Marinara Sauce vs. Tomato Sauce: An Expert Explains the Difference

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For a long time, I assumed that marinara sauce and tomato sauce were the same thing—an Italian sauce made with tomatoes. Sort of like soda and pop. It wasn’t until several years ago, when I waitressed at an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles, that I learned that they aren't the same.

I spent some time this year working with Italian American chef, Scott Cavagnaro (Chef Cava), who runs a private dining and events company and knew he’d be the perfect person to give me a rundown of what makes marinara and tomato sauce different. Here’s what I learned.

What Is Marinara Sauce? 

“A marinara is a type of sauce that isn’t cooked very long,” explains Chef Cava. Typically, marinara sauce cooks for no longer than 45 minutes. It only needs to cook until the tomatoes no longer have a raw taste. This can take as little as 10 minutes. 

Marinara is a fairly thin sauce with a vibrant red color, but in Chef Cava’s opinion, it lacks overall depth, especially when compared to tomato sauce. Marinara is on the sweeter side, with just a bit of tartness, and it’s most often what Americans refer to when they say spaghetti sauce. In Italy, it's called alla marinara.

Recipes vary from person to person, and region to region, but you will always find garlic, onions, and basil on the ingredient list for marinara sauce. Because the flavor is very tomato-forward, it’s best to use high-quality canned tomatoes when making marinara sauce.

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What Is Tomato Sauce? 

Tomato sauce is known as sauce tomat in French, and is referred to as Sunday gravy among some Italian Americans. It’s a thick tomato-based sauce with a layered, complex flavor. 

This sauce requires a long simmer which allows for a rich flavor to develop. Unlike marinara sauce, which is almost always vegan, tomato sauce usually calls for the use of animal fat, like bacon or pancetta. Many traditional tomato sauces also include meat stock for added flavor, like beef stock or chicken stock. 

Aromatics like carrots, celery, or leeks are often used in addition to garlic and onion. They are sautéed in the rendered animal fat before flour is added to form a roux, which in addition to the long, slow simmer is why tomato sauce has such a thick, gravy-like consistency. 

When To Use Marinara Sauce vs. Tomato Sauce

Aside from using marinara as a pasta sauce, it’s commonly used on pizza and in other classics like meatball subs and chicken or eggplant parmesan. For Chef Cava, there’s no better use of marinara sauce than for dipping mozzarella sticks in. 

Since tomato sauce is heavier, with a more pronounced flavor, it’s perfect for hearty pasta dishes like spaghetti and meatballs or chicken cacciatore. “I will have a tomato sauce with any type of pasta,” said Chef Cava. If you’ve got leftover tomato sauce, there’s nothing better than turning it into shakshuka the next day.

Overall, it just depends on what you’re cooking. Tomato sauce can sometimes overpower simpler dishes, whereas marinara sauce isn’t hefty enough for dishes like lasagna, which requires thick layers of sauce. However, using marinara sauce makes your dish vegan/vegetarian, which can make it a very useful substitute for tomato sauce when needed.

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