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
- Easy Basil Pesto
- The Best Chimichurri Sauce
- 3-Minute Blender Hollandaise
- My Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Arugula Pesto
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Simple Roasted Tomato Sauce
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)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Place the tomatoes on large baking sheet with a raised 1-inch lip. Add the garlic cloves and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Use your fingers to mix well to coat. Top with torn basil leaves and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bake for 4 hours or until tomatoes are soft and bursting.
- Allow to cool then pour into a blender in batches. Pulse 2-3 times then blend for 1 minute or until desired chunkiness. Pour into quart jars or pour into freezer bags to freeze flat.
- Will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week or 4 months in the freezer.
Franki
last season I made sauce using the blanching technique it came out super thin and ended up staying in my freezer until I tossed it this year so im going home tonight to make this recipe. IM SO EXCITED
Julie
Sooooooooo Good!!!! Thank you for sharing.
Michelle
I made tomato sauce using this method, we used 3 jars so far and just love it! I am making another batch as I type! lol This is my first time ever making tomato sauce and it isnt scary as I first thought it would be lol
Learn tally
Best idea ever, such a good way to preserve all those delicious tomatoes…
Megan
I’ve never made home made sauce before so this was super fun and easy to make! I will definitely make this again!
Lori
I have made this twice and absolutely love it!! I just used vine ripened tomatoes from the grocery store (I’m not a gardener) and it came out fabulous. So simple and delicious. Thank you!!
vivian gerard
just picked some tomatoes but the next picking i will make this and thankyou so much for the recipe
Sara
How long do you hot water bath process?
Jody
Could you freeze the sauce instead of canning?
Absolutely! Put in gallon sized freezer bags and freeze flat so they can stack. Freeze for 3-4 months.
Laura
Tomatoes alone have enough acid in them to can. I’m not sure why you would put lemon juice in.
Sara
The acidity in the soil in recent years has been changes which is causing the acidity in tomatoes to be lower. Also with all the newer tomato varieties the acidity levels vary. Lemon assures safe canning acidity levels.
Alma
I posted the below comment 2 weeks ago, so I am posting it again, to see if I will get a reply this time!!
“The sauce sounds amazing and SO easy, but I was wondering if I could use garlic infused oil instead of oil and garlic cloves, to keep it low fodmap? Or even leave the garlic in while roasting, and then remove the garlic before blending it?”
Laura
I have never made this, so I’m just using my own experience as a cook. ;) When it comes to the seasoning, you can adjust it to your own personal taste. Don’t want the garlic? Leave it out. I personally love the idea of the garlic infused oil. Removing the garlic before blending is also doable. Do what would be best for you. :) Hope that helps.
Alma
The sauce sounds amazing and SO easy, but I was wondering if I could use garlic infused oil instead of oil and garlic cloves, to keep it low fodmap? Or even leave the garlic in while roasting, and then remove the garlic before blending it?
Arya
Nice ! thanks a lot :/
Nicole
This was fantastic! Definitely a new go-to sauce recipe. I finished it with a splash of half and half to make a beautiful pink sauce. This sauce has a very deep, rich tomato flavor and offset the blandness of zucchini noodles. Will definitely be making again!
Sue Crawbuck
I didn’t see this in any of the comments but there is no need to remove the skins from the tomatoes??
Zoe
Doesn’t look like it.
Laura @TheWoodFiredVirgin
This recipe is so easy and flavorful, it is our go-to sauce recipe and has been ever since we found it! In fact, I just featured it on my new blog. I hope you’ll check it out. http://woodfiredvirgin.com/
Darcy
This sauce was just excellent. I added abut 1/4 cup broth to the pan at the end to get all the carmalized bits. It was very thick and creamy once I spun it in the blender. I used half for a delicious tomato soup and froze the other half for who knows what in the future. Thank you so much!
Ellen
I had plans to grill paella today but mother nature wasn’t having it and my tomatoes wouldn’t wait, so I improvised and made a small batch of sauce. I used 1lb of roma tomatoes blanched to peel and seeded, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 basil leaves and roasted for about 3.5 hours (garlic and basil were burning after 2hrs so I removed them). By the end there wasn’t enough volume to blend it so I added an 8oz can of plain tomato sauce and it actually turned out delicious! I’m planning to try again after I visit the farmer’s market this weekend!
That’s great that you made it work with what you had Ellen.
Jess
Is the 4 months a best by thing? I’m wondering why they wouldn’t stay good in the freezer for longer. I freeze tomatoes whole and toss them in there until next fall.
Yes, I’d say it’s more of a best by date, depending on how well you wrap / store them!
Susan
This is the first time I have used your recipe. And let me tell you the aroma in my house is outstanding. The flavor of this sauce is fantastic. The only thing I added was some fresh rosemary. Thank you for sharing. I will be using this recipe again.
jodi
I made this today. Turned out WONDERFUL! I did not core but did cut off some bad parts and used a mix of tomatoes. LOVE IT! And I canned it. I ended up with just alittle over 3 pints. so good!
Hi Jodi, did you add anything to the sauce before canning?
Chris
Used this sauce tonight for homemade pizza! It was the best pizza I’ve ever made. Thanks for sharing!!
cindi
Do you core them before or after roasting? What about spots? Do you cut them out?
Lisa
I’d like to know this as well!
Margi Brown
Do you remove the skin from the tomatoes. All the other recipes I looked at on-line say to remove skin, but yours did not say.
Hi Margi, no, I keep the skins on and just whiz them in with the sauce!
Cathy
This is the 3rd year I have made this sauce. If you make with homegrown or as I did, from the farmstand tomatoes, this sauce is to die for. I made it as directed and the end result tastes like a high quality sauce. I am going to make a batch with some carrots and onion in it now.
Thanks so much for letting me know Cathy. So glad you enjoy it as much as me!
Lisa Halleran
I loved the roasted tomato recipe and was thinking of jarring so they would have a shelf life. Do you see or know of any problems doing this with this recipe.
Thank you, Lisa
Hi Lisa, I haven’t jarred it to keep for long periods of time, but you can try adding 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.
Minda
I have canned the tomato sauce several times. It lasts for at least 2 years. After following the recipe above then use canning lids and water bath for 30 minutes. It works great!