You’re going to love this quick, easy, and cheap Rao’s marinara copycat recipe that tastes just as good as the real thing at a fraction of the price.

As a huge fan of Rao’s marinara sauce, I decided to recreate this famous New York sauce at home. I created a simple and delicious recipe that uses natural ingredients and is easy to follow. So, let me share my experience with you and guide you through the process of making your own Rao’s marinara copycat recipe at home.

Rao’s Marinara Copycat Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Rao’s Marinara Sauce Recipe:

You’ll fall in love with this Rao’s Marinara Sauce copycat recipe for several reasons:

• Authentic Flavor: This recipe so closely resembles the taste of the original Rao’s marinara sauce that even the hard core fans of the sauce won’t be able to tell the difference!
• Simple Ingredients: The recipe uses minimal ingredients that are fresh and natural without any added sugar or preservatives, making it a healthier option compared to store-bought sauces.
• Versatility: The sauce is perfect for a variety of dishes, from pasta to pizza, and even as a dipping sauce for appetizers.
• Low Carb: With only 1 net carb per serve, it’s the perfect pasta sauce for keto or low carb diet.

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Key Ingredients:

The key ingredients for this recipe are San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil.

These ingredients come together to create the perfect balance of flavors and richness that make Rao’s marinara sauce so famous.

How to make the Rao’s homemade marinara sauce:

Step 1: Pour San Marzano tomatoes into a large bowl, crush gently, and remove cores, tough membrane and stems.

Step 2: Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat, add onions, and cook until translucent. Stir in garlic briefly.

Step 3: Mix in salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil until well combined and spices bloom.

Step 4: Add crushed tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer on medium heat.

Step 5: Simmer sauce for 30-40 minutes, then turn off heat and mash tomatoes to desired consistency with a potato masher or immersion blender.

For full instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Tips and Tricks for the best marinara sauce

• For a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender instead of a potato masher.
• If you prefer a thicker sauce, let it simmer for a longer time, allowing the excess water to evaporate.
• To enhance the flavor, try sautéing the onion and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil before adding the tomatoes.
• Add ref pepper flakes for a bit of spice.

Substitutes

If you can’t find San Marzano tomatoes, you can substitute them with another high-quality canned tomato or fresh tomatoes, but the flavor might be slightly different.

You can use fresh basil instead of dried basil, for a more vibrant taste but this may be more expensive so that is why I use the dried one.

Storage and Freezing

Once the sauce has cooled down, transfer it to airtight containers or freezer bags, making sure to leave some headspace for expansion if you plan to freeze it. If you store the sauce in the refrigerator, it will stay fresh for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze the sauce for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, simply thaw the sauce in the refrigerator overnight or reheat it gently on the stovetop until it reaches your desired temperature. This way, you can always have delicious and flavorful homemade marinara sauce on hand.

How to Use This Sauce

This homemade Rao’s marinara sauce is incredibly versatile and can be used in various dishes:

1. Pasta: This sauce is perfect as a spaghetti sauce or pasta sauce for your favorite carby dishes. Or if you’re on keto, serve it with some zucchini noodles and a sprinkle or parmesan cheese.
2. Pizza: Spread the pizza sauce over your pizza dough and top with your favorite ingredients for a delicious homemade pizza.
3. Meat Dishes: Combine this delicious sauce with meatballs, ground beef, or chicken for a flavorful main course. Try this keto ground beef casserole recipe with this sauce!
4. Appetizers: Serve the sauce as a dipping sauce for breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, or other appetizers.
5. Make Rao’s Meatballs: This recipe goes perfectly with this delicious meatballs recipe found on Rao’s website.

MORE EASY RECIPES TO TRY:

10 Low Carb Sauces for Chicken

Best Keto Condiments

Keto Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ground Beef Casserole With Rao’s Marinara Sauce

13 Keto Recipes Using Zucchini

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Yield: 4

Rao's Marinara Copycat Recipe

4.5 Stars (51 Reviews)

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The best easy low carb Rao's Marinara Copycat recipe you'll ever try! This homemade marinara sauce is made with San marzano tomatoes and a few other simple ingredients and is so easy to make you'll never want to buy marinara sauce ever again.

Ingredients

• 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes (800 grams)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil

Instructions

1. Pour the tomatoes out of the can into a medium bowl with the juice and gently crush the tomatoes with your hands and remove any cores and stems.
2. Heat a saucepan over medium-low heat, pour in the olive oil and add in the onions and cook for 5 minutes until they turn translucent. Then stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add in salt, black, pepper, oregano, and basil and mix until everything is combined and the spices are bloomed.
4. Pour in the hand-crushed san marzano tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer by turning the heat to medium heat.
5. Let the pasta sauce simmer for 30-40 minutes. Turn off the heat and take a potato masher and gently mash the tomatoes to get the desired consistency. (Note: You can also do this in a blender but I prefer hand mashing as it's way less messy.)
6. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 298mgCarbohydrates: 3gNet Carbohydrates: 1gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g

The Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and may not be completely accurate.