Simple Roasted Tomato Sauce

Name: Simple Roasted Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 240 min
Ingredients: 5-6 pounds medium or small tomatoes (stems removed); 1 medium head of garlic (peeled (you can chop the garlic if you want but can keep cloves whole if you'd like)); 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves; kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Jump to Recipe

This roasted tomato sauce is made with 6 simple ingredients and requires less than 10 minutes of hands-on prep work. Enjoy now or freeze it for later!

“Toast to the tomato roast!” Or in perhaps more trendy speak, “totes tomahhhto roast.” Either way, roasting tomatoes has a hold of my heart, and I’m not letting go any time soon.

I spent this past weekend rocking the nostalgic. It was my yearly girlfriend getaway with my college besties. I’m a sorority girl, and because of the amazing friends I made in it, I’m damn proud of it.

The trip is the same as it is every year. No boys. No kids. Just the girls with cocktails and Jell-o shots, trashy magazines, and corn hole, and there always seems to be some sort of water in the form of an ocean, a river, a lake, or even just a hot tub. This year it was the tropical pool that saved us from the Las Vegas heat.

We are a group of girls that know way too much about one another’s past, and know one another well enough to help navigate the present in hopes of a fulfilling future. We’re nothing if not happy to share our opinions in helping one another grow.

It’s all in the name of love.

It was an anniversary year, one of those numbers that you never in your life would think would come so soon, and yet when it does, you marvel at the fortune you’ve found in developing a level of friendship and bond that runs this deep for this long. And the reason it does is because — it’s simple. It’s easy. We all put in and we all draw from the well. We just always have and we always will, at each and every milestone.

Easy Tomato Sauce From Fresh Tomatoes

As I grow older I realize just how much more value simple has. How things in life, simply, have no reason to be overcomplicated. That a good foundation of friends, family and the basics is all that you really need. And that’s exactly why I love simple cooking.

Easting seasonal is one of the best ways to keep it simple. It only makes sense to draw from what’s fresh and put in on your table. My friend Becky of The Vintage Mixer has once again gathered a group of bloggers to partner with her in creating recipes that celebrate the philosophy to Eat Seasonal.

Check out her list of crops currently rotating through our local CSAs and farmer’s markets and make them a part of your dining plan. As Becky says, “Less cooking, more eating straight from the garden.”

Which leads me straight to the garden and my favorite tomatoes.

This recipe for simple roasted tomato sauce is the foundation for so many recipes I concoct, aka pull together, on a weekly basis. Of course it’s terrific in the Italian sense as a topping for pasta, but in its simplicity it’s so much more.

What’s in This Roasted Tomato Sauce?

In the spirit of simplicity, I kept the ingredients list for this easy tomato sauce as short as possible. If you’re using fresh, in-season tomatoes you really don’t need much else to make this sauce taste amazing.

Here’s what you’ll need to make roasted tomato sauce:

Fresh tomatoes
Garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Pepper

What are the Best Tomatoes for Sauce?

Personally, I say use whatever fresh tomatoes you have on hand. If you’re buying your tomatoes from a farmers market (which will have better quality tomatoes than what you can find at a grocery store), ask the farmer which tomatoes he recommends making into a sauce.

How to Make Tomato Sauce

Roasting tomatoes is the secret to a sweet and fresh tasting sauce, even after it’s been jarred or frozen. And it’s beyond easy to do.

To make this simple tomato sauce, lather the tomatoes and garlic in olive oil, season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, sprinkle with fresh basil leaves, and roast low and slow. In cook speak, that means ignore them while they sizzle in the oven.

Once roasted, give the tomatoes a whir in the blender, and boom. You have homemade tomato sauce.

How to Store Tomato Sauce

I like to keep my sauce in the fridge until ready to use or I freeze them flat in freezer bags and then stack in the freezer for later use. Pour the sauce in muffin tins or ice cube trays to use in smaller portions.

Can I Can Tomato Sauce?

Yes, very easily! To make this as a shelf-stable, jarred sauce to can for later, add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice and one teaspoon of salt to each jar. Add a teaspoon of sugar to offset the added acidity if desired.

My Favorite Tomato Sauce Uses

Like I said, there are so many ways to use this easy tomato sauce beyond the usual pasta and sauce routine. A few of my favorite ways to eat this roasted tomato sauce include:

I add a cup or so of milk or half and half and warm it up for a flavorful tomato soup.
Use it to bathe frozen meatballs on a solid sourdough bun to make a divine meatball sandwich.
Of course it’s the base for a zesty lasagna. Or even for a shortcut lasagna soup.
A cup of the sauce is perfect as dipping sauce for fritti misto or fried calamari.
Spread it on french bread halves, top with mozzarella and any other toppings for a French bread pizza.
Use it as the sauce for homemade chicken Parmesan.
The kids go wild for stuffed pizza rolls.
Polenta, gnocchi and ravioli. Need I say more?

Tips for Making Roasted Tomato Sauce

When roasting the tomatoes, make sure to use a baking tray with high edges. The tomatoes release a lot of juice while they’re roasting, and you don’t want any of it to get on the bottom of your oven.

The amount of salt and pepper you add to the tomatoes is up to you. Tomatoes are quite acidic and need a generous amount of salt, but if you think the sauce needs more salt once you’ve blended it up you can easily add more in then.

Finally, you need to let the roasted tomatoes cool for a bit before pureeing them in your blender. Trust me, you do not want to accidentally splatter yourself with piping hot tomato sauce!

More Homemade Sauces You’ll Love

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.

4.39 from 18 votes