Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe
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Do you have a pile of ripe tomatoes and no idea what to do with them all? This roasted tomato sauce recipe is the easiest homemade tomato sauce you’ll ever make, and the flavor roasting brings out is out of this world.
We are huge lovers of tomato sauce. Whenever I can find a good price on tomatoes, or our garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes, I love making our own sauce. Keeping it on hand makes for a really easy dinner.
It is a lot of work to prep it all and let it simmer on the stove all day. So recently, I decided to try roasting our tomato sauce in the oven instead of simmering on the stove top. We are hooked!
The sauce tastes so much better roasted, and it saves me a lot of time as well. This recipe takes just a few minutes to put together, and once it’s in the oven, I don’t have to babysit it.
Now, one thing to remember is that both hubby and I are a dash of this and a little of that type of cooks. We do not often measure spices, etc., in our recipes.
I’ve done the best I can to get the amounts of salt and spices we use when we make this sauce. Feel free, of course, to adjust them to suit your family’s tastes.
Best Tomatoes For Roasted Tomato Sauce
Roma tomatoes are one of the best choices for this recipe since they’re meatier and have less liquid than slicing tomatoes, so they roast down into a thicker sauce a little faster.
Beefsteak and other large slicing tomatoes work well too. They just tend to take a bit longer since they hold more moisture. Cherry tomatoes can be tossed in whole if you have extras to use up.
Whatever variety you use, ripe, in-season tomatoes will give you the best flavor.
Ingredients
- 7 quarts of tomatoes
- 7-8 cloves of garlic
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup fresh basil (with the smaller tender stems, loosley packed)
- 1/2 cup dried oregano (if using fresh, use 1 cup with the stems loosely packed)
- 1/2 cup dried rosemary (if using fresh, use 1 cup with the stems loosely packed)
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbs. pepper
How To Make Roasted Tomato Sauce
Step 1. Prep The Tomatoes And Vegetables
Wash the tomatoes and cut the stem ends off. If the tomatoes are large slicing tomatoes, cut them into quarters and place them into a roasting pan. If you’re using roma tomatoes, cut them in half, if you have cherry tomatoes to use up, just add them in whole.
Add a quartered large onion, 7 to 8 cloves of garlic, fresh basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, sugar, pepper, and lemon juice to the roaster.
Step 2. Roast The Tomatoes
Place in your oven and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I find roma tomatoes cook a little faster than the beefsteak type.
Now, be prepared to be driven crazy by the amazing smell in your kitchen. When I cook this, we can smell it all the way outside. It’s sooooo good!
Step 3. Puree The Sauce
When it’s finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let it cool slightly. Then ladle it into a blender, or use an immersion blender, and puree until it’s a consistency that you like. It doesn’t take long, everything is cooked nice and soft.
Step 4. Keep Warm Or Store
Pour the sauce into another pot to keep warm. Now it’s ready to freeze, can, or eat for supper. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does.
Canning
A note before you start: this isn’t a tested canning recipe from a source like the NCHFP, so it shouldn’t be water bath canned. I feel comfortable pressure canning it for my own family, but if you’d rather work from a tested recipe, look for a USDA-tested tomato sauce recipe instead, or freeze this sauce for long-term storage. I use the pressure canning times for tomato sauce without meat from the NCHFP.
Ladle the sauce into pint or quart jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles, then wipe the rims clean. Place the lids on finger-tight and pressure can:
- Pints: 20 minutes
- Quarts: 25 minutes
Adjust the pressure for your altitude:
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 pounds pressure
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 pounds pressure
If you want to add meat to your sauce then increase the pressure canning time to 60 minutes for pints and 70 minutes for quarts.
Freezing
Let the sauce cool completely, then ladle it into freezer-safe containers. Label and freeze. For the best taste, use within 8 months.
Substitutions
- Fresh Or Dried Herbs: This recipe already works with either, use 1/2 cup dried oregano and rosemary, or 1 cup fresh if that’s what you have on hand.
More Tomato Ideas:
FAQ’s
Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 quarts tomatoes
- 7-8 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup dried oregano if using fresh use 1 cup
- 1/2 cup dried rosemary if using fresh use 1 cup
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Lightly oil your roasting pan.
- Wash tomatoes and cut off the stem end. Cut large tomatoes into quarters, smaller tomatoes in half, and place in a large roasting pan.
- Peel and quarter the onion and add it over the tomatoes in the roaster. Then peel the garlic and add it whole to the roaster. Add basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, sugar, pepper, and lemon juice to the roasting pan.
- Place the roasting pan in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then puree with an immersion blender, or ladle into a blender and puree until you reach the desired consistency. Pour into a pot to keep warm while you finish pureeing the remaining tomato mixture.
To Freeze
- Let the sauce cool completely, then ladle into freezer-safe containers, leaving 1 inch of headspace for expansion. Label and freeze for up ot 8 months.
To Can
- Ladle the hot sauce into your prepared canning jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
- Using a spatula or debubbler, remove any air bubbles from the jar.
- Wipe the rims clean with a damp towel. Then place the lids on finger tight.
- Place the jars into your prepared pressure canner and process pints for 20 minutes, or quarts for 25 minutes.
Notes
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 pounds pressure
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 pounds pressure
Nutrition
These values are from a nutritional database and automatically calculated, and should only be used as an approximation.
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Kim Mills is a homeschooling mom of 6 and lives on an urban homestead in Ontario, Canada. Blogging at Homestead Acres she enjoys sharing tips to help you save money, grow and preserve your own food.
Great recipe I use it after I harvest all my tomatoes from the garden so much easier than blanching tomatoes and peeling the skins. I freeze the sauce in 16 ounce storage containers. I do add 1 green pepper rough chopped along with three stalks of chopped celery along with some celery leaves.
Hello,
I am new to canning and loving your help and instructions. Your delicious Roasted Tomato Sauce — can it be canned and in which canner?
I want to make my own Pesto — can it be canned as it is made with olive oil?
Many thanks,
Deirdre
Hi, Kim, I was wondering if you have the amount of time to process the tomato sauce in a hot water bath, or do you think it needs to be pressure canned and, if so, for how long and at what number pounds? I made something similar last gardening season and froze it (it was AMAZING), but one of my grandchildren left the freezer door open in our outside fridge and I wound up tossing it all just to make sure it wasn’t contaminated. I’m looking forward to making more this year and canning it so that doesn’t happen again!! Thank you for your answer in advance!
I’m assuming this cooks in the oven uncovered?
Thanks
This sauce is amazing. We did cook it for about 30 minutes to reduce some water but WOW amazing taste. I will be recommending this to all my friends!