This simple pasta marinara uses our basic marinara sauce. It adds sundried tomatoes, fennel seeds, and your favorite whole-grain pasta to provide the perfect base for the seasonal veggies of your choosing. It's vegan, oil-free, soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and full of flavor.
What you need to make this simple pasta marinara:
- Super Simple Marinara Sauce
- Sundried tomatoes
- Fennel seeds
- Whole grain pasta (gluten-free or whole wheat)
- Fresh basil (or parsley)
Some optional toppings include Easy Vegan Parmesan Cheese (it contains nuts), and crushed red pepper for more heat.
How to prepare
If you haven't done so already, prepare the Simple Marinara Sauce.
Add prepared marinara sauce, sundried tomatoes, and fennel seeds to a sauté or sauce pan with a lid. Turn the heat to medium and let it come to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and cover the pan with a lid.
While the sauce is simmering, make pasta according to the package directions. See Pro Tip for cooking pasta.
Drain pasta and dish up with heated sauce.
Top with fresh herbs and Easy Vegan Parmesan Cheese, if using. Other additions are your favorite seasonal veggies or pitted olives and capers for a pasta puttanesca.
Pro Tip:
Reduce the cooking time of the pasta by one minute. So if the directions say to cook for 9 minutes, cook it for 8 minutes instead. Then drain the pasta and add it directly to the hot marinara sauce. Continue to simmer the sauce with the hot pasta for another minute. This will make sure the pasta is coated with all that saucy goodness. I use this method when making spaghetti, linguini or fettuccini pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spaghetti sauce is purported to have meat whereas marinara does not. However, as a vegan blogger, this recipe website and others will use these terms inter interchangeably.
Any pasta goes with marinara sauce. I like to use penne, fusilli (corkscrew), and shells because they trap the pasta's sauce, making the bite that much more saucy. But spaghetti, linguini, fettuccini, and angel hair work great too. Also, if you have leftover sauce, check out the Veggie Pizza for One.
While this dish is basic, I often build on it with leftover grilled veggies and cannellini beans or toss in some sautéed mushrooms and baby spinach or arugula. You could also add sweet bell peppers, steam broccoli or cauliflower florets. The addition of olives or capers will make this into a puttanesca. Or make it a Ragu with the addition of lentils or Walnut "Magic" Meat.
You can store unused sauce and pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Or freeze the leftover sauce for up to 4 months for reheating later. I don't recommend freezing cooked pasta unless it's al dente (just barely cooked) because it tends to get mushy upon reheating. To thaw, you can put the sauce into the refrigerator to thaw. If you're short on time, you can microwave it on a defrost setting and then finish it off on the stove before serving.
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Simple Pasta Marinara
Ingredients
- 6 cups Super Simple Marinara Sauce 6 cups = 1 batch
- 3 Tbsp minced sundried tomatoes without the oil
- ½ tsp fennel seed
- 12 oz. whole grain pasta gluten-free, or whole wheat
- 3 Tbsp fresh basil or parsley
- 1 Tbsp Easy Vegan Parm Cheese optional
- 1 tsp Crushed red pepper optional, for more heat
Instructions
- If you haven't done so already, prepare the Simple Marinara Sauce.
- Add prepared marinara sauce, sundried tomatoes, and fennel seeds to a sauté or sauce pan with a lid. Turn the heat to medium and let it come to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and cover the pan with a lid.
- While the sauce is simmering, make pasta according to the package directions. See Pro Tip in Notes below for cooking pasta.
- Drain pasta and dish up with heated sauce.
- Top with fresh herbs and Easy Vegan Parmesan Cheese, if using
Notes
Nutrition
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Samantha
I love the use of fire roasted tomatoes. But what if I want to make it less chunky? Also, I added olives and capers as you suggested and it was off the charts fantastic! 😋😋😋
Gigi & Sersie
yay! so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, olives and capers are a great addition. If you don't want it as chunky, you can either use fire roasted crushed tomatoes (which are available, but can sometimes be hard to find), or use an immersion blender or regular blender and blend it smooth before adding to the pot. Great question!