How to Make A Sugar Free Vegan Spaghetti Marinara Sauce

This marinara sauce is what I always make whenever I have guests over. I have yet to serve it without absolute rave reviews and recipe requests. This makes a huge batch so you can use it throughout the week to top meat dishes, eat plain like a soup, or serve with rice or pasta. I crave this sauce and make it several times a month. I usually make it with turkey meatballs. Great to make on a Sunday afternoon! It's a great cooking light recipe that is low fat, vegetarian, healthy, and vegan, but best of all, it's very gourmet and rich tasting.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cups chopped sweet Vidalia type onions (about 5 or 6 medium)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
• 5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 teaspoons basil
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 5 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1. Heat oil in a large spaghetti pot or dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar. I use a enameled cast iron type of pot because the acidity of the sauce will react with metal pans, and enameled cookware is the safest to use health wise compared to aluminum cookware and pots and pans that are coated with teflon.
2. Cook at least 30 minutes or until onions are completely carmelized, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. (I buy the one serving type of mini-bottles that come in a four pack especially for cooking). I usually use a rich red such as cabernet.
4. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally. After it boils, I remove it from heat and put into a crockpot so I can let it cook and not worry about it burning, or if I'm planning on letting it cook the following day. I let it continue to cook in a crockpot if I want to serve it that evening.
5. If you have a lot of fresh tomatoes from your garden, you also can puree your tomatoes in your blender or food processor and this recipe will be more like a delicious and fresh gazpacho. Use some fresh basil as well right before serving! This is a great meal to serve to anyone, it's vegan and vegetarian.
6. Yield
   10-12 cups (serving size: 1 cup)

Tips & Warnings

• You can portion this into four cup servings and put into the freezer to pull out in the future. This sauce freezes beautifully! Put into glass containers with lids, and then slide into ziplock bags for extra protection against freezer burn.
• Be careful with the crushed red pepper if you will be serving this to your kids. I usually add a pinch and my kids like a tiny bit of kick, but some children are very sensative to spiciness.
• Be careful the heat isn't too high, continue to stir so it doesn't burn at the bottom