Marinara Sauce

Michael Eisenwasser

Print Recipe

A simple marinara that leans on good canned tomatoes, garlic-infused oil, and scallion greens.

Prep 10 min

Cook 35 min

Serves 8

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
• 1/2 cup scallion greens, thinly sliced (green tops only)
• 1 can (28 oz / 800 g) whole peeled plum tomatoes, plain — Muir Glen, Cento, or San Marzano DOP
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup dry red wine (optional)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional, to balance acidity)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn, to finish

Instructions

Build the Base

1. Warm the garlic-infused oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the scallion greens and cook until softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Don't let them brown.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until it darkens slightly.

Simmer

1. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, crushing each one against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon.
2. Pour in the red wine (if using) and the water. Add the oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, sugar (if using), and a few grinds of pepper.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the raw-tomato edge is gone.

Finish

1. Fish out the bay leaf. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
2. For a smoother sauce, blend with an immersion blender to your preferred texture. Leave it rustic if you like visible tomato.
3. Stir in the fresh basil off the heat.

Tips & Substitutions

• Stick to plain canned tomatoes. Many jarred marinaras and flavored cans contain garlic, onion, or onion powder. Read the label: tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, and citric acid are fine.
• Roma or San Marzano are the best base. Plum-variety canned tomatoes are low-FODMAP in larger serves than round tomatoes, which gives you more headroom in the pot.
• Skip the wine if you prefer. Swap in an extra 1/4 cup water or a low-FODMAP broth. A splash of balsamic at the end can add the same rounded depth.
• Use leek greens in place of scallion greens. The green tops of both work the same way. Keep the white bulb out.
• A pinch of asafoetida deepens the onion note. About 1/8 teaspoon bloomed in the oil with the scallion greens. Check the label for wheat if you're gluten-free.
• Sweeten only if the tomatoes are sharp. Good canned plums usually don't need sugar. Taste before you add it.

Why This Works

The 100 g canned-tomato serve. Monash lists plain canned tomatoes as low-FODMAP at 1/2 cup / 100 g per serve. An 800 g can split 8 ways lands each portion right at 100 g — if you're sensitive, divide into 9 or 10 servings for headroom.

Tomato paste at 2 tablespoons. The Monash low-FODMAP serve for tomato paste is 2 tablespoons (about 28 g). Two tablespoons in the whole pot works out to well under a teaspoon per serving.

Garlic-infused oil plus scallion greens. Garlic's fructans stay in the clove; they don't move into oil. Onion's fructans live in the white bulb, not the green tops. Garlic-infused olive oil and scallion greens together cover the usual aromatic base without the FODMAPs.

Plain tomatoes, not jarred sauce. Most commercial pasta sauces include onion or garlic somewhere in the ingredient list. Starting from plain canned tomatoes gives you a clean base. Muir Glen, Cento, and San Marzano DOP plain whole peeled are common safe picks.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Freeze in 1-cup portions for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat straight from frozen over low heat. The flavor is a little deeper on day two.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.