Olive Garden Marinara Sauce – CopyKat Recipes

Olive Garden Marinara is rich, flavorful, and a great sauce for pasta, pizza, ravioli, spaghetti, meatballs, and breadsticks. There’s no need to go to the restaurant when you can make this delicious Italian tomato sauce at home.

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Why Is The Olive Garden Marinara Sauce So Good? 

The best Italian cooking is simple yet delicious. That is a great way to describe this recipe for traditional Olive Garden Marinara Sauce. There is nothing complicated about this recipe, but the authentic flavors will impress you and your guests.

Stop wasting your money on jarred pasta sauce when you can make your own that tastes a lot better for a lot less money. 

What Makes This Copycat Version of Marinara Sauce Perfect for So Many Different Recipes? 

A great thing about this marinara sauce is that it is so basic. It contains no onions, celery, or other vegetables that can appear in some marinara recipes.

That means this tomato sauce is not only perfect for serving with pasta, but you can also use it in many other recipes. See below for a few ideas. 

Ingredients For Copycat Olive Garden Marinara Sauce

To make this tomato sauce, you’ll need:

• Extra virgin olive oil 
• Garlic, crushed
• Tomato puree, canned
• Diced tomatoes, canned
• Italian seasoning blend 
• Dried basil
• Red pepper chili flakes
• Salt 
• Ground black pepper 
• Sugar 

How To Cook Copycat Olive Garden Marinara Sauce

To make this copycat Olive Garden marinara sauce recipe:

1. Place a large sauce pot over medium heat and allow it to warm.
2. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil, and when hot, add the sliced garlic. 

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, allowing the garlic to color slightly and become fragrant. Adjust the heat and occasionally stir the garlic to prevent it from burning.
4. Remove the sliced garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
5. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato puree to the sauce pot. If the pot is too hot, it can splatter, so be careful.
6. Sprinkle in the dried basil, Italian seasoning blend, red pepper chili flakes, salt, and black pepper.

7. Stir the sauce to combine.
8. Bring the sauce to a slow simmer. Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Adjust the heat if necessary to maintain a slow simmer.
9. Taste the sauce, adjust the seasonings, and add some or all of the sugar if you think it tastes too acidic. 

What To Serve It With 

Due to spaghetti’s size and shape, it is a perfect pasta to pair with marinara sauce. However, angel hair, spaghettini, cheese ravioli, tortellini, and ziti are fine choices as well.

Other Ways To Use This Sauce 

Besides serving pasta, there are dozens of ways to use marinara sauce, either on its own or as part of another recipe. Here are some suggestions to consider:

How To Store Leftovers

You can keep any extra marinara sauce in the fridge or the freezer, but the key is to store it properly. 

1. Bring the temperature of the sauce down as quickly as possible. One of the best ways of doing that is using an ice bath. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and water. Set a smaller bowl in the ice water and pour the sauce into the smaller bowl. Stir until cold. 
2. Transfer the sauce to an airtight container and place it in the fridge or freezer. If you are freezing a big batch, use single portion-sized containers. That way, you won’t have to defrost all your sauce at once. 

How Long Does Marinara Sauce Last in the Fridge and Freezer?

The sauce can last three days in the fridge and up to three months in the freezer. Thaw the sauce in the refrigerator before using it. 

More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes

Favorite Italian Sauce Recipes

Check out more of my delicious Italian recipes and the best copycat Olive Garden recipes on CopyKat!

Olive Garden Marinara Sauce

You can make Olive Garden marinara sauce at home with this easy copycat recipe.

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Course: Sauces

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Marinara Sauce, Olive Garden Recipes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 14

Calories: 23kcal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic sliced into thick slices
• 1 28-ounce can tomato puree
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar if needed

Instructions

• Add the olive oil to a large stainless steel pot or dutch oven over medium heat.

• When the oil is hot, add the sliced garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes translucent and very fragrant. Remove the garlic.

• Add both cans of tomatoes and Italian seasoning, dried basil, chili pepper flakes, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir to blend.

• Reduce the heat to low and place a lid on the pot. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.

• Taste the sauce. If it is too acidic, add ½ tablespoon of sugar. Taste it again and see if you need to add the remaining sugar.

Notes

Please do not use cast iron to make marinara because the acidity of the tomatoes may make the sauce taste metallic.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 23kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 333mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg