When making marinara the quality of the tomatoes is key. Use the best imported Italian tomatoes you can buy. Hopefully your local grocer sells San Marzano tomatoes San Marzano tomatoes are the best sauce tomatoes in the world. Period. Even canned, they are better than 95% of fresh tomatoes for a sauce application. Let that sink in for a minute— canned tomatoes better than fresh— it’s true, especially for this sauce.