Can You Mix Pesto With Marinara Sauce?

Written By Elizabeth Masterman

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Pesto and marinara sauce are both staples of Italian cooking. Both are easy to make or can be bought ready-made and make a great simple sauce for freshly cooked pasta, or can be used as an ingredient in more complex dishes.

You may use both of them frequently in your cooking, but have you tried mixing them together? Is it possible to mix pesto with marinara sauce?

Yes, you can! The warming, umami taste of the marinara sauce is really lifted by the fresh, garlicky taste of the pesto, creating layers of flavour that anyone will think you’d spent hours crafting.

If you use shop-bought sauces, you can serve it with pasta as an easy midweek meal. If you have a little more time you could use it as the basis for something that requires a little more prep, such as chicken parmigiana, or you could make the sauces from scratch.

What Is Pesto?

Pesto is a green basil-based sauce that originated in Genoa, Italy. It is usually made with basil leaves, Parmesan, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and salt. If you’ve only ever tried shop-bought pesto, it’s worth having a go at making it yourself. It’s so easy and can be done in under 5 minutes!

Making Pesto

To quickly whip up a batch of your own fresh pesto, you will need: 50g pine nuts, 80g fresh basil leaves (roughly a couple of generous handfuls), 50g finely grated parmesan cheese, 150 ml olive oil, 2 gloves of garlic and seasoning to taste. A squeeze of lemon juice is optional but gives a nice kick.

If you’ve time, toast the pine nuts first by frying them in a pan over a low heat; this really brings out that lovely rich nutty flavour.  Then whack it all in the food processor and blitz until smooth. It’s that simple!

What Is Marinara Sauce?

Marinara sauce is a rich, flavourful tomato sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs and onions.

It isn’t known where the recipe originated, but it is likely that it was first made in southern Italy in either Naples or Sicily after explorers arrived with tomatoes from the New World in the 16th century.

While marinara is equally quick on the prep time, it does need time to simmer to allow those rich, warming flavours to develop. Even though it’s simple to make, it’s such a staple that thousands of recipes are available online.

Our Easy Marinara Sauce Recipe

If you’ve not tried fresh marinara, try this easy recipe.

You will need: 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tbsp olive oil, herbs of your choice and seasoning to taste. 1 tsp of dried oregano or Italian seasoning works well, or a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley or basil.

Heat the oil in a pan, then cook the onion gently for 8-10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and fry for a further 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Then simply add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and simmer on a medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.

I have two fussy children who will complain about every chunk of onion they find, so I use an immersion blender to puree the sauce when it’s cooked, but this is optional.

What Does Pesto and Marinara Mixed Taste Like?

Pesto and marinara sauce are a match made in heaven because they blend all those beautiful Italian flavours. The rich, warming, umami flavours of the tomatoes are contrasted and highlighted by the fresh, nutty taste of the pesto.

However, it does depend on whether you use shop-bought or homemade sauces. Shop-bought sauces have their place and are great for an easy midweek meal. However, shop-bought marinara sauces are sweeter and less rich in flavour than their homemade counterparts.

Equally, shop-bought pesto is lacking some of that bright, fresh flavour of fresh basil and the nuttiness of the toasted pine nuts that you get in homemade pesto, plus it can have an unpleasant tang to it.

What to Use Pesto-Marinara Sauce for

You can use a pesto-marinara sauce in any recipe where you would use either of these sauces on their own. It’s great as a simple pasta sauce, which can be enhanced by adding meat and/or vegetables; prawns and cherry tomatoes are a great pairing or try it with meatballs.

Quick Bolognese

If you stir it into some minced beef, you’ve got a simple Bolognese that you could serve with spaghetti or go one step further and add some chopped mushrooms and carrots to make the meat layer in a lasagne.

Alternative Pizza Base

It’s also great as the sauce on a pizza base, topped with fresh tomatoes and slices of mozzarella or your favourite pizza topping. It also works well as a sauce for meze dishes, for example, served with meatballs, prawns, potato or sausages.

Pesto and Tomato Chicken

Or why not try this simple recipe?

You will need: 4 chicken breasts, 100g toasted breadcrumbs, 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, 45g grated parmesan, 1 egg, 120 ml of milk, 20ml olive oil, 225g grated mozzarella, 100g marinara sauce and 100g pesto.

Preheat the oven to 230oC. Butterfly cut each chicken breast in half so you have 8 thin slices. Mix the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning and half the parmesan, and in another bowl whisk the egg with the milk. Then dip the chicken pieces in the egg mix before thoroughly coating in the crumb mix.

Place the coated chicken breasts on a greased baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and bake for around 20 minutes, until golden brown. Mix the pesto and marinara sauce, then split the sauce evenly between the chicken breasts. Top with the mozzarella. Return to the oven for 5 minutes.

This is delicious served with pasta or potatoes and a side dish of veg of your choice, or it’s great with chips and a light, fresh salad.

Pesto and Marinara FAQs

If you have further questions about mixing these two popular Italian sauces, check these queries out:

Can You Mix Pesto With Tomato Sauce?

Yes, you can mix pesto with tomato sauce to create a flavorful and unique pasta sauce. The combination of the two sauces can add depth and complexity to the dish, and can be seasoned with additional herbs and spices to suit your taste.

What Other Sauces Can You Mix With Pesto?

Pesto is a versatile sauce that can be mixed with many other sauces to create new and interesting flavours. It can be mixed with cream sauce to create a creamy pesto sauce, or with Alfredo sauce to create a richer, more indulgent sauce.

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