Rich, Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce

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This thick and creamy roasted tomato sauce happens to also be vegan and gluten-free. It’s a great recipe for your favorite pasta, tossed with gnocchi or used as pizza sauce.

My garden has been growing a lot of tomatoes the past few years and oven-roasted tomato sauce is one of my favorite ways to use those tomatoes while stocking my freezer for the busy fall months.

Made with simple ingredients, this roasted tomato sauce recipe is the perfect way to enjoy those ripe summer tomatoes. Roasted tomatoes, garlic and onions blend together to create a smooth sauce with rich flavor. Besides a few minutes of chopping and blending, the oven does most of the work, which are the kind of recipes I like!

This delicious sauce is a favorite in our house and an easy recipe I often make during my weekend meal prep time. Just store the sauce in a mason jar in the refrigerator and use it during the week with your favorite pasta. There’s something so satisfying about using your own roasted tomato sauce that you made from scratch on a super busy night when you’d otherwise be grabbing take out!

Ingredients

Roma tomatoes
Onion
Fresh garlic
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Vegetable broth or chicken broth (optional)

How to Make Roasted Tomato Sauce

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the fresh tomatoes into large chunks. Place in a 9x13” metal pan with high sides.

Peel the onion and chop into large pieces, roughly the size of the cut tomatoes.

Add the onion to the pan.

Peel the cloves of garlic and either smash cloves with a knife or cut each clove into 2-3 pieces.

Add garlic to the pan, as well as olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Toss together until tomatoes, onions, and garlic are coated with oil and spices.

Vegetables chopped for roasted tomato sauce and ready for the oven.

Place pan in 400 degree oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing veggies occasionally. You’re looking for the tomatoes, onions, and garlic to be super soft. (I like to roast mine until some charred edges appear on the tomatoes and onion in the pan.)

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Vegetables done roasting and ready to go into the blender.

Your roasted tomato mixture should have lots of liquid in it. If your tomatoes weren’t juicy and the veggie mixture is thick, stir in ½ cup of broth.

Place the mixture into a countertop blender or food processor, and puree on high until a creamy consistency has been reached. (If your mixture is too thick to blend, add another ¼ cup of broth.)

Add additional salt/pepper to taste.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use your roasted tomato sauce within 7 days.

Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Be sure to use a large baking dish or large roasting pan. Do not use a sheet pan or baking sheet. You have juicy tomatoes that are going to create even more liquid when you roast them. That liquid is key to this recipe, so you want to make sure you use a pan with high enough sides to contain it.
Make sure you're using a metal pan for roasting the tomato mixture. Everything will cook just fine in a glass dish, but it won't achieve the caramelization you're looking for.
Any fresh ripe tomatoes will work in this recipe. You’re looking for 4 cups of large tomato chunks or 4 cups of cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes.
Don’t worry about the tomato skins. They’ll blend right up into the sauce and you won’t notice them. No need to peel your tomatoes or remove the skins before blending.
This sauce is delicious on traditional pasta, zucchini noodles, or pan-fried gnocchi. We also enjoy it instead of red sauce when we make homemade pizza.

Looking for More Tomato Recipes?

A bowl of Roasted Tomato Soup. — Roasted Tomato Soup

Mix Ins for Roasted Tomato Sauce

Looking to add something to your pasta dinner? Toss your favorite noodles with your homemade roasted tomato sauce and add in any combination of the following: thawed frozen peas, cooked mushrooms, caramelized onions, cooked bacon or sausage, fresh basil (and other fresh herbs).

A plate of bacon, peas and mushrooms for sauce mix ins

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze roasted tomato sauce?

Absolutely! I make multiple batches of this sauce every fall with my fresh garden tomatoes or tomatoes I picked up at the farmer’s market. I don’t have space for a lot of glass jars, so instead of canning my homemade tomato sauce, I freeze 2-3 cups of sauce in quart freezer bags. Cool the sauce to room temperature before you place it in the bags. Press out as much air as possible before sealing, and freeze them flat. Thaw in the fridge, or in a large bowl filled with cold water.

Can I use an immersion blender for this sauce?

Yes, but move the roasted tomato mixture to a large bowl before blending with an immersion blender. This will make it much easier to get a smooth consistency and be less messy.

Is this a chunky sauce?

No. This simple roasted tomato sauce is pureed into a silky, creamy pasta sauce. No chunks in it is one of my kiddo’s favorite things about this recipe. 🙂

What do I do if my tomato sauce is too thick and won’t blend?

Add chicken broth or vegetable broth to the blender, a ¼ cup at time. Blend in between each broth addition until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

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Roasted Tomato Sauce

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★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

Rich and creamy, this roasted tomato sauce is also vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free.

Author: Katy McAvoy
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Total Time: 40 min
Yield: 4 cups 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale

8-10 roma tomatoes*
1 large onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
¼ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ to 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth (if needed)

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Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice tomatoes into large chunks. Place in a 9x13” metal pan with high sides.

Peel onion and chop into large pieces, roughly the size of the cut tomatoes.

Add onion to pan.

Peel cloves of garlic and either smash cloves with knife or cut each clove into 2-3 pieces.

Add garlic to pan, as well as olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Toss together until tomatoes, onions, and garlic are coated with oil and spices.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Your roasted tomato mixture should have lots of liquid in it. If your tomatoes weren’t juicy and the veggie mixture is thick, stir in ½ cup of broth.

Place the mixture into a blender, and puree on high until a creamy consistency has been reached. (If you're mixture is too thick to blend, add another ¼ cup of broth.)

Add salt/pepper to taste.

Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!