Slow Cooker Marinara

Making a large batch of marinara sauce and freezing it for later use makes dinner on really hectic weeknights significantly easier. My mom used to make pots upon pots of tomato sauce during the first snow of the season which always made the house smell oh so good, especially after coming in from the cold. We haven’t had our first snow yet, but that’s not going to stop me from trying out this slow cooker marinara from Cooking Light. The sauce can be frozen and used for months.

The original recipe used fresh tomatoes but I hate peeling tomatoes and the plum tomatoes this time of year just aren’t very attractive. So I used the next best thing, canned whole peeled plum tomatoes. If it’s summer when you make this, go for the fresh ones!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups chopped onion (about 2 onions)
• 3/4 cup sliced carrot (about 2 carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup minced garlic (a good dozen garlic cloves)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (such as cabernet sauvignon)
• 3 28 oz cans of Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

First chop all your vegetables and open all your cans. You want to have everything on hand and ready to put in the slow cooker.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat (or if using a Ninja Cooking System like me, turn the system on to stove top high). Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper).

Sauté 8 minutes.

Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.

Combine vegetable mixture, tomatoes,and bay leaves in an electric slow cooker (if using a Ninja Cooking System, add the tomatoes to the system and turn the heat to slow cooker high). Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours.

Add fresh oregano and cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

Place 3 cups tomato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid; secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid. Blend until smooth. Return tomato mixture to slow cooker. (If using an induction blender, you can blend the mixture right in the pot until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency.)

Add basil, salt, and black pepper. Cook, uncovered, on HIGH 30 minutes.

If freezing, allow to cool and freeze in airtight containers or ziplock bags.

Cooking Light has a few great uses for this marinara sauce besides just putting it over pasta (which is fantastic!)

I’ve listed links to them below so you can check out whichever appeal to you:

• Shrimp Vindaloo (great for a weeknight meal)
• Marinara Poached Eggs (this is kind of a take on Shakshouka)
• Mussels Marinara (I made this already and it was so good!)
• Sausage Pizza (great for a weeknight meal)
• Italian Tomato Soup (great for a weeknight meal)
• Braised Lamb Shanks (this one sounds fantastic but is a 2 hour commitment, just wanted to warn you