Vegan Marinara Sauce

Add this vegan marinara sauce recipe to any vegan Italian recipe for the freshest and tastiest dishes. This sauce is easy and can be frozen without oil or added sugars. You will love this easy vegan pasta sauce recipe.

Instead of buying jarred marinara sauce, you can make your own vegan marinara sauce recipe at home with fresh ingredients. Unlike jarred marinara sauce, the vegan marinara sauce recipe doesn't have any preservatives or processed ingredients. 

Jump to:

• Fresh VS. Canned Tomatoes
• Fresh vs. Dried Herbs
• Is Marinara Sauce Vegan?
• Vegan Pasta Sauce Ingredients
• Vegan Pasta Sauce Ingredients Substitutions
• How to Make Vegan Marinara Sauce
• Freezing Recommendations
• Recipes with Tomato Sauce
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

When shopping for fresh tomatoes, look for the cracked, slightly bruised tomatoes sold at a discount for a deal. The flesh of the tomato, for instance, should be dense, sweet and blood red. So, essentially look for tomatoes that are overly ripe. As a result, this makes the freshest and brightest tasting sauce.

Fresh VS. Canned Tomatoes

Because tomatoes are not always in season, most of the time we need to buy tomatoes in a store. But, often, regardless of the time of the year, fresh tomatoes are not available.

As I mentioned in other posts, POMI tomatoes are my favorite store-bought tomatoes. 

Pomì tomatoes are deliciously rich in flavor, completely natural, without salt, and sugar, and GMO-free. Pomi tomatoes are 100% organic tomatoes without added oils or fillers. Since I can only find them at Sprouts Market, I sometimes have to order them online, when tomatoes aren't at their freshest. 

Most store-bought marinara sauces contain oils, salt, and sugars. Since I am making my own marinara sauce today, I plan to use my own home-grown tomatoes, but when in a pinch, I buy POMI Marinara Sauce. 

If you are lucky enough to find or grow fresh tomatoes during the year, take advantage and freeze them while you can. Likewise, if you make homemade sauce, freeze it in bulk for those times during the year it is difficult to find fresh tomatoes.  

Fresh vs. Dried Herbs

Although I prefer fresh herbs over dried herbs, dried ones work in a pinch.

Many chefs, for instance, recommend using fresh herbs whenever possible, as they will provide you with the greenest, “herbiest” flavor. Of course, there are times when fresh herbs just aren’t available.

Maybe they’ve gone out of season, or you just haven’t had the time to run to the store. You’ll still want to enhance your meal with those subtle flavors.

• Dried herbs tend to have a deeper, spicier flavor than fresh herbs. For that reason, you can usually add less dry herbs than you would fresh herbs. That way, those strong flavors won’t overpower your dish. A good ratio is 1 to 3. For example, if a recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of fresh rosemary, use 1 teaspoon of dried.
• Dried herbs tend to have fewer oils because they are dehydrated. However, those oils tend to be trapped deeper inside the herbs. To make the most out of them, try rubbing them in your hands to release more of the oils. It is also best to add dry herbs during cooking to release those flavors. Add fresh herbs at the end of cooking because they will retain their fresh flavor from stove to plate. 
• Sometimes, it’s never okay to substitute dry for fresh. Herbs like dill, parsley, and basil lose or change flavor when dried. Parsley, when dried, loses all of the fresh flavors that make it worthwhile as an herb. Dehydrated basil, on the other hand, tastes more like mint than fresh basil -- a flavor that won't compliment your pasta dish very well. Other times, it’s better to use dry. Go for dried oregano for deeper, longer-lasting flavor. You can also rarely go wrong with dried bay leaves.
• It’s important to note that even when they’re dried, herbs can still go bad. Most dried herbs don’t last more than a year; check to see if they have lost all of their green colors. Old herbs will just taste dusty."

I used fresh basil, oregano, and parsley for this recipe, which can all be exchanged for dried herbs when needed. 

Is Marinara Sauce Vegan?

Most homemade marinara recipes are vegan but include olive or other processed oils. It's unnecessary and adds fat to a fresh, beautiful marinara recipe. Instead, I focus on the natural ingredients and flavors rather than attempting to weigh them down with unnecessary ingredients.

To keep it real, I focus on the basic ingredients to make a hearty and deliciously rich marinara sauce. 

