Last Updated on 23rd April 2022 by
Making roasted tomato sauce at home puts the power of choosing flavors in your hands. You can determine what herbs and spices go into the sauce and exactly how it tastes.
I’ll share with you a method for how to make roasted tomato sauce that turns out beautifully, and I’ll walk you through step by step all of the ingredients you use and how to incorporate them into this complex, flavorful sauce.
You can learn how to take raw ingredients and make them into a really special roasted sauce that can be used on pasta, in soup, and on your pizza, just to name a few uses.
What Is Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce?
Oven roasted tomato sauce is a type of tomato sauce that’s been cooked in the oven rather than made completely in a pot on the stove. This gives it a slightly different flavor, making for an interesting sauce that feels more complex than regular tomato sauce that has not been roasted.
You can find roasted tomatoes in a can and save yourself a step or two by having them already roasted when you add them to your sauce. Or, you can roast them yourself using fresh tomatoes.
You won’t be making the whole sauce on the stove and then roasting that sauce to make this dish. Instead, you’ll be roasting the tomatoes with a few seasonings and then taking your roasted tomatoes and adding them to seasonings in a pot and some stock to make your sauce.
You have a lot of options when you’re making roasted tomato sauce. One of the best ways to tailor the sauce to your needs is to use the right kind of stock. You can use plain water as your stock, or base for the sauce. You could also use vegetable stock, chicken stock, or any kind of liquid stock. This adds flavor to your sauce, but using water will help cut the acidity.
If you find that your roasted tomato sauce is too acidic, you can cut it even more using sugar or any kind of sweetener. I didn’t add sugar to the recipe below, but you can add some sugar on your own, if you find that the sauce is too acidic.
That’s the best way to cut the acidity a little bit they make the sauce more tolerable, especially for people who tend to have acid reflux.
How to Make Tomato Sauce from Roasted Tomatoes
Here’s a recipe you can use for making homemade roasted tomato sauce. Keep in mind that a lot of these ingredients can be changed out, left out, or used a little differently, depending on your preferences. You can use this recipe to start with, and then make adjustments as necessary to suit your liking.
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds of ripe tomatoes
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 small handful of thyme leaves
To make the sauce:
- 3 sliced garlic cloves
- 2 chopped red onions
- 2 teaspoons of Italian herbs
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup of vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Put the tomatoes into a roasting tray and add your olive oil as well as all the seasonings and flavorings. Mix everything together.
- Bake the tomatoes in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes. You know the tomatoes are done cooking when they’re beginning to char and they’ve become tender.
- Set the tray of tomatoes to the side and put a splash of oil into a deep pot.
- Add your onion to the pot and cook until it softens, which should take a few minutes.
- Next, add your garlic to the pot and let it sauté for a minute, and then you can add in the herbs, roasted tomatoes, and spices.
- Reduce the heat and let the pot of sauce cook for 15 to 20 minutes. This should be long enough for the sauce to thicken a little bit.
What you have at this point is a chunky roasted tomato sauce. You can keep it this way and store it in the fridge for about a week in an airtight container. It can store in the freezer in a freezer safe bag for much longer, though. If you want your sauce to be smooth, then pour it into the blender and allow it to blend until it is smooth.
If you’re wanting to make this sauce with canned tomatoes rather than fresh ones, you don’t have to make many changes. All you have to do is use canned tomatoes in place of fresh tomatoes in the recipe. You can follow the recipe exactly as it is detailed above no matter which type of tomatoes you’re using. The recipe works for any kind of tomatoes as well- Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or whatever else you want to use.
What to Do with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Roasted tomato sauce can be used in pasta dishes of all kinds. It’s not just for spaghetti and lasagna. You could also use it in pasta bakes, and it can be used as a sauce for your fish, chicken, or other meats to make something like chicken parmesan.
One of the best ways to use yours to tomato sauce is as pizza sauce on a homemade pizza. Using the recipe I’ve given you above, you’ll have a complex, interesting sauce with layers of flavor to it.
You can use roasted tomato sauce in any recipe that calls for tomato sauce. If you make it thick enough, you can use it in lieu of tomato paste, in recipes like sweet and sour sauce.
If you’ve not made pasta sauce before or not tried roasted tomato sauce, give the recipe a try and see how it changes up the flavor for you and makes your pasta dishes more interesting.
I'm Pauline, a retired patisserie chef, mother of four and now a full time food blogger! When i'm not cooking i love long walks, reading thriller novels and spending time with my grandkids. Head to my about me page to learn more about the woman behind the food! You can find my Facebook here