Recipe ~ Instant Pot Borscht ~ Comfort, Colour, and a Bowlful of History

As always, if you just want the recipe without the story behind it, click here,.

There’s a reason borscht has survived centuries and borders: it’s not just a soup — it’s a ritual in red. Earthy beets lend their jewel-toned magic, beef bones infuse the broth with richness, and the tang of lemon ties it all together in a single, steaming spoonful that feels like home, no matter where you’re from.

The rest of the bone broth waiting to go in the pot

This version honours that old-world heart while embracing the speed of modern life. The Instant Pot turns what once demanded an entire afternoon of simmering into a meal that comes together in just about an hour and forty minutes, start to finish - tender beef, sweet-savoury vegetables, and that unmistakable crimson glow that makes the kitchen smell like nostalgia itself.

I first tasted borscht at a large camping event back in the early 2000s, and it was so delicious that I just had to have the recipe. So I did what any food-obsessed camper would do — I begged very prettily, full on, shameless, big, brown puppy eyes engaged, until the chef caved.

What I got was a 300-serving recipe, complete with measurements in grams and litres, written in that mysterious shorthand of professional cooks who assume everyone owns a compact car sized cauldron and a crew. From there, the challenge was scaling it down to a non-insane, household version and translating everything into regular, USA-style kitchen logic.

This involved more math than any meal deserves, but I wanted that, exact borscht - not a simplified version, not a “close enough.” So I sat down and did the math (with lots of help from Google and conversion calculators!), scaling everything down precisely before buying a single ingredient. The first time I made it, it was exactly as I remembered it from the event.

For years after, I made it the traditional way: slow, aromatic, and all-consuming — the kind of recipe that fogs up all the windows, and makes the house smell like comfort itself. I made a few tweaks to the recipe over the years, to make it more to my exact tastes, budget, and to make it a little healthier (and even more delicious, IMO!) too. It was worth it every time, but let’s be honest - a meal that takes all day to coax into perfection isn’t exactly weeknight-friendly.

Enter the Instant Pot. With a few order of operations and timing adjustments, I finally managed to capture that same deep, ruby richness without sacrificing an entire afternoon to the stove gods. It’s the same flavour I fell in love with, just with modern magic doing the heavy lifting, and allowing just enough time to shape, rise, bake, and cool a nice loaf of crusty, slow fermented, no knead bread to serve alongside every bowl. (That recipe will be coming soon!)

So here it is: the evolution of my borscht. Same flavour, less waiting — because life’s too short to stand watch over a pot all day… unless you want to.

Serve it the traditional way, with a dollop of sour cream or thick Greek yogurt and a scatter of fresh dill, and you’ll swear it’s been cooking since sunrise.
(But your Instant Pot and I will know the truth.)

Instant Pot Borscht

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour, 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour, 40 minutes
(Cook time includes IP coming to pressure and release time)
Yield: 6-10servings
Method: Instant Pot

Equipment

• Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• ~3 lbs Bone in beef shank (can sub bone in beef chuck, beef short ribs, or oxtail)
• 2-3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 Med-Lg onions, chopped or sliced
• salt & pepper for meat 
• 1 tsp paprika
• 5 Cups beef stock or bone broth
• 0.5 lb carrots, chopped or sliced
• 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 Med head red cabbage, chopped or shredded
• 1 lb beets (about 4 cups), chopped or sliced
• 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp white sugar
• 2-4 large potatoes, sliced or large diced (optional)
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish/to mix in
• fresh dill for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Salt and pepper both sides of meat well.
2. Brown meat & onion with paprika in oil on sauté. 
3. Remove meat from pot.
4. Add broth & deglaze pot w/wooden spoon.
5. Return meat + remaining beef stock to pot.
6. Set for 30 minutes on high pressure, and allow 15 mins natural release. 
7. Remove meat again, add remaining ingredients except lemon juice to broth & set for 5 minutes w/quick release.
8. While veg is cooking, cut/shred beef into bite sized chunks.
9. Return beef to pot along with lemon juice and stir well.
10. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt in each bowl.
11. Yum yum!!

Notes

• Using homemade bone broth instead of instant significantly improves the depth and richness of flavour!!
• This goes very well with slabs of rustic, crusty, buttered bread!

• This can be made vegan or vegetarian by omitting the meat and sour cream, and just using vegetable broth. 

Click here for more great recipes!

Recipe ~ Cinnabombastic Cinnamon Rolls ~ A Cinnabon Copy, But Better (Bread Machine)

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

Cinnabons are delicious! This is one of the great Truths of the Universe, and anyone who has had one of these food court confections knows it! 

 

That said, they are also expensive, you have to brave the mall to get one, and, lets face it, as delicious as they are, some of their flavour gets drowned out by the sugar content, which is a dang shame, because the rolls really should be the star of their own show. 

With that in mind, I set out to turn near perfection into doughy pillowy, yeasty rolls of completely perfect, cinnamony sweet, celestial proportion. 

 

First, I went searching for Cinnabon clone recipes, found the very best reviewed ones out there and followed directions, exactly. Next, I did some tweaks to combine elements of those, until I had as close to an exact replica of the real deal as possible. Then, it was time to get to the improvements. 

Now, if you happen to think the level of sugar and cinnamon in the OG Cinnabons are perfect, all you have to do is increase the sugar by about 1/3 in both the frosting and the rolls, and decrease the cinnamon by almost half in this recipe, and they will come out tasting like you went to the mall, but without the smell of desperation clinging to your soul like the holiday music they are already piping to in when it's barely October. But if the idea of a Cinnabon, only with less sweet and more cinnamon hits your sweet spot, then follow along exactly! 

Either way, now is a perfect time to make up a batch of 'em, because it's October, and that means it is finally cool enough to start using the oven again, without risking anyone dying of heat stroke.

Cinnabombastic Cinnamon Rolls

Equipment:

•  9"x13" or larger baking sheet

• Mixer 

• Bread machine 

Ingredients: 

DOUGH

• 1 Cup warm milk (About 100°F)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/3 Cup butter (melted)
• 4 1/2 Cups  flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp bread machine/rapid rise yeast

DOUGH FILLING MIXTURE:

• 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
• 2-3 Tbs ground cinnamon
• 1/3 Cup butter (softened)

FROSTING (Makes a LOT. I use about half this much for one batch rolls, but it's nice to have on hand for people who want to dip or drizzle more)

• 1/2 Cup cream cheese (softened)
• 1/4 Cup butter (softened)
• 2/3 Cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions: 

• Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in order recommended by manufacturer, select dough cycle and press start.
• Once dough has doubled in size in the bread machine, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover with a towel, and let rest for about 10 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, mix filling ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl, and set aside.
• Roll dough into a 16x21(ish) inch rectangle (or oval if you're lazy..err.. I mean, time saving!). 
• Spread dough filling mixture over the whole thing. 
• Starting with long edge, roll up dough and cut into rolls, at least 1", up to 2" thick. 
• Arrange rolls, not quite touching, on a 9"x13" or larger, lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet/pan. 
• Cover with a towel and let rise until nearly doubled - about 30 minutes.
• While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 400°F. 
• Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown - about 15 minutes.
• While rolls are baking, use mixer to beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Notes: 

• Filling and icing can be refrigerated for a few weeks, frozen in the regular freezer for 3-6 months in an airtight container, or in the deep freezer (a 0°F or less) indefinitely. 

• Give refrigerated filling about 20 seconds in the microwave or thaw on counter for a couple hours. 

• If using icing right out of the refrigerator, put dollops on rolls as soon as they come out of the oven and spread when soft enough 

• You can also serve rolls with condiment cups of microwaved frosting, for dipping or drizzling. 

Recipe ~ Ram Copycat Beer Cheese Soup (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or Stovetop)

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

 

October "officially" kicks off soup season, especially thick and hearty soups to ward off the fall chills, and since I've already posted my Oktoberfest Ale Potato Cheese Soup, which I've already made twice in the last couple weeks, I figured I'd post the one that was actually the impetuous for that one - My Ram Copycat Beer Cheese Soup. 

 

 This is a seasonal soup they serve, and it has changed somewhat over the years, from what I can glean on archived versions of their website, but this is the one that was my personal favourite, from sometime in the 2010s, that used their Buttface Amber Ale, and was chock full of rich, creamy cheeses, bacon, ham, celery, and carrots. 

I am sure that my version is not exactly the same as theirs. Their recipe is proprietary, and, unlike many restaurant recipes, theirs seem to remain pretty solidly locked down. That doesn't stop dedicated cooks who super-tasters/smellers from coming up with the closest thing possible, though, and what I came up with, after lots of research on the ingredients that I COULD confirm being in their recipe (one ingredient search at a time, and a very tedious process, but worth it!), was pretty damn close! Definitely close enough to skip the trip to the restaurant and have it at home most of the time. 

 

Whether you've had the pleasure of enjoying the Ram's beer cheese soup or not, I guarantee this is a delight for the taste-buds! The only problem is being too full when you still want to eat more of it. 

Ram Copycat Beer Cheese Soup

 

(Times based on Instant Pot Method. Other methods take longer)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings

 

Ingredients: 

•     1/2 lb bacon, diced (ends and pieces or thick sliced is best)
•     1/2 lb ham, cubed, bite sized (can sub additional 1/2 lb bacon)
•     2 large white or yellow onions, chopped or sliced
•     2 Tbs minced garlic
•     1 Cup carrots, finely chopped
•     1 Cup celery, finely chopped
•     8 Tbs butter (1 stick)
•     1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
•     1/4 tsp cayenne
•     1/2 tsp+ fresh ground pepper medley, (or black pepper) - to taste
•     1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
•     1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
•     1 tsp dry mustard powder
•     12-24 oz Ram's Buttface Amber Ale, or another, similar amber ale (Like Alaskan)
•     2 Cups half-and-half
•     2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
•     ~4-6 Cups chicken broth (bone broth is best, and you can make it for almost free!)
•     1 Tbs Dijon mustard
•     16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
•     8 oz Colby & Monterey jack cheese, shredded (can sub jack, mozzarella, Havarti, muenster, or white American)
•     4 oz cream cheese, cubed or sliced for even incorporation
•     8 oz sour cream or plain, Greek yogurt

Directions: 

• Heat a large pot or Dutch oven (Or skillet, for Slow Cooker) over med-high heat, or set the Instant Pot to "Sauté", add bacon, and cook until almost crisp. 
•     Add the butter to the pot.
•     When butter has mostly melted, add the ham, onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 5–7 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened.
•     Add the minced garlic, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant. 
•     Sprinkle the flour over the cooked vegetables, and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to create a light roux. 
•     Slowly whisk in the ale, making sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
• If USING SLOW COOKER: Transfer contents of skillet to slow cooker, stir in all remaining ingredients except cheeses and sour cream/yogurt, and cook on high 4 hours or low 8 hours, stirring in cheeses and sour cream/yogurt in the last 20 minutes of cooking, and serve when it's all mixed in smoothly. Otherwise...
•  Stir in broth and Worcestershire sauce.   
• IF USING INSTANT POT: lock & seal lid, and cook on "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" for 4–5 minutes, with a natural release, and skip to the last step. Otherwise...
• Reduce heat to med-low and gradually stir in half & half, then simmer 10–15 minutes, until thickened slightly.
• Reduce the heat to low, add Dijon, and gradually stir in cheeses, stirring continuously until the cheese is completely melted and the soup is smooth.         
•  IF USING INSTANT POT: After quick release, open lid, add half & half, Dijon, and gradually stir in cheeses and sour cream/yogurt, stirring continuously until the cheese is completely melted and the soup is smooth.

• Garnish With:
  

  •     Crispy bacon bits
  •     Shredded cheese(s)
  •     Chopped green onions (scallions) 
  •     Parsley
  •     Popped popcorn (apparently, that is a thing)
  •     Whatever else sounds good! 

Notes: 

• Do not let the soup boil after adding the cheese! It will separate and the texture will be grainy/curdled.

Recipe ~ Cheater Instant Pot Spaghetti

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

My regular, Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe is definitely WAY better than this, but we all know that sometimes, we just need something really fast and easy, and this spaghetti hits all the comfort food buttons in short order along with the quick and easy ones. 

 I, again, borrowed from the bare bones IP spaghetti recipe I found online elsewhere for this, but it is still more involved than that one. 

You can just omit the  majority of the ingredients, other than the pasta, sauce, and water, and it will basically be that other recipe, and will be a passable quick meal, but so would just having a pack of ramen with a few spare condiment packs stirred in. 

 

The added ingredients only add an extra 5-10 minutes, and make SUCH a difference in the final product, that I feel like it's worth it every time. 

 

Also, like most on this site, this recipe is for a BIG batch, that either feeds a lot of people with 6-8 LARGE servings (as in, there aren't side dishes in the meal - it IS the meal), or has leftovers to eat later, whether that means you're having it for every meal until it's gone, or portioning, packaging, and freezing for next time you need something even MORE quick and easy, like a freezer meal. 

 

Cheater Instant Pot Spaghetti

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15-25 minutes (including time to come to pressure & natural release time)
Yield: 6-8 servings

Equipment:

•  Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker

Ingredients: 

    • 2 lbs Ground Beef, Meatballs, Italian sausage, or other meat (can reduce for cost or health)
    • 1-2 Tbs minced garlic (OR 2 tsp garlic powder for faster & easier)
    • 2 med onions, chopped, diced, or sliced, as preferred (OR 2 tsp onion powder for faster & easier) 
    • 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning (to taste)
    • 2 Pound Spaghetti Noodles
    • 2 (48 Ounce) Jars Spaghetti Sauce
    • 1.5 Jars Water 
    • 2 (29 Ounce) Cans Diced Tomatoes or tomato sauce

Directions: 

    • Set IP to sauté and add ground beef.   
    • Add garlic, onion and Italian seasoning.   
    • Cook, breaking meat up until browned & onions (if using) are tender.  
    • Break spaghetti in half and place on top of meat.   
    • Pour in spaghetti sauce, tomato, and water, ensuring pasta is completely covered in liquid. 
    • Seal and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes w/natural release 
    • Stir well & serve

Notes:

Recipe ~ Instant Pot Spaghetti

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

This is basically just my regular spaghetti sauce recipe, but with instructions for including the pasta right in the pot instead of cooking it separately in a different pot. The only differences are the pasta in the pot and the addition of extra water.

 I had previously found a recipe elsewhere for Instant Pot spaghetti, but I only really was going for the information I needed for time and additional liquid, cause the recipe itself was just straight up jarred sauce and pasta, which, IMO, doesn't really qualify as a recipe at all, but rather, a method. Anyway, I took into account the fact that the sauce would already be hot, and adjusted the cook time and liquid addition accordingly, and that's it. But I figured I'd post it anyway, since it's Spaghetti September and all. (Yes, I'm still going with that. I won't stop. I will make it a thing.)

 

So, without further ado, I present to you... 

Instant Pot Spaghetti

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
Total Time: 30-40 minutes (including time to come to pressure & natural release time)

Equipment:

•  Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker

 Ingredients: 

• 2 lbs Ground Beef, Meatballs, Italian sausage, or other meat (can reduce for cost or health)
• 1-3 Tbs Olive Oil
• 2 Lg Yellow Onions, Diced
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded & diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 lb or so carrots, chopped (or minced, it you want to hide them)
• 3-4 Lg stalks celery, roughly chopped
• about 8oz sliced mushrooms of desired type (fresh or canned-drained) 
• 1 Cup white wine (can sub red/merlot) 
• 2 cans (28oz) diced or stewed tomatoes (or 4 14oz)
• 1 can (14oz) crushed/pureed tomatoes
• 1 can (4oz) tomato paste
• 16-24oz good store-bought or homemade marinara sauce
• 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
• 2-4 plums, figs, or dates (fresh or dried), chopped, diced, or pureed (Or sub 2 Tbs sugar)
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/4 Cup finely minced fresh parsley (or 3 Tbs parsley flakes), more to taste
• 1 whole rind from one wedge parmesan (optional)
• 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)    
• 4 Cups water or broth
• 1 lb spaghetti pasta, broken in half 

