This delicious Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes is from OG vegan cookbook author, Dreena Burton. It's loaded with big flavor from juicy tomatoes and warm Italian spices and ready to be poured over your favorite pasta.
Begin by chopping and slicing the onion, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and dates.
Set a multifunctional pressure cooker (such as an Instant Pot) to Saute.
Pour the wine into the pot and add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally 4-5 minutes until the onion is slightly soft.
Turn off the Saute function and add the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, dates, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper (if using).
Secure the lid and set the valve to the Sealed position. Press the Manual button, then set the cooking time for 20 minutes at high pressure. Allow the pot to come to pressure and cook.
Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure or let it release naturally.
Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce to the desired consistency. Taste and add extra salt, pepper, or sweetener if needed.
Stovetop Method
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can prepare this sauce on the stovetop. To do so, put the wine, onion, salt, and pepper in a large pot and set over high heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft.
Add the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, dates, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper (if using).
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce to the desired consistency. Add extra salt, pepper, and/or sweetener to taste.
Video
Notes
The marinara sauce featured here is called Mama Mia! Marinara from Dreena's book, Dreena's Kind Kitchen. Published with permission.Pro tips and variations
Sweetener- After cooking, you may want to add more sweetener if your tomatoes are not naturally that sweet. If you need to add a touch more after pureeing, you can add a teaspoon or so of pure maple syrup, date syrup, date sugar, or coconut sugar.
Herbs- Fresh herbs make a big flavor difference in this marinara. When tomatoes are in season, so is basil, so it’s a natural pairing. If you don’t have basil, you can use a little more fresh oregano (1-2 tablespoons) or some fresh thyme (2 tablespoons), or fresh rosemary (1-2 tablespoons). Fresh parsley can also be used, but it doesn’t add as much flavor.
Chopping- Since this sauce will be pureed after cooking, there isn’t any need to finely chop the vegetables. Just quickly chop in pieces, and into the pot they go!