Make Your Own Marinara (Better Than Rao's)

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🍝 Marinara sauce recipe:
¼ cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ of a yellow onion, minced
28 ounces of crushed tomatoes
5-10 basil leaves, julienned
1. Cook garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. (You could also add red pepper flake and dried italian seasoning)
2. When the onions have turned translucent, lower the heat and empty a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes into the fry pan
3. Salt to taste. Add fresh basil and turn off the stove. Use immediately or freeze in deli containers
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[@ComfortableTool86]

I've heard Rao's is good but I'll never know because there ain't no way I'm spending $10 on 1 jar of spaghetti sauce

[@JanRodriguez1]

It's on sale at Costco right now Southern California

[@Bigmouth660]

(If you have the ability)Gardening and making your own is wayyy better. Canning it is fun too. Its some Work but well worth it.

[@ihmpall]

It’s not for poors stick to dollar tree

[@kingoffongpei]

It's aight, but overrated imo. Having had it a couple times, I think it's more worth it to make sauce at home, even factoring in the time/effort. That said, a can of nice tomatoes, not even san marzanos, are like $5 now for 28 oz. So it's not like you're saving a ton of money, but it does taste better than even Rao's with a truly minimal amount of work.

[@litoslens]

​@@JanRodriguez1yeah this is how I get mine. 2 large jars are like 8$ when on sale near me

[@wariotremblay3306]

1:42 "if my goal today is to get you to stop buying jarred sauce, ease is of the upmost importance" wow, incredibly well said, this should be the standard for videos like that

[@arghidontknow]

I just want to let you know that I made this sauce today and it was absolutely delicious. I used a shallot and added chili flakes and my god, I was eating the sauce like soup

[@Mister_Listener]

Lol! Sometimes my sauces and gravies are so good theres nothing to do but grab a spoon and consume it all. Lol.

[@SDHoF]

As someone who cooks for a living, this is a very good video. Your pacing is excellent, your information is straightforward, and has good visuals to accompany it. I also really like that you added some general ways to improve it or zest it up, inclusing explaining what each substitution does, which many channels lack. And all in

[@DubThaDetailer]

Well said...

[@Greg29]

Agree

[@audioostrich]

Freeze the sauce flat in freezer bags - when you defrost jusy run it under hot water for a few seconds and it will release into a pot to simmer while you cook the pasta. Truly a gamechanger for me. I make a batch every 2 weeks or so and havent bought jarred sauce in 5 years

[@Default78334]

Or pour it into ice cube trays and just pop out what you need when you need it.

[@leorickt.9604]

Re use your plastic bags too! Savings savings savings

[@johnfogarty91]

Great tip.

[@DodoJacket]

Freezer bags are plastic. Better not risk it.

[@friedrice4015]

This is the advice that has made me decide to do this, portioning things makes my single chef life so much easier (and no way in hell I was gonna start canning things in my college apartment)- my local tomato festival is in a few weeks, gonna use those!

[@faebramblepelt6696]

Thank you for giving us an actual protocol to “salt to taste” - I am a beginner cook who grew up in the foster system and never was directly taught to cook. Simple things are often the hardest!!

[@emanuelcorpus]

Check out Salt Fat Acid Heat from your library or something and read at least the salt chapter. I wish someone told me to do this when I was starting out! Completely eye-opening.

[@raen714]

Something I think a lot of new cooks don't know is that salt doesn't just contribute flavor on its own; it's also a flavor enhancer. If you haven't salted your food, it tastes "flat," because the salt you need to add will make everything else taste just a little bit "more." Taste your food, and don't be afraid of adding more salt. You can do it a little at a time if you're nervous, but you'll notice a big improvement in flavor long before anything actually tastes "salty."

[@ybab-j]

simple things are ALWAYS the hardest because they are hard to look up or ask about. good point

[@NobuxD]

I just salt it till it looks good lol especially Lawrys Garlic Salt

[@narwhalnel]

A good technique is to take a portion of your sauce to salt and taste until youre absolutely positive its slightly oversalted and then pour it back into the main pot! I do this when im scared of overdoing it with a huge batch lol

[@tr1pl3thr333]

There aren't a lot of cooking content creators making videos this good that are also only 5 minutes. That's why I've stayed subbed so long. Keep it up man!!

[@hrolvnir]

Ditto!