 

Directions: 

• Set to sauté, add meat to pot and start to brown, breaking up into smaller pieces if ground.
• Add garlic onion, peppers, and seasonings, and continue sautéing, stirring regularly, until onion starts to turn translucent, adding olive oil if needed to prevent sticking (not usually needed with leaner meats).
• Add additional veggies and cook for another 3-5 minutes.     
• Deglaze pot with wine allowing it to boil and reduce for about 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes, paste, sauce, plums/figs/dates/sugar, parsley, Parmesan grated + rind and crushed red pepper (if using), and stir well.
• Seal and cook on high pressure for 20-30 minutes w/natural release, or 30-35 minutes w/quick release.
• Remove lid, add broth/water, stirring down to bottom of pot as well as able.
• Add pasta to pot in a criss-cross pattern, ensuring it is completely covered in liquid by pushing down with spoon or ladle. 
• Seal and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes w/natural release 
• Stir well & serve

Recipe ~ Extra Veggie & Meat Spaghetti Sauce (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or Stovetop)

 

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

It seems like almost every search these days for a recipe for any meat dish, but with lots of vegetables ends up being a vegetarian or vegan recipe. Now, I'm not knocking those, and I'm not one to insist on meat with every meal, or even every day, but I AM a confirmed omnivore, and I want it all! 

So, as per my usual, I set out to make it so, and, in honour of Spaghetti September (What do you mean that isn't a thing? It is so! I totally didn't just invent it on the spot!    OK.. I might have.    Fine! I made it up, but it's a good idea!), and on the heels of my homemade marinara recipes, which are great in this spaghetti sauce, decided it was a good time to post it! 

 

My mom's spaghetti sauce always had celery in it, but only a little, and there wasn't minced garlic either - just a little garlic powder, but I prefer the real thing so I knew I wanted to add both of those. Nor did it have much of anything else. It was a very standard sauce, made by adding browned ground beef or Italian sausage, onions, celery, Italian seasoning, and maybe some mushrooms to a can of Ragu. And it was good! I always looked forward to Spaghetti and spinach night (cause, for whatever reason, fresh or frozen spinach, pan "fried" in butter with salt and pepper was ALWAYS the side dish with spaghetti), and always wanted seconds if I could fit it in. But, once my kids were older and the husband was history, I started doing a lot more experimenting with elevating my culinary cred, and had TIME to devote to creating and testing more recipes, I was no longer willing to settle for just "good". 

 

I wanted something that brought together the old nostalgia with some of the sauces I'd had at authentic, Italian restaurants, and was healthier, and had enough vegetables in it that it not only packed in more delicious flavour, but also provided a full serving of veggies with every serving, so certain people who would eat the main dish, but eschew the the veg sides would at least get some extra nutrition. 

So, I looked up a bunch of "the best" recipes, went down several rabbit holes researching what was authentically "traditional, and why, exactly what various ingredients do for the end result in a tomato based meat sauce, discovering that some things actually have chemical reactions aside from the taste of the ingredient, that works with the other ingredients to create whole additional layers of flavour and/or texture (Yay Science!!). I learned a lot, made and ate a lot more spaghetti (I know.. Torture me! LOL), and eventually, perfected (IMO) my final recipe!

 

 There are a few "secret ingredients" in this recipe that really make it shine, from the celery, with its fresh, herbaceous notes, and carrots, giving it the warm, mellow, almost nutty tones, to the addition of pre-prepared marinara to add that extra, robust punch. The red wine brings richness, depth, and complexity, balancing the tomato's acidity with earthy, fruity notes, as well as dissolving fats and triggering flavour molecules from other ingredients, making the overall sauce richer and heartier. 

But it is the plums, figs, or dates, in place of sugar that really push this sauce to another level, with a subtle, but very effective extra dimension and flavour nuance. 

The ingredients list allows for just using sugar, but honestly, it is worth it to use the fruit even if you don't have a crazy huge plum tree in your yard!

