Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce recipe makes a big batch of delicious sauce that you can use as spaghetti sauce, or any recipe that calls for a flavorful pasta sauce. Pressure cooker marinara sauce from fresh tomatoes is a great way to use up your summer bounty of garden fresh tomatoes!
Originally published 8/26/18
Homemade Instant Pot Marinara Tomato Sauce
My garden is doing very well this year, and the tomatoes are ripening, with some to pick every day! I like to make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, and I especially enjoy making Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce.
This year I planted several varieties: Early Girl, Whopper, Beefsteak, Roma, Cherry, and Yellow Pear. Paul likes to snack on the cherry tomatoes, and I like the Early Girls and Whoppers for cheese and tomato sandwiches! Yum!
So far this season the plants have yielded about 15 pounds all together. We will get a few more pounds as the growing season is coming to an end. The Yellow Pear tomatoes will keep going for a while yet as they come on later in the summer than the others.
You can tell how much I enjoy growing my own tomatoes! They just taste so perfect when they are homegrown. The ones in the store don’t have any flavor, as far as I’m concerned. So I don’t make Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce from store bought. Ever.
I like to buy Rao’s® or Newman’s Own Marinara® if I don’t have any of my own homemade tomato sauce.
Making marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes in the pressure cooker is easy, and faster than the stove top. I love the results!
Here’s how to make Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce
![Four process images showing gathering of the ingredients, sauteing onion, adding tomato, and adding red wine]()
![Four process images showing the addition of spices, tomaote paste, then setting pressure cooker cook time and blending the sauce]()
How To Deal With Acidic Marinara Sauce
Using fresh tomatoes to make your Instant Pot Marinara Sauce can sometimes yield a sauce that is too acidic for some tastes. It happens sometimes. Your results will vary by how sweet the tomatoes are.
The cocoa powder in the sauce helps the acidity, and it adds a nice complexity to the sauce. You will not notice it is in there. Don’t use dark cocoa as it is more bitter. Please don’t omit unless you have to!
A Few More Ways to Fix Acidic Marinara Sauce
- Sweeter wine will yield a sweeter sauce. Not like a dessert wine, but not a sour one either. Something you enjoy drinking.
- Stir in some sugar. Sugar doesn’t reduce acidity, but it does help mask it.
- Add some Baking Soda. Baking soda is an acid neutralizer, and works very well (I drink it mixed with water when I have an acid attack in my tummy). When adding it to your sauce, start with 1/4 tsp and sprinkle it on the sauce. You will see it get fizzy. Just let it do that and then stir it. Taste, and add another 1/4 tsp if necessary. Be careful not to add too much as baking soda is bitter tasting.
- Add some salt. Adding some extra salt sometimes does the trick, however you need to be really careful not to add too much. I have only used salt once for this, and that was because I added too much sugar.
- Toss in a sliced carrot before cooking. My reader Cara learned that from an Italian neighbor she had (thanks, Cara!)!
You Might Also Like These Recipes that Use this pressure cooker Fresh Marinara Tomato Sauce
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Instant Pot Lasagna
Instant Pot Pizza Pasta Casserole
Instant Pot Meatball Pasta Dinner
If you make this wonderful pressure cooker marinara sauce, please leave me a comment below. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Add Only if the Sauce is too Acidic (After Pressure Cooking)
Before you begin the cooking process, have all of your veggies chopped & ingredients measured and ready to go.
Turn on the Sauté setting. When the pot is Hot, add the olive oil. Don't add the oil to a cold pot. Then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until turning translucent.
Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds.
Add the chopped tomatoes and stir.
Add the red wine, salt, pepper, cocoa powder, basil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, oregano, and parsley flakes. Stir well to combine.
Add the tomato paste, but do not stir it in. Leave it sitting on top. If you stir it in it will be too thick and the pot may scorch and not come to pressure.Also, you will not have to add any additional liquid as the red wine and juice from the tomatoes is plenty to get the pot to pressure. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Then press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button or dial to select 25 minutes (You can cook less time, but I tested and liked this time best).
After the cook cycle is finished, turn the pot off so it doesn't go to the Warm setting. Then leave it to Naturally Release the pressure until the pin in the lid drops down. Then open the lid and give the sauce a stir. Careful of the hot sauce splattering, so stir slowly!
Taste, and if the sauce is too acidic, either add the sugar, or add the baking soda. Stir it in and let it sit a while. Then taste and adjust as necessary.
Let the sauce cool, then use an immersion blender, food processor, or blender to puree it nice and smooth. It is best to do this when the sauce has cooled.
Transfer the sauce to jars with lids and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze it as well.
*Don't bother peeling the tomatoes. The skin cooks down and the immersion blender or food processor takes care of it. You won't even notice!
**If your tomatoes are not very juicy, add ½ cup of water when you add them to the pot. This will help the pot come to pressure easier. You can use the sauté setting to cook off extra water after pressure cooking if the sauce is too thin.
