Learn how to make a simple and flavourful homemade marinara sauce. On top of that it’s also oil-free. It’ll be extremely convenient to grab this sauce from the fridge and use it on pizzas, pastas, salads, and as a dip.
My homemade marinara sauce recipe is:
- vegan and plant-based
- oil-free and low-fat
- low glycemic
- suitable on vegan Candida diet (both cleanse and reintroduction)
What I love about this recipe:
- Full of heavenly Mediterranean flavours without the use of olive oil.
- Easy to make requiring only about 10 minutes of active prepping time.
Table of contents
How to Make Oil-Free Homemade Marinara Sauce
The Ingredients
My homemade marinara sauce begins with pureed tomatoes. These are basically fresh whole tomatoes that have been blended into puree. I suggest choosing an additive-free product in a glass bottle or jar.
Alternatively, go for whole canned tomatoes and crush them with your hands or potato masher. You can also use canned/bottled crushed tomatoes or fresh tomatoes for that matter.
Secondly, I decided to use tomato paste in my marinara recipe. Simply because it adds so much richness to the sauce. I know that classic marinara sauce recipe does not include tomato paste but this is my tweaked version of it.
It’s worth mentioning that tomato paste is a thick paste made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce the water content. Then, the seeds and skins are strained out, and the liquid is cooked again to reduce the base to a thick and rich concentrate. So don’t confuse it with tomato puree!
Next up are the divine flavours – fresh garlic, dried oregano and fresh basil to work their wonders.
And finally, instead of olive oil I prefer whole green olives with all their nutrients and flavour.
What My Marinara Sauce Doesn’t Contain
I decided NOT to add onion to keep the recipe as close to classic as possible. Although, depending on regions, some cooks include onions, and some don’t.
Also, I feel there’s no need for salt as the olives provide enough sodium. However, you’re welcome to add some tamari or Himalayan salt if you add it to pasta boiled in plain water.
As already mentioned, I do not use olive oil in my recipe as whole olives themselves provide much more flavour and nutrients. You might have noticed that there’s no spices in the ingredients’ list. It’s because you can add those later depending on the dish. Think of black pepper, red pepper flakes, chilli flakes or even cayenne pepper.
The Process
Making of this homemade marinara sauce begins with finely dicing garlic gloves and roughly chopping the olives.
As a next step we measure out tomato puree and tomato paste.
Then, in a medium skillet or saucepan, heat up 2 tablespoons of water. When the water starts to sizzle, add garlic and stir. Once the garlic is sizzling, pour in tomato puree and tomato paste. Now, slosh the cup that you used to measure out tomato puree with 1/3 cup of water and pour that into the saucepan as well.
Next, add chopped olives and dried oregano. Stir well and let simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Place the lid on tilted to let the steam out and avoid the sauce squirting onto your stovetop at the same time. Stir every now and then using a wooden spoon, to avoid the sugar from tomatoes sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Should you want the sauce to be even thicker, let it simmer for longer – until you’re satisfied with the consistency. Be careful not to burn it though.
When you are happy with the outcome, turn off the heat and place a fresh basil sprig on the surface of the sauce. Let it wilt and then press down into the sauce. Most recipes instruct to simmer the sauce with basil string. I take off from the fact that one should always add fresh herbs at the end not to kill their flavours. Furthermore, I don’t need to soak the basil in there because I’m going to blend the whole lot anyway. Finally, after the marinara sauce has cooled down, puree it either using a regular or immersion blender.
How to Use Homemade Marinara Sauce
There are several delicious ways you can use this marinara sauce:
- Use it as healthy pizza sauce.
- Make a scrumptious pasta by adding some legumes and vegan Parmesan. Evidently, it makes a great spaghetti sauce as well.
- Mash some chickpeas or beans and mix with your marinara sauce. It makes an excellent topping on a slice of sourdough bread.
- This marinara sauce is also great as a dip and salad dressing.
How to Store Homemade Marinara Sauce
Store it in an airtight glass container or a jar in the fridge for up to 4 days (even a bit longer, depending on how often you open the jar). For longer keeping, fill ice cube trays with the sauce and freeze.
Other Tomato-Based Recipes on Blog
- Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms
- Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce
- Tomato Zucchini Casserole with Vegan Mozzarella
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How to Make Homemade Marinara Sauce [Oil-Free]
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 400 ml 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Learn how to make a simple and flavourful homemade marinara sauce. On top of that it’s also oil-free. It’ll be extremely convenient to grab this sauce from the fridge and use it on pizzas, pastas, salads, and as a dip.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup (340g, 12oz) additive-free tomato puree
- 1/3 cup (80g, 2.8oz) water
- ¼ cup (60g, 2.1oz) tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves
- 10 green olives
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- 1 fresh basil sprig
Instructions
- Start by finely dicing garlic gloves and roughly chopping the olives.
- Then, measure out tomato puree and tomato paste.
- Next, in a medium skillet or saucepan, heat up 2 tablespoons of water. When the water starts to sizzle, add diced garlic and stir. Once the garlic is sizzling, pour in tomato puree and tomato paste. Now, slosh the cup that you used to measure out tomato puree with 1/3 cup of water and pour that into the saucepan as well.
- Then, add chopped olives and dried oregano. Stir well and let simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Place the lid on tilted to let the steam out and avoid the sauce squirting onto your stovetop at the same time. Stir every now and then to avoid the sugar from tomatoes sticking to the bottom of the pan. Should you want the sauce to be even thicker, let it simmer for longer – until you’re satisfied with the consistency.
- Turn off the heat and place a fresh basil sprig on the surface of the sauce. Let it wilt and then press down into the sauce.
- Finally, after the marinara sauce has cooled down, puree it either using a regular or immersion blender.
Notes
Store in an airtight glass container or jar in the fridge for up to 4 days (even a bit longer, depending on how often you open the jar). For longer keeping, fill ice cube trays with the sauce and freeze.
Instead of pureed tomatoes, you can also go for whole canned tomatoes and crush them with your hands or potato masher. You can also use canned/bottled crushed tomatoes or fresh tomatoes for that matter.
You’re welcome to add some tamari sauce or Himalayan salt if you add it to pasta boiled in plain water.
If you like it spicy, feel free to add black pepper, red pepper flakes, chilli flakes or even cayenne pepper to taste.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of the recipe
- Calories: 61 kcal
- Sodium: 165.38mg
- Fat: 1.6g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 8.7g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 2.4g
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I just love this recipe. It is our families go to sauce now. So simple but great flavor from the olives.
Hi! It makes me so happy to hear that! I also love the flavour of olives 🤗