Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe

Prep Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

1 day 30 mins

Yield:

Makes 4 1/4 cups

If you're ready to switch up pasta night, give our roasted tomato sauce a try. It's a marvelous hands-off way to make sauce; there's no blanching or stirring, since the oven does the work. Roasting the tomatoes and other vegetables also brings out their flavors, which means the finished sauce tastes rich and smoky—not like your usual stovetop tomato sauce.

That's not to say that roasted tomato sauce is better. We love the regular approach, too, but we're always excited to explore something different and make a batch of this roasted tomato sauce. All you need are beefsteak or plum tomatoes, onion, carrot, garlic, olive oil, and thyme. It's so good, you might want to make a double batch.

How Roasting Changes Tomatoes

Roasting transforms tomatoes, giving them a more intense, concentrated flavor. In our roasted tomato sauce recipe, all of the ingredients are roasted, making it streamlined to prep but also concentrating the flavors of the onion, carrot, and garlic. This means the finished sauce has a rich, roasted flavor that is quite different from a regular stovetop tomato sauce, even though it has the same ingredients.

Ways to Use Roasted Tomato Sauce

Our favorite way to use roasted tomato sauce is on pasta, of course. Here are some other ideas to inspire you:

Add diced olives or capers and spoon over sautéed or baked chicken breasts.
Thin with broth, water, or heavy cream and enjoy as a hot soup.
Mix in chopped fresh basil and drizzle over broiled white fish (such as flounder or cod).
Use it in place of the sauce in your favorite lasagna.
Try it on homemade pizza.

Directions

Preheat oven and prep vegetables:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Use a sharp paring knife to core the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half; transfer to one large (or two smaller) rimmed baking sheet; add onion, carrots, garlic, and thyme.
Toss with oil and roast:

Toss tomato mixture with oil; season generously with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer (turn tomatoes cut side down). Roast until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

If vegetables begin to brown too quickly, push them toward the center of the sheet.
Peel tomatoes:

Using tongs or your fingers, peel off tomato skins; discard.
Blend sauce:

Transfer mixture (including juices) to a blender; pulse several times, until chunky. Let cool completely; transfer to an airtight container.

Storing

Tomato sauce freezes very well. If you don't intend to use this roasted tomato sauce within four days of making it, we suggest you freeze it. Transfer the cooled tomato sauce to freezer bags and squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing—or use freezer safe containers. Freeze for up to four months.

Thawing

Let the sauce to thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating it over gentle heat on the stovetop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need to peel roasted tomatoes?

No. One of the great things about our roasted tomato sauce is that you can skip the step of blanching and peeling the tomatoes; roasting the fruit makes it easier to slip off the skins.

Do tomato skins make sauce bitter?

Yes. This is why tomato sauce recipes generally call for removing the skin, which contains a lot of flavonols (they have a bitter taste). Also, tomato skin has a different texture than the flesh, so a sauce made with tomatoes with skin will not be as smooth as one made with peeled tomatoes.