[@UnitedCuisines]

Absolutely! He is so eloquent, I am looking forward to every word coming out of his mouth 🙂

[@Gio102897]

That's why you get it from costco!!! But still this is better. I still buy it for when I'm lazy

[@PDXTundra]

So your viewing audience are the type that can’t dice an onion with a knife? Jesus Christ. Moving on…

[@knockout9446]

Five min? You sold me. Thanks.

[@TsunamiWombat]

the best thing about this kind of simple sauce is there's a million ways to church it up. Add a teaspoon of tomato paste to the oil and fry along with the garlic and onions. It'll create the same kind of caramelized flavor as an all day simmered nonna sauce.

[@littlepotato2741]

Chef Jean-Pierre has some advice about learning how to salt. His advice was specifically using soups, but it would work here too. Put some of the sauce in a small bowl and salt it. And keep salting it. And keep salting it. Get it to the point that you know, without a single doubt, that sauce is over-salted. Pour it back in the rest of the sauce and stir. Then finish your sauce. If you use this technique with a sauce like this or a soup, you will eventually teach yourself how to gauge where you are on the salt levels through practice.

[@ellipsis...1986]

Chef Marco Pierre White has some advice about learning how to salt as well. His advice was to use Knorr brand stock cubes for seasoning. As far as I can tell from his KZbin videos you just put a random number of Knorr stock cubes into your dish and voila, perfection.

[@3Faidonas3]

@@ellipsis...1986 yes but his idea involves him getting paid

[@blahdzhahd3736]

Chef Jean-Pierre (my favorite on YT) also teaches us to never sauté garlic first like this, but to put it in last as it only take a minute, two tops for garlic to sauté. You can tell it's ready when it fully releases it's aromatics. I used to add garlic with the onions until I learned that little tidbit from him and I can tell you it makes a big difference and for the better.

[@reut0094]

​@blahdzhahd3736 thank you, I always thought I was crazy for thinking the garlic was ruined by any more than 2 min saute before adding moisture.

[@ransbarger]

He also said to change the channel if they put garlic in the same time as onions.

[@tedmoy]

Love how he speaks. He's so clear and articulate

[@ryanmraz316]

Probably worth noting too this will soon be the only viable option for good sauce since Rao's was bought by Campbell's and may very well go more bland as a result...

[@TsunamiWombat]

oh they'll leave it the same just expect that price to go up bby

[@papabaddad]

@@TsunamiWombatno they'll raise the price, cut the jar size, AND make it with cheaper ingredients

[@aolson1111]

Mezzetta has always been better than Rao's.

[@PDXTundra]

Yes, let’s get all conspiracy and stuff.

[@user-hd1dx5rc8v]

Oh NO.😢

[@naomiconley9884]

A canning/ preserving in pantries and freezers episode would be amazing! I make great food but need help with preserving large batches for days I don’t feel like cooking.

[@Kay-kg6ny]

Same

[@audioostrich]

90% of meals can be frozen flat in freezer bags - just add the stuff once it's cooled and push out all the air. When you want to eat, just run the bag under warm water for a little bit and it will release from the bag with ease! Heat up with your desired method from there!

[@NobuxD]

Food Saver is literally a food saver lol. I have 2week old frozen Carne and it's still red and is hardly frostbitten.

[@SenaBryer]

I pour it in an ice tray and make cubes of the stuff. 3 cubes is generally perfect for a single person's plate of spaghetti

[@Jasonymn]

The timing of this video is absolutely astounding. I made pasta for lunch today and when I grabbed the expensive jar of Rao's from my pantry I thought to myself, surely it cannot be that difficult (or expensive) to make my own sauce that is better, cheaper, and won't disappoint my Italian ancestors in the process. Thank you for this!! I can't wait to try it.

[@anti-ethniccleansing465]

I’m jealous that you’ve even had it! I’ve yet to taste Rao’s because it’s so expensive lol. I’m personally still heartbroken ~3 years later over my favorite marinara sauce being discontinued at Trader Joe’s. It wasn’t only extremely affordable, it was the most delicious marinara sauce I’ve ever had in my life, with the only exception being my 100% Italian great-grandmother’s homemade recipe that she would stew all day long. I’m constantly kicking myself that I neglected to get the recipe from her before she passed away.

