If you love pasta, wait until you try this savory homemade gluten free marinara sauce! It is pure perfection in how herbs and spices slowly cook together to make a mouthwatering meal! Dinner is ready in under 20 minutes!
Top your favorite gluten free pasta with this homemade sauce for a quick and easy dinner the whole family will love!
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My kids are all about pasta and sauce for dinner. You could use jarred sauce, but why use it when you can make a delicious homemade sauce! This sauce is not only delicious over gluten free pasta, but you can also slather it on zucchini or winter squash noodles too!
You will also want to make these gluten free breadsticks to dip into this gluten free marinara sauce too!
Why this recipe is great:
We love this recipe because not only is it quick and easy to make on those busy weeknights, but it has a high quality taste. You can use this sauce in so many ways, over not just pasta but seafood too!
A chef I interviewed at a restaurant that had closed down made this sauce with me in his kitchen...his secret to added flavor is capers. You can buy jarred capers at any grocery store and they will keep in the refrigerator for ages so you always have them on-hand.
Ingredients you need:
- Tomato sauce - I use any brand, but I do get the plain tomato sauce and not a flavored sauce. Most brands are gluten free but always read the labels just to make sure.
- Garlic - you can use fresh garlic or jarred minced garlic.
- Capers - any brand is fine. I fill my measuring spoon then drain the liquid from the spoon before using them.
- Fresh basil - you can also use dried. You will need more if you use fresh basil as dried herbs are stronger.
- Oregano - I used dried but you can also use fresh.
- Olive oil - extra virgin
- Salt/pepper to taste
- Optional: leeks, onion, crushed red peppers
- Gluten free pasta - my favorite brands are Jovial and Tinkyada. A small note about Jovial, they also make non-gluten free so make sure the box you grab says gluten free!
🔪 Recipe Step by Step Directions:
This homemade marinara sauce recipe is so easy to make. It takes about 15-20 minutes, depending on how long you want to simmer the sauce.
Step 1: Cook your gluten free pasta according to the package directions. Every brand is slightly different so use the recommended cooking time. Make sure to avoid mushy pasta with these gluten free pasta cooking tips.
Step 2: With a large knife, smash two garlic cloves with the flat part of the knife. You can also use a garlic press if you have one.
Step 3: Heat a large frying pan with olive oil over medium heat and saute the garlic until it becomes soft and golden in color, which takes around 3-4 minutes. If you choose to add the optional leeks or onion, add them in now too.
Step 4: Add in the capers, seasonings, and fresh basil. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes for flavors to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.
As with any marinara sauce made from scratch, it gets better on the second day as the flavors mesh together overnight.
Can you use dried herbs?
You can use fresh or dry herbs for your cooking. I try to use fresh herbs as often as I can. I even grow my herbs in my kitchen window.
Step 5: Add the pasta and it warms up quickly with the sauce. Toss and serve hot. You can also try this easy pasta hack on this delicious pasta with my popular meat sauce recipe.
You can use your al dente pasta and this sauce to make this delicious Gluten Free Ziti Casserole too! It is just like lasagna, but much easier to make. If you love easy dinner recipes as much as we do, you will want to try all of my delicious gluten free dinner recipes!
Common Questions:
You can easily use any type of pasta for this recipe. Just be sure to follow the directions on the box or bag to cook it as directions all vary.
A marinara sauce has very few ingredients and is a combination of few flavors
You can easily buy jarred marinara sauce. Rao's, Mezzetta, Prego, and Newman's Own are just a few.
More gluten free pasta recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves smashed
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 30 ounces organic tomato sauce 2 cans, see note
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooked gluten free pasta
- Optional: leeks or onion
Instructions
- Add garlic and saute until golden. (If you choose to use optional onion or leeks, add these now and cook with the garlic.)
- Add fresh basil and saute another 2 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, capers, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Cover, reduce heat, and simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes.
- Toss with cooked gluten free pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- I recommend using tomato sauce that has no additional seasonings.
- You can easily double this recipe, then freeze some of it so that you have pasta sauce on-hand at any time.
- This is a recipe that gets better as it is in the refrigerator.
- This sauce will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
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Gina
I couldn't believe how easy and delicious this was!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked it 🙂
Lisalia
Yummy and fresh! I really liked the addition of capers to this recipe. Added a great flavor!
Sandi Gaertner
Capers are so underused! Glad you liked it.