Vegan Pasta Sauce Ingredients

• Yellow Onion: Yellow onions sweeten as they cook and caramelize in the pan.
• Shallot: The shallot adds a different onion profile that complements the yellow onions.
• Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic for the best flavor.
• Parsley: Fresh parsley provides a fresh taste for the vegan pasta sauce.
• Oregano: Fresh oregano, if available adds profound flavor.
• Basil: I love fresh basil in a vegan spaghetti sauce.
• POMI Tomato Paste:  POMI tomato paste is a unique product made from fresh oranges and tomatoes without added sugar or salt.
• POMI Tomatoes:  I used POMI chopped tomatoes or chose fresh tomatoes chopped.
• Red Wine: I used red Zinfandel wine, but any red wine works fine.
• Salt: Salt enhances the flavors in the sauce.
• Fresh Ground Pepper: Fresh ground pepper adds another layer of flavor.
• Vegetable Broth: I keep vegetable broth on hand to prevent the ingredients from sticking in the pan. If you have a non-stick pan, you may not ned this ingredient.

Vegan Pasta Sauce Ingredients Substitutions

• White onion substitutes yellow onion in the pasta sauce.
• Red onion works well instead of shallots.
• If using dried herbs, use half the amount of fresh herbs in the recipe.
• Grape juice or balsamic vinegar substitutes the red wine.

How to Make Vegan Marinara Sauce

• Sautéing the onions, shallots, and garlic in organic vegetable broth instead of oil produces the same marriage between the flavors.
• Unlike yellow onions, shallots are a bit sweeter than regular onions, and their flavor is more subtle but enhances the taste of the onions. 
• In a large stockpot, add onions, shallot, and garlic; cook for 5-7 minutes until onions are translucent.
• Use a small amount of veggie broth to prevent sticking.
• Include the chopped herbs and cook for 3-4 minutes longer.
• Then, add the tomato paste and stir until thinned.
• Stir in wine and cook for 10 minutes or until liquid dissipates.
• Add tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.
• As tomatoes break down, I use a hand potato masher to mash the tomatoes a bit. You don't want to blend them with an immersion blender since you want them thick with chunks of tomatoes.
• Stir occasionally and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Store ina covered container in a refrigerator until ready to use
• It will last 4 days in the refrigerator.
• If freezing, wait until completely cooled, and spoon into a ziplock bag and seal. Or use a Souper Cubes.

Freezing Recommendations

To think ahead and be smart, I made a double batch of the vegan marinara sauce recipe to freeze it for later. I love using Souper Cubes to freeze vegan marinara sauce.

At the beginning of my plant-based journey, I cooked small amounts of food and didn't think ahead. Then, after trial and error, I learned the benefit of making extra and freezing it for later. 

Instead of grabbing a jar of marinara sauce, on those busy days, I can now grab a freezer bag of fresh vegan marinara sauce. With a little planning, cooking is much easier. 

Recipes with Tomato Sauce

Despite many of my posted recipes have jarred marinara sauce, I have learned homemade marinara sauce is mush better, So, instead of using jarred marinara, exchange the real deal in these recipes:

• Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
• Veggie Stuffed Shells
• Vegan Stuffed Shells Recipe
• Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs

Similarly, this sauce is fabulous for dipping breadsticks or Crunchy Baked Zucchini Coins and Baked Crispy Oil-Free Zucchini Fries. 

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Paul and  I appreciate a great bottle of red wine from time to time, but sometimes we buy a bottle of Red Zinfandel that is a bit too strong for us to drink. Though we think about drinking it at a later time, it sits in the refrigerator, for far too long. As a result, it gets even stronger, and we can't drink it. So, "waste not want not."
• Red wine sitting in the refrigerator, for instance,  makes the best sauce wine. Or, if you have a bottle of red open, share it with your sauce. 
• My girlfriend, who doesn't drink, buys single small bottles of red and white wine to use for cooking at the grocery store. Again, it's all about saving money 🙂 
• The secret to perfect marinara sauce is cooking slow and low.
• Similar to pressing tofu, the result is in being patient.
• Since my sauce doesn't have added sugars or oils, when I cook the sauce on low for an hour or more, the onions and shallots caramelize on their own, bringing out their natural sweetness.

Make healthy vegan marinara sauce at home and skip the store-bought brands for a healthy option.

If you love this vegan marinara sauce recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you!

📖 Recipe