Is Marinara Sauce Vegan?
The answer is yes, 99% of the time! Traditional recipes of marinara sauce don't call for any animal products. It usually only contains the following ingredients...
- Canned or fresh tomatoes
- Garlic cloves
- Onion
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Basil or other Italian Herbs
- Salt and Pepper
As you can see, there are no animal products to be found.
If you're eating out, then obviously any restaurant can add anything. But for context, I have to specifically ASK for marinara sauce instead of regular pizza sauce at my local pizza joint.
Why? Because they add Parmesan cheese in the regular pizza sauce but not in the marinara.
From my experience, this is the norm at most pizza joints or Italian restaurants.
Marinara Sauce Ingredients (Store-Bought)
Here's an example of a typical Marinara sauce you'd buy in a store. This one happens to be one of the most common brands you can find, Barilla:
Check out this vegan starter kit
Ingredients: Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Diced Tomatoes, Sugar, Dehydrated Garlic, Dried Onions, Salt, Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Citric Acid, Dried Oregano.
As you can see, it's pretty much the same as a traditional recipe.
More Vegan Sauces & Condiments
If you want to learn more about the store-bought, check out this article: Vegan Pasta Sauce Brands.
You'll also want to see the 25+ vegan condiments to always have on hand.
As they say in Italian - Mange! Mange!
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
Want to take all of the guess-work around going vegan?
Click here to check out the Vegan Starter Kit.
