The Best Easy Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe (Freeze or Can)

Say hello to your new favorite tomato sauce! Our easy roasted tomato sauce recipe is SO simple to make: it’s literally just fresh tomatoes, a little olive oil, salt and pepper – no peeling, de-seeding, or measurements required! Yet it’s far from basic in taste. Roasting tomatoes adds an incredible depth of sweet and savory flavors, and also helps to naturally thicken the sauce.

Our oven roasted tomato sauce recipe is perfect for freezing (SO easy) but also safe for canning. This is one of our favorite ways to preserve homegrown tomatoes from the garden, so every summer we stock our freezer with delicious sauce to use all year long. Even if you don’t grow your own, grab some fresh local tomatoes from the farmer’s market while they’re in season!

NOTE: This article was originally published in August 2019 (same recipe!) but the post has been recently updated.

Supplies Needed

• Baking sheet or roasting pans
• Large pot
• Blender – we like to use an immersion blender (aka stick blender), which makes it extra easy to blend the roasted tomato sauce right in the pot.
• Optional: parchment paper 
• Freezer-safe containers or canning supplies

Ingredients

• Tomatoes – you can use any variety, even cherry tomatoes! Avoid using bruised, damaged fruit.
• Olive oil for drizzling (but do NOT use oil if you intend to hot-bath can this recipe)
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Optional: several cloves of fresh garlic
• Bottled lemon juice or citric acid (if canning)

A note about herbs and other additions

Unlike a traditional pizza or pasta sauce, we don’t add herbs or spices to our roasted tomato sauce – yet. Instead, this recipe will create a thick, delicious, versatile tomato sauce that can be used in a wide variety of ways, not just in Italian dishes!

For example, we love to add this sauce to Indian-style recipes like madras lentils or curry. Or, incorporated into various soups, stews, and roasted pumpkin chili. When desired, it’s easy to add more seasonings later to match the meal you’re making.

This recipe truly doesn’t need much else beyond tomatoes. But sometimes we toss in a few gloves of garlic, chunks of onion, or sweet bell peppers from the garden to roast as well. So, feel free to incorporate herbs, garlic, or a modest amount of onion if you wish.

RELATED: Don’t miss our delicious creamy roasted tomato basil soup recipe (which you can also freeze!), sweet-n-savory homemade ketchup recipe, or this round-up of 13 recipes and ideas for how to preserve tomatoes including tips on freezing fresh tomatoes.

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare and Season Tomatoes

• Preheat the oven to 425°F
  
  
• Wash the tomatoes, then chop them into large chunks. Discard the firm stem core portion (if there is one). We typically cut smaller tomatoes in half, and larger ones into quarters or sixths. You can leave cherry tomatoes whole.
  
  
• Because everything will be cooked and blended together, the size and shape doesn’t matter much – nor do we bother removing the skins! We also leave the seeds and guts.
  
  
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up, then lay out all the tomato pieces – skin-side down if possible. You can pack the trays full of tomatoes, but try to keep them in a single layer. We usually roast several pans at once, including a glass baking dish for cherry tomatoes.
  
  
• If you have more tomatoes than can fit on your roasting pans/oven but want to preserve them all (like we often do), check out optional Step 3! 
  
  
• Now, drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil, and give them a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Again, do not use olive oil if you wish to can your sauce.
  
  

Step 2: Roast the Tomatoes

Here’s where the magic happens! According to the Science of Cooking, caramelization occurs when foods are exposed to high dry heat, including roasting. As they’re lightly browned, a chemical reaction occurs as water is removed (as steam) and natural sugars break down to produce the characteristic caramel flavors. That means oven-roasted tomatoes taste far more complex, sweet, nutty and toasted compared to the more earthy, vegetal, or slightly bitter flavor of raw tomatoes.

• Roast the tomatoes in the oven on 425°F for approximately 40 to 45 minutes, until they become soft and lightly browned – or even a tad blackened, like ours!
  
  
• If you’re roasting multiple trays of tomatoes, it may take a little longer (up to an hour).
  
  
• Rotate the trays halfway through to promote even cooking. 
  
  
• If you’re going to can the finished tomato sauce, get your canning supplies ready (including pre-heating the the water bath) while the tomatoes are roasting.

Step 3: Stew Extra Tomatoes (Optional)

When we make roasted tomato sauce, we usually fill the entire oven with several baking pans – but still have more garden tomatoes left waiting on the counter! So rather than roasting multiple batches (no time for that) we stew some on the stovetop while the others are roasting, and then combine them all after. The flavor is still phenomenal. If you’re in the same situation, try this option!

• While the initial trays of tomatoes are roasting, prepare extra tomatoes like we did the others: cut away any tough stem portion, and chop them into a few chunks each.
  
  
• Heat a large pot on the stovetop, and add a splash of olive oil followed by the extra tomatoes and their juices. (Use a pot large enough to add the tomatoes from the oven too.)
  