[@JerryCayab]

@@anti-ethniccleansing465 I just fill my slow cooker halfway with tomatoes, onion, garlic and whatever Italian seasonings I can think of like rosemary, thyme, sage. My other favorite set of pasta spices are black pepper, paprika, and habanero. You could always make an unseasoned batch and add spices afterwards to experiment with flavor combinations, before committing to a full batch(something I'll never do)

[@shrinkled]

Don't think you snuck by with the word cromulent without me noticing

[@kylemurray3526]

I just love that the Simpsons completely made it up and it’s actually a word in Webster’s now.

[@genehayes]

I follow basically your same approach but also dice a carrot in with the onion and then use an immersion blender once it's cooked through. Adds a subtle sweetness

[@armuk]

or for those without a blender, what I do is grate the carrot in, then fry it along with onion. this softens it so it pretty much dissolves into the sauce.

[@genehayes]

@@armuk Oh I'll need to try that!

[@flowercook3142]

Same,and the blending emulsifies the oil and tomato acid for a creamy sauce..and don’t forget to add a scoop of starchy pasta cooking water!

[@trident8]

Blending the sauce a little bit is fine but don't over do it because it's going to have the same consistency as indian curry.

[@connor4wilson]

I love sun dried tomatoes from the farmer's market and decided to use the leftover olive oil in a marinara sauce. It's basically pre-infused oil and there's about 1/4 cup left after all the tomatoes are gone, turned out sooo tasty.

[@internetshaquille]

Genius!

[@Yopperpo]

Loving that you included the small shots where you show yourself adjusting the heat. Small details like this make your videos goat tier in the foodtuber world

[@table4glasses]

Yeah, so many of the steps that other content creators skip because they consider it unspoken/given, Shaq explains (like how to properly salt to taste). I really appreciate that!

[@PDXTundra]

Yes, adjusting the heat is an art form.

[@cliffwood7386]

I made the switch from store-branned canned sauce (boosted up with sauteed onion, garlic, and spices) to Raos. Attempted to make the switch to a homemade version very similar to what's shown here, but it didn't stick. I think I actually prefer the long-cooked "Sunday gravy" sauce to the bright fresh one, which skews the value proposition. Then again, it's almost certainly worth another shot, and I'm sufficiently inspired by this video!

[@armuk]

never had raos - is it a long-cooked or bright/fresh kind of sauce?

[@charlesnoah99]

​@@armukIt's more of a long cooked type of sauce IMO

[@thomasmatthew7759]

Long-cooked nonna sauce is my favorite too. It's deeper and more complex. The fresh sauces are a bit boring...

[@louroboros]

Don’t skimp on the olive oil!

[@kxjx]

To long cook easily get an electric slow cooker or multi-cooker and cook it overnight if you want to.

[@Torso6131]

It really is that simple, and it's kind of astonishing how much money you can save and how much better things can taste with like, 15-20 minutes worth of effort. A downside I've found to living in the tundra that is Minnesota is that my outdoor herb garden is, expectedly, very dead. Current apartment gets poor sunlight so I have to manually plan for fresh herb usage. Luckily basil works pretty well in a bizarro-mojito or with some fresh lemonade.

[@internetshaquille]

The aerogardens are pretty good nowadays, if you can get one used or on deep discount

[@Torso6131]

@@internetshaquille I'll have to check them out! It is getting awfully close to sale season. Actually it appears they're already on sale. I've never heard of these before and this is an incredibly exciting development for me. Time to find a spot the cats can't get to.

[@cr4shmycar118]

A tip I personally love: Put a little bit of lemon juice in with your sauce if you want to bring out the bright, tangy flavor. Also works really well if you're still reaching for a can of the jarred stuff for convenience's sake.

[@CatnamedMittens]

Balsamic vinegar is better

[@H0mework]

I use citric acid just because it's what I have on hand usually and costs $10 for a lifetime supply. It's great for Mexican food.

[@noobkin997]

If you want it a little more “restaurant style” you can add a vinegar based hot sauce like Frank’s and a fat pinch of sugar. The extra acid and the sugar will boost the flavor significantly and allow the sauce to take more salt and fat, which will also boost the flavor. Not as healthy, but great if you want something indulgent.