 

Extra Veggie & Meat Spaghetti Sauce

 Ingredients: 

    • 2 lbs Ground Beef, Meatballs, Italian sausage, or other meat (can reduce for cost or health)
    • 1-3 Tbs Olive Oil
    • 2 Lg Yellow Onions, Diced
    • 2 green bell peppers, seeded & diced
    • 6 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1/4 lb or so carrots, chopped (or minced, it you want to hide them)
    • 3-4 Lg stalks celery, roughly chopped
    • about 8oz sliced mushrooms of desired type (fresh or canned-drained) 
    • 1 Cup white wine (can sub red/merlot) 
    • 2 cans (28oz) diced or stewed tomatoes (or 4 14oz)
    • 1 can (14oz) crushed/pureed tomatoes
    • 1 can (4oz) tomato paste
    • 16-24oz good store-bought or homemade marinara sauce
    • 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
    • 2-4 plums, figs, or dates (fresh or dried), chopped, diced, or pureed (Or sub 2 Tbs sugar)
    • 2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
    • 1/4 Cup finely minced fresh parsley (or 3 Tbs parsley flakes), more to taste
    • 1 whole rind from one wedge parmesan (optional)
    • 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
    

Directions: 

    • Put pot (or skillet, if using slow cooker method) on med-high heat or IP to sauté, add meat to pot and start to brown, breaking up into smaller pieces if ground.
    • Add garlic onion, peppers, and seasonings, and continue sautéing, stirring regularly, until onion starts to turn translucent, adding olive oil if needed to prevent sticking (not usually needed with leaner meats).
    • Add additional veggies and cook for another 3-5 minutes.     
    • Deglaze pot with wine allowing it to boil and reduce for about 1 minute.
        • If using SLOW COOKER, transfer contents of pan to slow cooker. 
    • Add tomatoes, paste, sauce, plums/figs/dates/sugar, and crushed red pepper (if using), and stir well.
        • If using INSTANT POT, stir in minced parsley, and Parmesan grated + rind.
    • Cook:  
        • Instant Pot: Seal lid and cook on high pressure for 20-30 minutes w/natural release, or 30-35 minutes w/quick release.
        • Slow Cooker: Cook on high 4-6 hours, or low 8-16 hours.
            • During the last hour of cooking, stir in minced parsley, and Parmesan grated + rind.
        • Stovetop: Reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. 
        • During the last 20 minutes of cooking, stir in minced parsley, and Parmesan grated + rind.  

Recipe ~ Quick & Easy Marinara

 

As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here.

This is my cheater version of marinara, and an edited version of the first recipe I ever used to make homemade marinara. It has nowhere near the depth and flavour explosion of my my full marinara recipe, but it is still good enough to rival most of the chain restaurants, and is ready in under 20 minutes. 

 The original recipe I found used butter, instead of olive oil, garlic powder instead of minced garlic (which is easy to keep on hand - I actually use dried, minced garlic, which I reconstitute in a small jar and keep in my fridge. Even professional chefs say there is minimal difference in cooked sauces and simmered/stewed dishes), no wine or wine vinegar, and just some dried oregano and either parsley or basil (can't remember which), instead of Italian seasoning. This takes the same amount of time and effort.. maybe an extra minute or less, and tastes way better, which is why it's posted here, instead of just letting people find that other one when searching. The OG tasted decent, for sure, but it was more like sauce packet marinara, vs chain restaurant marinara, if that makes sense. 

 

If you want to make something more like the little hole in the wall, authentic, family owned Italian restaurant, or nonna would serve, then you'll have to put in the extra time and effort for this recipe. Trust me. It's WORTH IT! But if you just want a darn good sauce for some pasta or mozzarella sticks right now, follow the instructions below. 

 Quick & Easy Marinara

Equipment:

• Medium saucepan.
• Something to stir with.
• Measuring cups/spoons/good eyeball.

Ingredients: 

     • 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil 
    • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1(6 oz) can tomato paste
    • 1 1/2 cups water 
    • 1 Tbs red wine vinegar or 2 Tbs dry, red wine
    • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
    • a dash each of Salt and pepper, to taste
    • Pinch of sugar

Directions: 

     1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes, until tender.

    2. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

    3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning as desired.