Not everyone always has time to make marinara from scratch. We have such a great variety of jarred marinara and spaghetti sauces available to us now. I love using them and make what I call a doctor up your marinara sauce. It promises to make any jarred or canned marinara taste like its homemade.
Tips on how to Doctor Up Your Marinara
Sometimes I find that jarred marinara while being very convenient can also be a little flat. That is why I like adding my own flare to it.
Yellow Onions
Sauteed Yellow onions will bring a sweetness to your marinara.
Balsamic Vinegar
Is a great addition to any red sauce. It brightens your sauce giving extra depth.
Seasonings
I love adding extra italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes. Make sure and add this into your seasonings to your onions before adding in the sauce. This will allow the seasoning to open up and become more aromatic. I especially find a tiny bit of heat from the red pepper flakes gives it a nice punch.
Brown Sugar
I find a lot of jarred sauces to be too acidic. When this happens I always like to cut the acidity with some brown sugar. Not a lot, just a touch to balance it out.
Fresh Basil
You want to add your fresh basil at the very end. This is so you don’t lose the freshness or aromatics of the herb.
I enjoy putting this marinara on my spaghetti, eggplant parmesan, meatballs, use it for a dipping sauce, lasagna, calzones, soups. I use this for all of my marinara needs.
This will hold up in the refrigerator for 1 week. You can also double the batch and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months in an air tight container.
Doctor Up Your Marinara
Ingredients
- 32 Oz Jar of Marinara
- 1/2 Yellow Onion Diced
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Basil Chopped
Instructions
- Heat up oil. Add in chopped onion
- Next add your dry spices. Incorporate them and stir until fragrant.
- Add in a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Next add in marinara. Mix together.
- Next add in brown sugar.
- Stir. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes on low. Taste, season and add in fresh basil at the end.