[@hummerlimoVODS]

Lighting my garlic scented candle and watching this in the bath

[@herman_the_vermin]

I like to add an anchovy or 2 with the initial onion fry up before adding the tomato sauce. Adds an incredible depth

[@IjeomaThePlantMama]

I finally got over my irrational fear of eating anchovies when I made some Caeser dressing. Holy umami, I wanted to eat the tin. They're little flavor bombs!! I'll bet they'll be perfect in a sauce.

[@CPUGaming]

@@IjeomaThePlantMama Fish sauce is equally great. Could be a useful alternative for someone who is grossed out by anchovies

[@trident8]

If you're going to add anchovies you can also add olives, capers, and red pepper flakes and turn it into puttanesca. Imo much better than standard marinara sauce.

[@kadanseward3022]

Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for a simple marinara recipe, and this is fantastic!

[@mmnntt]

Dude! I’ve being doing this sauce for so long, and was always amazed how good it tastes while being so simple to do it. Interesting to see your making the exact same recipe as mine. Even the Parmesan and the home grown basil. If you really don’t want to chop anything, you can skip the onions and just use pre-minced garlic. There you go, no chopping and you still get a way superior sauce than any store bought.

[@Jon-yv4iu]

The way I reccomend teaching new cooks to "season to taste" is to do a recipe like this where I know for a fact that the tomatoes I'm adding have no added salt and dont add salt to the onions. Since there is no salt right now we know for 100% certain the food will be under salted then go low and slow adding 1/2 to 1/4 tsp at a time until the new chef thinks that adding more salt would start making it taste worse.

[@BrownProductionsTV]

Just made a batch of this sauce because canned whole tomatoes were on sale at Whole Foods and it reminded of your video so I took the plunge and I am so glad I did. I was able to cook something so delicious I had a hard time believing i was the one who made it. Thank you!

[@internetshaquille]

Nice work :)

[@-beee-]

Rewatching this, and I love it 💖 thank you for doing these excellent explainers that meet people where they’re at

[@CathodeRayKobold]

Rao's is okay at best. As someone who's made their own spaghetti sauce before, DeLallo pomodoro fresco is the store sauce to go for, and in my experience it's about the same price as making your own.

[@nathansinghal5598]

Their whole wheat pastas and marinated olives are excellent! I've been using Lucini's tomato basil and spicy marinara, but I'll look for this sauce your recommending; thanks!

[@Huckle777]

Was just talking about trying out pottery with the GF and this vid comes out. The DIY clay kit will be an incredible anniversary gift, thank you net shaq once again

[@ayidas]

Nice! I switched from Rao’s to homemade a couple years ago, but have since been experimenting with the fancier jarred sauces. My new favorite is Lucini.

[@heckatron2586]

This has been my go-to recipe for homemade marinara, using the San Marzano tomatoes and some pepper flakes. Super easy to make, and it's been a real crowd pleaser. Great stuff!

[@CP-os1pc]

Watched the added enhancements, it’s what I do every time I make sauce…great job

[@LawtonsChair]

Learning cooking tips while embiggening my vocabulary at the same time.

[@bosheihab6463]

the amount of love and appreciation i have for your knowledge and sense of humor (especially word choice) is beyond. I find that most if not all your videos are of things i'm so interested in

[@alexandriarodriguez3997]

our king of cooking. you make cooking understandable and accessible and fun and cool! ily thank you

[@tashamusgrave5493]

Best sauce recipe I've seen. Thank you! Trying it tomorrow!

[@matthewlucas8418]

Thank you so much for getting me into cooking! I cut my first onion yesterday and the sauce I made was stupid good!

[@internetshaquille]

loves this 4 u king

[@AC-hj9tv]

Based

[@CS0723]

Almost exactly how my nonna taught me to make sauce. We always cook up some pork bones alongside the onions though. Gives the sauce a nice flavour, and is a little treat for the people in the kitchen after about an hour of cooking the sauce

[@planondeath]

You are the main inspiration behind studying and aspiring to be an instructional designer. I am in love with everything that you produce :)

[@chandler5712]

Just made it, and it turned out delicious! Thank you so much!