Canning: If you want to can this sauce, please look up how to adjust for canning as you will need to add citric acid or lemon juice, etc. Note that the Instant Pot® is not for canning. Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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5 stars! (Seems the rating stars aren’t working for me) Great recipe! I followed the ingredients and amounts exactly in an 8 quart Instant Pot and the sauce turned out great. I used thawed romas from the freezer, I have a lot left from last year’s garden. I did have to add baking soda after cooking, it was a little acidic, but that probably speaks more to my tomatoes than it does the recipe. The sauce is quite brown rather than red, not sure why that happened (cocoa powder perhaps?). And it’s a bit thin, even though I did not add any water, the red wine was the only added liquid. But the flavour is wonderful! I will be making more with the rest of those frozen romas. Have to use them up before this year’s bounty! Thank you for the recipe. I look forward to trying more recipes from your site.
Thank you, Laurie! You can add another can of tomato paste to thicken it. Also, a little sugar on top of the baking soda is nice. Looks like the stars worked, so thank you!
Another can of tomato paste made did the trick! Excellent sauce, keeps disappearing from the freezer though, everytime one of the kids come for a visit! LOL Thanks again!
That’s great! I’m so happy that this sauce is a hit in your home!
Do you peel the tomatoes.?
.
No I don’t. The immersion blender purees them and you can’t tell they were in there!
Hi Sandy ~ I agree with you on the total lack of flavor with store bought tomatoes. Always so disappointing, I’ve stopped buying them. Since I don’t have any home grown tomatoes, and I would love to make your recipe, I was wondering if you would have any recommendations as to using canned tomatoes to make the sauce?
Hi Julie, I do like canned tomatoes as they are canned at the peak of ripeness, and therefore have good flavor. You want about 9 cups of chopped/diced/crushed tomatoes.
Hi again, thought I would update. I did make the sauce using a combination of crushed, stewed, and diced canned tomatoes. (I wasn’t sure what to go with 🙂 Everything else, I followed exactly, including adding the water. I got the burn message twice. Not sure if I didn’t mix it well enough before adding the paste (I did let the paste sit on top), or if it was the choice of tomatoes, or if it is my IP. I just got it at Christmas ~ it’s the DUO. I even added more water after the first burn message. After the second one I just switched the pot to slow cook and let it sit for several hours. I didn’t want to ruin anything. Had some of the red wine, too. 🙂 While it was cooking my son said, “What you are cooking is making me hungry!” Put it in the food processor afterwards. Great, deep flavor and I like the addition of the cocoa powder. I used it in lasagna and had plenty, with some to freeze. Thank you for a great recipe!
Hi Julie, I wonder if the cans of tomatoes just didn’t have enough water, or the juices were too thick. I’m glad you liked it, though.
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I made this with whole frozen tomatoes and it worked really well. I put the tomatoes in straight from the freezer. My son said it was the best sauce yet!
That’s great! I’m glad this recipe worked for you, and that you and your son enjoyed it!
Could you possibly adjust this recipe for the 3 quart instant pot?
Yes, Nancy. You can halve it.
Amazing marinara sauce. Love the depth of flavour the cocoa adds. I used it as a sauce for chilli mussels, served with parsley and some bread to mop up the sauce.
Hi Sian, that sounds divine! I love mussels! Thank you for your review.
This sauce is amazing! Love the complexity the cocoa adds. I used it to make chilli mussels, served with a lemon wedge and some fresh parsley on top. Amazing!
I have 6qt IP. Were these amts for a 6 or 8qt? I may try to make some.
This is for the 6 qt, or the 8 qt. But I used the 6.
Can you tell me how to adjust the recipe for canning? Thanks!
To can the sauce: Add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice (it must be BOTTLED lemon juice, not fresh) in the bottom of each sterilized pint-sized jar (double this quantity for quart sized jars). Per the USDA guidelines as a requirement for safe canning. Ladle the hot marinara sauce into the jars with a funnel in the jar to keep it a clean as possible. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a damp cloth. Screw on the clean lids and rings finger-tight. Place the jars in the boiling water canning and process for 35 minutes for pint sized and 40 minutes for quart sized (let the water to return to a boil before you begin the time). Turn off heat & let jars rest 5 minutes before you remove them. Then, carefully remove the jars from the water and leave them undisturbed on your counter for 24 hours. Check to make sure the jars are sealed.
Thank you so much for providing canning instructions! Very few recipe bloggers are willing to go out on that limb due to food safety concerns. It’s really not that hard if you have the specifics. I’m even more excited to get started with your recipe now! We have a bumper crop of Romas this year. I look forward to trying many more of your recipes, your thorough instructions are much appreciated!
I am curious if anyone has tried this recipe without the pressure cooker? Instead just simmering on the stove for a few hours? Thank you.
You can definitely do that, however I would just watch the moisture level. Since the Instant Pot doesn’t lose moisture through evaporation like cooking on the stove top. Maybe reduce the tomato paste by 1/3 and add it in only if it is too thin.