil

Keep the saucepan over low heat as the smashed garlic warms in olive oil. The goal is a mellow fragrance with pale cloves; browning can make garlic taste sharp or bitter before the tomatoes arrive.

Choose a spoonable texture

Crush whole canned tomatoes into rough pieces, then let them soften at a quiet simmer. Stir and break up the larger pieces until the sauce holds together but still tastes fresh and tomato-forward.

Crushed tomatoes simmer gently with basil stems in garlic-scented olive oil.
Whole tomatoes break down in garlic-scented oil as basil stems steep in the gentle simmer.

Use basil in two stages

Tender basil stems can simmer with the tomatoes and are easy to lift out before serving. Fresh leaves go in after the heat is off, protecting their greener, more delicate aroma.

Season by tasting

Tomatoes vary in sweetness and salt, so taste a cooled spoonful before adding more salt. If the flavor feels muted, a small adjustment can sharpen the tomato character without covering it.

A spoon holds cohesive marinara with tender tomato pieces and fresh basil ribbons.
A spoonful shows the finished marinara's soft tomato pieces and cohesive, glossy texture.

Marinara

4 cups
25 minutes total

Ingredients

  • •  2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • •  4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed and peeled
  • •  1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
  • •  1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • •  1 small bunch fresh basil (about 1 oz), leaves and tender stems separated

Method

  1. Separate the basil

    Pick the basil leaves from the tender stems; keep the leaves for finishing and the stems for the simmer, and tear large leaves just before using.

    Look for: The leaves and stems are in separate piles, ready for different stages.

  2. Perfume the oil

    Warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat, add the smashed garlic, and turn it occasionally until fragrant without letting it brown.

    Look for: The oil smells gently garlicky and the cloves remain pale rather than golden.

  3. Add and crush the tomatoes

    Add the canned tomatoes with all their juice and the kosher salt; crush them by hand in the pan with a wooden spoon or potato masher until no large whole tomatoes remain.

    Look for: The tomatoes break into rough, spoonable pieces and are coated with the scented oil.

  4. Add the basil stems

    Tuck the basil stems into the tomatoes and raise the heat to medium-low, stirring until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan.

    Look for: The sauce bubbles gently at the edge without splashing or boiling hard.

  5. Simmer until cohesive

    Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomato pieces from time to time, just until the sauce is bright, cohesive, and easy to spoon rather than heavily reduced.

    Look for: The tomato pieces have softened, the oil is integrated, and the sauce falls from a spoon in a thick stream.

  6. Remove the stems

    Lift out and discard the basil stems; mash the softened garlic cloves into the sauce with the back of a spoon for a mellow garlic flavor.

    Look for: The stems are removed and the softened garlic blends into the tomato texture.

  7. Taste and season

    Taste a small spoonful after it cools briefly; add a little more kosher salt only if the tomato flavor tastes muted, then stir until the seasoning is even.

    Look for: The tomatoes taste vivid and balanced, with enough salt to make their natural sweetness clear.

  8. Finish with basil leaves

    Stir in the torn basil leaves just before serving and let the sauce stand briefly off the heat so their fresh aroma remains distinct.

    Look for: Fresh basil aroma rises from the sauce while the leaves remain green.