[@McDonaldsCalifornia]

My secret ingredients for this kind of pasta sauce: a splash of soy sauce (trust me it is not gonna taste like soy sauce) and a splash of reduced balsamic vinegar (the kind you can get in those squeeze bottles) The first adds umami flavour while the second enhances the bright acidity of the tomatoes and also adds a bit of sweetness. Also another little hack: I always have a tube of tomatoe paste handy, so after sauteing the onions and garlic and adding the herbs I put in a good amount of tomatoe paste to make a sort of condensed flavour paste before adding in the canned tomatoes. It builds up a deeply flavourful fond on the bottom of the pan that you can deglaze either with a splash of red wine or just with the canned tomatoes. Id love to hear everyone's opinions on this though, I sort of hacked this together from different recipes and my own experimentation and it is largely based on convenience.

[@wintermute5974]

Personally I prefer to use a splash of fish sauce instead of soy for the same result. Balsamic is lovely, but also nice is a squeeze of lemon juice or some finely mince preserved lemons.

[@arsenalfanatic0971]

I usually add two or three crushed anchovies after the tomatoes to add the umami, since that's what's used in puttanesca sauce. I like the idea of balsamic to add back some brightness to the tomatoes that I usually cook for a while.

[@flowercook3142]

I go fish sauce also,at end of cooking,a grated carrot softened in plenty of olive oil too,purée with immersion blender at end to emulsify the oil and tomatoes

[@McDonaldsCalifornia]

@@wintermute5974 are preserved lemons something you make yourself? Gonna have to google that

[@wintermute5974]

@@McDonaldsCalifornia They're basically lemons packed in salt and left for a few weeks to months. The flesh of the lemon softens up and mellows out, creating something that has a lot of the fresh acidity of a lemon, but with a wonderful savory element to it. Highly recommended if you have access to some cheap lemons, the jars they sell in the store are fine but extortionately priced. They come from North Africa, but I've found they fit in with any savory dish you'd use a lemon in.

[@ChadConnor]

never buying jarred again, i always thought it tasted awful. made this stuff and it's awesome. if anyone reading this has doubts about the freezing process: i just thawed some out yesterday (frozen since this video was uploaded) and it tastes exactly the same as it did fresh. incredible recipe, 10/10.

[@ChadConnor]

also, i wouldn't recommend Hunt's San Marzano tomatoes. they taste and smell pretty much the same as Cento, but they're super watery and you're going to have to let your sauce reduce for a bit

[@ChadConnor]

my balls hurt

[@johnlennon1049]

Best marinara sauce made at home I have seen!

[@HumblElephant]

simple, entertaining and still wildly informative - definitely taking these tips back home with me

[@moneeb343]

Shaq should've been at 1 million subscribers 3 years ago -- consistent, eloquent and absolutely informational content every single time. Thank you Shaq; you'ze a legend at my house

[@bulletproofblouse]

A good cromulent sauce embiggens the soul.

[@Lulu-yz6co]

Love your videos so much, you taught me how to really make good scrambled eggs and i just love your content and how applicable it is all the time. You know your stuff so well!!!!! And the videos are so information but concise. THANK YOUUUU

[@chrisrohde4490]

Thank you! A recipe like this will embiggen the flavor of all my pasta dishes!

[@amandahuginkiss6868]

You've really embiggened that pasta sauce. Saw those Cento pureed tomatoes for $2.80 last time I was at the store. They are great.

[@user-ue9jq6fp9b]

A man of culture, I see

[@amandahuginkiss6868]

@@user-ue9jq6fp9b I caught Shaq's cromulent reference, and thought it deserved a nod. Here's hoping he doesn't share the recipe for steamed hams...

[@BeefBronson]

Thank you signore Internetti Shaquellini, my favorite Italian food KZbinr

[@PteradactylKat]

I was just thinking about a marinara recipe yesterday, thank you for making this!

[@charliesymons1409]

My first video of yours and it was captivating. I subscribed easily in under 30 seconds. Thank you

[@IlGattonero13]

Marcella Hazan’s famous recipe, which I’ve never tried, calls for cooking an onion (but no garlic) in butter. I wonder whether adding butter to the olive oil in the first cooking step in your recipe might stand in for the animal fat you recommend as an “upgrade.” Thanks for the simple instructions and the encouragement!

[@snestah]

You can! Elie Krieger has a recipe on her website just like that based on Hazan but with half butter and half olive oil, tastes great and even less work

[@the_rocs_roost]

I've grown the San Marzano tomato variety along with various "roma" types in my garden every year for almost 40 years. I typically have between 36 and 48 plants. I make and can many quarts of tomato sauce each year, and my basic recipe is similar to the one in this video. People come from miles around to get my sauce, so the market is literally starving for something good. The butter and onion sauce made famous in the New York Times is also really good if you plan to eat it right away. I find that it doesn't can as well as other recipes, though.

