If only people knew how easy and unbelievably delicious homemade Italian Red Sauce could be, they would never buy the premade stuff again! You may be wondering why I am not calling this a Marinara sauce. Well, just a little bit of non-important food trivia for you, technically a true marinara sauce must include something from the sea (marine), like anchovy paste. And since this does not, I call it just a Italian Red Sauce. I am food-nerdy like that 🙂
I love a good Italian Red sauce and this one is very versatile (winter or summer feel), fresh tasting and has an amazing depth of flavor and can be used in any of your favorite Italian dishes.
I normally cook my Italian Red Sauce in the crockpot, so I can cook it slowly over a long period of time 4-8ish hours. You can make just enough sauce to for just one recipe, but its just as easy to make extra to use later. This recipe is enough to use in 3 dishes, or the equivalent of 3 Jars of premade pasta sauce (~24oz jar).
- 2-3Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 large 29 oz can of Tomato Sauce
- 2 cans diced tomatoes (can be reg or italian style, your preference)
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1-2 cups onion, diced (2ish onions)
- 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup Bell peppers; I use ⅓ cup each of green, red and yellow bell pepper
- 3Tbsp Fresh Basil, minced
- 3Tbsp Fresh Oregano, minced
- 3 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary, Minced
- 2tsp - 1Tbsp Anise seeds (secret weapon, don't leave out)
- 2 generous pinches of course Sea Salt
- Generous Fresh Ground pepper
- Add all ingredients in crockpot. Stir well, until all combined
- Taste to ensure its adequately salt and peppered
- Cook on low for 4-8hours. The longer the better.
- Enjoy!
- *** To store for later I freeze in large mason jars and thaw just before use.