  
• Lightly simmer the tomatoes (uncovered) the entire time the others are in the oven – at least 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. They will become soft, wonderfully fragrant, and the liquid will significantly reduce. 

Step 4: Reduce and Blend the Sauce

Once your tomatoes are finished roasting, you have a couple of options to blend and finish your sauce.

• If you’re using a traditional blender and didn’t stew additional tomatoes on the stove, you can simply transfer the roasted tomatoes directly from the oven to a blender. (Allow them to cool slightly first to avoid hot splatters). Blend well, and you’re finished!
  
  
• Or, to create an extra thick sauce (and/or if you have other tomatoes already stewing in a pot from step 3) carefully transfer the roasted tomatoes into a pot on the stove. Heat and simmer to further reduce the chunky sauce to a thickness of your liking – but keep in mind it will become even thicker once it is blended! 
  
  
• Next, blend the roasted tomato sauce until it’s a smooth, creamy consistency. Using a stick blender makes this extremely easy, done right in the pot! We love this immersion blender and use it for many soup, sauce, and jam recipes. Alternatively, carefully transfer the tomatoes to a regular blender to blend in batches as needed.
  
  
• Assess the thickness after blending. If you want it even thicker still, continue to simmer on medium-low heat to reduce further.

Step 5: Freeze or Can

We usually prefer the ease and quickness of freezing our tomato sauce, but here are tips to do both! If you’re new to canning, please take some time to read up on canning basics here.

How to Freeze Tomato Sauce 

• To freeze roasted tomato sauce, allow it to cool to lukewarm in the pot before transferring it into your freezer-safe containers of choice.
• We love these durable, reusable BPA-free freezer containers that come in a variety of sizes. You can also freeze sauce in wide mouth pint or half-pint glass jars (not regular mouth, as jars with “shoulders” are prone to cracking in the freezer).
• Leave about an inch of head space to allow for expansion in the freezer!
• For the best results, allow the containers full of sauce to fully cool in the refrigerator overnight before transferring them to the freezer.
• Use frozen tomato sauce within one year for the best quality and flavor. 
• When ready to use, defrost in the refrigerator overnight, or on the countertop for a few hours.

Canning Instructions

Only proceed with canning if you didn’t use olive oil in this recipe.

• Remove from heat, and transfer the hot sauce into hot sterilized canning jars with the assistance of a clean canning funnel. 
  
  
• Fill jars nearly full, leaving 1/2 inch headroom. This handy tool makes it easy to measure headroom as well as carefully remove air bubbles from the jar.
  
  
• IMPORTANT: To ensure safe acidity when canning tomatoes, add bottled lemon juice or citric acid when processing in a boiling water bath. Thoroughly stir and mix in 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart jar of sauce. For pints, mix in 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid.
  
  
• Use a clean damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars before adding sterilized canning lids. Screw on the rings to finger-tight only, not overly tight.
  
  
• Use a jar lifter to carefully transfer the jars to your pre-heated canning pot, cover with a lid, and vigorously boil. See chart below for processing times.
  
  
• When finished, transfer the jars from the canner to a cooling rack and leave them undisturbed for at least 12 hours before checking jar seals. (Do not stack or press on the top of the lids.)

Processing Time (minutes) for Canning Tomato Sauce	Pints	Quarts
Boiling Water Bath at Altitudes Of:
0-3,000 ft.	40	45
3,001-6,000 ft	45	50
6,001-8,000 ft	50	55
8,001-10,000 ft	55	60
Pressure Canner*	15	15

Storage and Shelf Life

• Store the canned, sealed jars of tomato sauce in a cool dark location – such as a pantry, cellar, or kitchen cabinets. For the best quality, use within one year. Storing jars without canning rings reduces the risk of false seals.
  
• Frozen roasted tomato sauce will also stay good in the freezer for a year or longer, though the quality will start to degrade with time.
  
• Once open, store homemade tomato sauce in the refrigerator and use within one week. Signs of spoilage include mold growth, off odors or taste. Discard immediately if you suspect it has spoiled.

Enjoy!

Now enjoy your roasted tomato sauce with pasta, pizza, or however you see fit! Since it’s so thick and versatile, we often use it in recipes that calls for canned tomatoes or paste, including in soups, curries, lentils, or other saucy meals. I also love using roasted tomato sauce over zoodles, with homemade sourdough pizza crust, and drizzled over parmesan zucchini fritters.

To transform this sauce into a more classic Italian pasta sauce: Start by sautéing some diced onions and garlic in a pan until they’re soft and translucent. Then add the roasted tomato sauce, salt and pepper, plus fresh or dried herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary and sage – to taste. In the place of fresh garlic and onion, you can also use garlic powder or onion powder. Simmer to combine flavors.

Easy peasy! I hope you love and use this recipe as much as we do. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below, and help support our small business by leaving a review!

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