[@garretreed9709]

Subscribed. Simple and informative. Thank you

[@shax123100]

You put so much good into the world. I hope you are proud of that. THank you!

[@IanZWhite00]

I was not expecting this to be so wonderful! You’ve got a great way with words when it comes to demystifying the art of cooking for a perfect novice :)

[@russellbateman3392]

Store-bought sauces like this are a low bar. The truth is that any effort no matter how small is going to result in better eats than buying sauce from the store. Also, canned tomatoes are always better than the tomatoes you buy from the produce section at your store because they weren't picked green, then shipped halfway around the world; they were picked ripe and canned practically in the field. These tips are great!

[@lilfamily]

That green chopper is the best!! I have this and I chop a few onions and bell peppers and then into a freezer bag, chopped onion and peppers are ready whenever I need them!

[@danielionsplaylists]

Got two of the pottery kits for the GF and I! will be a fun holiday activity. Thanks netshaq

[@ohwowoh7281]

I’m interested in the canning video!

[@necromax13]

My preference is just adding some sugar in order to soften the acidity blow of straight up tomatoes, and it goes right at the end of cooking. One could also get fancy with paprika or smoked paprika when making aglio.

[@robertanderson2231]

I have watched your videos out of order, but this one is your best one. Well done

[@bowensdog]

made this sauce for dinner tonight (the basic version w/ a little crush red pepper) and it was so so good. thank u mr shaq

[@neztoro24]

While I agree that ultimately salt is to taste, I still think it is useful to provide landmarks for the "average" taste, calling back to "cooking for non-cooks". I always default to 1% salt by weight as a baseline and then go from there. A 1kg can of tomatoes means you are safe to immediately add 10g salt or ~1&1/4ts

[@prestonnovinger3762]

Honestly I like to consider myself a decent home cook but I have always just used jarred sauce because of the shelf stable can and ease. I usually always end up adding things to the stuff because I feel like it’s missing something. Anyways, thank you for breaking this down and helping me realize I can have the best of both worlds. Whenever I’m cooking Italian I am always going to have the fresh ingredients on hand and the can stable tomato’s make it so much easier to just create this better sauce anyway! Leave it to internet shaq to break something down into a foolproof method

[@ChristinaAmbiental]

I'm going to try this tomorrow! Thanks!

[@NickDak1]

I really like Primal Kitchen’s Roasted Garlic Marinara. I’ve been wanting to make my own and you’ve shown me it’s such an easy recipe to make something great.

[@reppy]

I had no idea that Barkley was a company you started. I would see you do the ad reads and think, "That's cool, he's got a sponsor! That's also cool that they let him do the ad reads at the end of the video! I bet they pay less for that, though..." I'm not sure if you did the website/logo design, but it's very clean and professional. It looked like something I'd expect from an established brand. Anyway, that's awesome. I like the DIY beginner pottery kit. That's exactly the kind of thing I like to give to people as gifts! Definitely going to look into that one. (Also, this is the second time in a week I've seen someone online impressing on me to make my own Rao's marinara. I guess the universe is trying to tell me something.)

[@samwildstein2092]

Worth mentioning that the simplest ways to make any pasta sauce better is to add the water you're cooking the pasta in. The starch from your pasta helps hold the sauce together for a delightfully creamy texture as it reduces. No extra ingredients or equipment necessary, just don't dump it all down the sink. Many chefs will even freeze pasta water to use in other sauces, although that's less practical for home cooks. Now that you've got your marinara down, the next recipe is cacio e pepe (aka Mac & Cheese 2.0): a simple sauce made from cheese, pepper, and pasta water. You just emulsified like a boss and are ready to throw together something unique based on whatever is in your pantry/fridge on a random weeknight.

[@karicar2815]

Love all your videos!! You disappear from my feed for a little bit but glad you’re still making your videos yay! So easy I’m going to do this now, the supermarket prices have almost doubled this last month. My cheap spaghetti meal is now unaffordable. Thanks for this!!

[@pangyre]

Loved the basil advice. Thanks!

