Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

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This thick and creamy oven 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.

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Ingredients
How to Make Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce
Recipe Tips
How to Use Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce
How to freeze Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce
Looking for More Tomato Recipes?
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for More Easy Pasta Recipes?
More Delicious Recipes You'll Love
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Oven Roasted Tomato 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 oven 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 oven roasted tomato sauce that you made from scratch on a super busy night when you’d otherwise be grabbing take out!

Ingredients

Fresh tomatoes - Any kind of fresh, ripe tomatoes work great in this recipe.
Onion - I usually use yellow onions because that's what I have on hand. White onions and sweet onions also work in this recipe.
Fresh garlic - Don't swap this out for garlic powder. Use cloves of real garlic in this recipe.
Olive oil - Choose your favorite kind of olive oil for this recipe.
Vegetable broth or chicken broth - This is optional. You'll only need it if your tomatoes are dry and you need to add some liquid to make the sauce blendable.

How to Make Oven 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 with high sides. 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.

How to Use Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

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 to add something to your pasta dinner? Toss your favorite noodles with your homemade oven 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

How to freeze Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

This oven roasted tomato sauce freezes SO WELL! 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.

Looking for More Tomato Recipes?

Have lots of tomatoes to cook up? My cozy roasted tomato soup is made mostly in the oven, then blended up for a creamy soup. Not in the mood for something hot? This easy blender salsa can be made with fresh or canned tomatoes and is ready in 5 minutes.

A bowl of Roasted Tomato Soup. — Roasted Tomato Soup

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Looking for More Easy Pasta Recipes?

A pasta dinner is one of my favorite ways to get dinner on the table fast. Bacon Avocado Pasta is my husband's favorite dish and my go-to recipe when there's a ripe avocado in the house. Or try this lemon garlic shrimp pasta. It's fancy enough for a special occasion meal, but quick and easy enough to make on a week night.

Creamy Lemon Shrimp Pasta — Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

More Delicious Recipes You'll Love

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