Out of this world (OOTW) – this is a quick recipe that will taste like was made by your Italian grandmother. This marinara is perfection by itself on piping hot pasta or served along with meatballs (recipe link for these as well). I was shocked how few ingredients there are and how it comes together in no time. Stunningly simply. What’s better than that?

The original recipe is by Lidia Bastianich (TV/cookbook author/restaurateur, etc.) – I’ve made slight modifications in quantity You can find her recipe HERE. Earlier in the month I made a batch of meatballs. They were exquisite (recipe HERE) – We had meatballs in a light marinara sauce and a salad. Delish! This time we had spaghetti with this fabulous marinara sauce and after it was about halfway done, I tossed in the (partially) frozen meatballs. I kept a lid on the pan to help them cook without too much of the marinara evaporating. I think this was the best ever. One note, I froze the meatballs in packages of six (which is good for two people with a salad), however, next time I will freeze in packages of 4 (to go along with spaghetti) and packages of 6 (for salad vs. spaghetti). On the plus side, I had a very nice light lunch with my leftovers – it was exquisite!

📒My Sticky Note Version

Quick and Easy Marinara Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large cloves of garlic, (I microplane) or mince
• 28 oz can of Cento San Marzano (Certified) Peeled Tomatoes
• Salt
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Basil (fresh or dry)

I used (this) saucier pan – I love it. It’s the perfect size for this amount of sauce.

To prep the tomatoes, I set a glass bowl in the sink, empty the can of tomatoes and (with clean hands) squeeze each one. Only takes a minutes and makes this a perfect consistency!

Heat the pan a bit then add the olive oil. Once it starts to shimmer add the garlic – stir (I used a wooden spoon) for about a minute (don’t let the garlic brown!)

Carefully add the tomatoes (with liquid) to the pan, and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn it down to simmer, and add salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Stir in dried basil if using, if fresh add on top of the sauce the last 5 minutes of simmering, then you can pull it out).

*Note: if you’re adding meatballs you can add at the end or maybe wait until the sauce has simmered 10-15 minutes, then add and cover, once it starts simmering again, finish cooking – make sure meatballs and sauce are hot. Serve over pasta. You’re going to love this!

Meatball recipe here (to die for) and couldn’t be easier – this made several meals for us, which is super exciting to have something so good ready to go in the freezer. Also, when I made the marinara, we used about 1/2 of it, so I’m freezing the other half to go along with another package of meatballs! #dinnerdone✅

Original recipe from lidiasitaly.com!

🍝 Until next time… Happy NOVEMBER 1st. How did November arrive so quickly? #crazy