[@zachpw]

More things you can add if you want: 6. A glug of olive oil at the end makes it super rich and I like the taste of the uncooked oil. 7. MSG or fish sauce or anchovy paste for more umami. 8. Some minced carrot at the beginning for a little more depth and sweetness. Maybe even start off with just carrot and add the onion a few minutes later so the carrot browns. 9. Try the cheap tomato products. I find store brand tomato sauce instead of fancy crushed stuff totally serviceable. 10. If you want a really low effort and cheap meal, use just store brand tomato sauce, salt, pepper, way too much garlic and onion powder, and finish with olive oil.

[@avargs3505]

Love it! I just finally made the granola from your video after like 3 watches and I don’t expect my hesitation to persist for this sauce

[@talananiyiyaya8912]

Liar

[@AKkachie]

This was a wonderful video. More people need to see this!

[@nickt1295]

Thank you for this recipe! The bit about salt was very enlightening. One thing I did that enhanced the sauce was mixed in a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese because I didn’t have rind and added some delicious savory flavor without adding extra salt.

[@Josukegaming]

My go to for marinara is pure crushed tomatoes, and then a half pound of ground beef, oregano, salt and pepper. Its great just like that, and adds protein to any pasta dish. If you want to do some dicing, add onions and mushrooms and its even better.

[@necromax13]

The moment you add a protein to it, the sauce becomes a ragú, with ground beef it's bolognese.

[@humanbeing4368]

I was about to say that’s not a marinara but carry on.

[@Tiabliaj1989]

Wait, excuse me, marinara newbie here. You cook the meat in the sauce? :O

[@Tiabliaj1989]

TIL, thank you kind NetShaq viewer

[@LauncherSpiderMk7]

@@Tiabliaj1989 Brown the meat separately, then add it to the sauce and let it simmer for a while.

[@NickCombs]

7. Add a splash of red wine with the tomatoes. 8. Fine tune the sweetness and acidity with tiny amounts of sugar and citric acid/baking soda.

[@richardnolan27]

You just made my sauce !👍🏼 this is how I’ve been making sauce for years ⭐️

[@filiformis]

I ran out of the Classico and made this and it was great! My pasta actually has flavor now. I'm keeping this in my back pocket. I'll keep fiddling with little things like the spices and additions, but this is a really solid base.

[@Munden]

we just finished watching pro chefs rank Marinaras and when Rao's got like 2nd place I said, "hey, that's the sauce you buy us." Then we went to the grocery store the next day and I saw it on the shelf and my jaw hit the floor when I saw the price. Glad you came out with this - I'll be giving this a shot next.

[@DaShonuff]

I just finished watching that a few days ago too. yeah the timing on this is perfect.

[@sahilmansuri1]

What about adding anchovies? I've always found that to turn the Umami up to "whoa-mami!" (That was my best Shaq joke)

[@mellosings6180]

Awesome video! I actually learned something. Great content!

[@miguel2wwe]

Thanks dude! I've only tried a couple of recipes but still opted out for Rao's after both. I haven't gotten Rao's since the Campbell's acquisition so this gives me a great reason to nail a homemade to freeze now.

[@MegamiShin]

I like adding butter near the end to add richness. Does anyone else do this?

[@pratikpramanik7782]

I do if I don’t have a parm rind or garlic confit

[@lokitagaby17]

Great video! Also, if you don't want to chop an onion, I don't actually think it's entirely necessary here. I follow BA's pomodoro sauce recipe, and they only call for san marzanos, olive oil, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, and salt (ofc). Very easy to put together and it tastes amazing.

[@LKMNOP]

When I have time, such as when I'm making a dish that has chopped onions, I chop a whole bunch of them. I then put them in freezer bags lay them flat to freeze and stack them in the freezer when I need them. It only takes about 5 minutes for them to thaw enough to break off as much as you need. Then you just refreeze them. Also, when I'm cooking a bunch of them such as sauteing, I will once again do a whole bunch and free some of the sauteed ones down for if I'm making something like a cream cheese dip and don't want to get a pan out to cook the onions I just take some of the pre-cooked ones. Also, a ninja mini chopper works fantastic for dicing onions.

[@sethutkc350]

Best food creator on here. I cook so much more and with more enjoyment bc of your educational work. Thank you!

