what's the difference between spaghetti sauce and marinara sauce?

Question

my brother told me they're the same thing, but I don't believe him. Can someone clarify?

Answer 1

I am going to be a bit of a pain here, but with Italian heritage, I can honestly say that marinara means "sea style" or "sailors style" and in Italy (and most other places) it is a pasta sauce WITH SEAFOOD! I absolutely 100% guarantee this is true. I have no idea how Americans decided it was a plain tomato sauce but it is just not. Spaghetti sauce is something you put on spaghetti. It is nothing in particular..

Answer 2

Marinara is a spaghetti sauce, but not all spaghetti sauces are marinara. There's carbonara, puttanesca, and a whole bunch of others. It's like saying "What's the difference between citrus and tangerines?" The first is a category, the second is a more specific example. If you don't know what you are getting, ask the waiter or read the ingredients.

Answer 3

Semantics.

"spaghetti" sauce is an imprecise, general, layman's term for a tomato based sauce on spaghetti.

"Marinara" although an "official" term is also somewhat loose in it's definition. Marinara basically means a simple tomato sauce. The most common and basic recipe that I know of is sauteing garlic and a pinch of hot pepper in oil, adding tomatoes, and simmering until they're reduced. But many chefs will add additions such as onions, oregano, basil etc.

Chef Mark

Answer 4

Marinara is totaly vegetarian:
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive or vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1/4 cup grated carrot
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 ounce size) crushed tomatoes with basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon crushed fresh oregano leaves
OR
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

"Spaghetti" is a way of saying different types of sauce. It could be bolognesa, that contains meat. if does not have any kind of meat, is marinara.

Answer 5

In my part of the US, most people mean ragu when they say spaghetti sauce, simply because they have little or no experience with other sauces. They think ragu, rather than a descriptive name, is only a brand name. I tend to get blank stares when I explain that there are oodles of different sauces that go well with spaghetti, and there's no law requiring tomato in them. I recommend you explore, and broaden your horizons. It'll be worth it.

Answer 6

For the typical lay person in the US, your brother is right, they're the same thing.