[@Farksisten]

You forgot one thing: add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to the onions, stir it in and let it fry for a couple of minutes before adding the crushed tomatoes. Simple and deepens the tomato flavor.

[@NarutoFreak47]

But that's AN ENTIRE EXTRA INGREDIENT. Who am I, Gordon-Lopez Brown?

[@danielleanderson6371]

For a sauce cooked as quickly as this you might also consider adding a half teaspoon or so of sugar. It's fine, really. Sometimes tomatoes taste different. They're a plant. They come from the ground outside. Not all of them are going to be perfectly balanced between sweetness and acidity. Adding sugar is using your refined chef palate to make the sauce better, not cheating. Likewise, add acid if you think it needs it. Good options for that are lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Don't let anyone tell you you're not a real cook for accommodating to the natural variations in tomato flavor.

[@cdub42]

It will take more than a half teaspoon for even a single batch. But yes, that's a reasonable increment. Sugar should be seen as a seasoning like anything to be titrate to taste.

[@danielleanderson6371]

@@cdub42 Right, my bad; I was imagining the scale I'd use for making ad hoc pasta sauce to serve two people, rather than to fill an entire jar. Even so, I don't really measure when I do that, so I probably use more like half a tablespoon, in all likelihood.

[@Christiangamer22]

Did this for the first time today. It's great! I'm definitely going to be doing this from now on. Thanks, internet being from the plane of brevity!

[@Phabrysio]

thank you for this video, I cook a lot but never thought about making my own sauce. short videos are king lol

[@joseph-fernando-piano]

I used to buy jarred tomato sauce because it was decent enough for the price. This past week I had like 14 pounds of tomatoes from my grandma’s garden that we’re going to go bad so I made a giant pot of marinara sauce (and a bunch of fresh pico as well). Even just a basic sauce was soooo much better tasting that the jarred stuff. The only headache was blanching the tomatoes in order to peel the skins…

[@tembieg5434]

I was just disgusted with most store brand pasta sauces and was beginning to think it might be some permanent post covid taste changes due to how vile Ragu tasted. But then I decided to try Raos for my birthday cause it was more expensive then the other brands and had an interesting looking label so I assumed it might be better tasting. I was really glad to find out that it tasted really good. It may be 9 dollars but unfortunately I'll be sticking with it as I already struggle to keep my dishes washed by the time I make dinner again (I don't have a dishwasher😥)

[@dressmaking]

That's an excellent reason to stick to the jarred sauces! $9 isn't that expensive when all the other labor that goes into making homemade sauce is factored into the comparison. Side note: I bought a portable dishwasher last year and it has changed my life. Mine is a full size but there are countertop ones that cost half as much but still provide a ton of value. Highly recommend!

[@aphotosyntheticworld]

It's one dish?

[@tembieg5434]

@@aphotosyntheticworld cutting board, bowls, knife, pot and pan?

[@aphotosyntheticworld]

@@tembieg5434 cutting board and knife sure but this is a one pot recipe. So 4 dishes at best. If 4 dishes dissuaded you from making something you just don't like cooking.

[@tembieg5434]

@@aphotosyntheticworld I really love cooking. Sometimes I'll make a big batch of my Grandmas potato soup for myself and my friends. I just have a hard time with dishes in general due to me struggling to commit to important tasks. Same reason I just let my laundry build up.

[@CharlottePrattWilson]

You are absolutely right! I always make my own sauce. It’s just that easy!

[@Tsquared2099]

Great recipe! I just tried it this this afternoon with extra garlic.

[@ninjak39]

im not jewish. can i add normal salt?

[@jam9064]

thank you for these videos. As someone said you get straight to the point but not justb that, your consideration stretches to those of us who might not be able to mince or chop stuff easily. i know for many peeps with ADHD like my hubs that doing simple stuff like chopping etc can be not as easy for him as it is for others, but the idea to use a chopper and such kitchen tools does help. i can tell you do this because you love it, and that is contagious. you're awesome! thank you so much am definitely gonna make this pasta sauce that's easy to make and is cheaper than the best sauce on the supermarket shelves! it just makes sense!

[@table4glasses]

I like to start the aromatics and dried herbs in cold oil and slowly bring it up to heat before sweating out! I feel like it helps draw out the flavors and really infuse the oil.

[@michaelpearen1606]

This was a dope video! Great work man