Garlic roasted tomato sauce made with fresh ingredients from the garden! Roasted in the oven, then blended together to create a super flavorful and delicious tomato sauce.
Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce
One of my favorite things to make when my garden starts to bloom is roasted garlic tomato sauce. The tomatoes are flavorful and have such a bright taste. They’re perfect for roasting and result in a sweet, yet caramelized flavor that makes the best tomato sauce.
This roasted tomato sauce recipe is easy to make and tastes so fresh and delicious. Roasting both the tomatoes and garlic gives it a bolder flavor than a traditional marinara sauce and is the perfect way to showcase juicy, ripe summer tomatoes!
Ingredients
Less than 10 ingredients needed to make this easy oven roasted tomato sauce.
- Tomatoes: The star of the show! Look for tomatoes that smell fragrant and have a vibrant red color. They should be firm, yet have a slight give when pressed. Romas, plum, campari or even cherry or grape tomatoes all work great.
- Basil: A bold herb that adds a boost of Italian flavor to the sauce. Using fresh basil will give you the best flavor, especially in the summer months when abundant.
- Olive oil: For drizzling over the tomatoes so that they caramelize when roasting. A high quality olive oil tastes best.
- Garlic: A small head of garlic gets roasted at the same time as the tomatoes, adding a caramelized, nutty flavor to the sauce. Learning how to roast garlic will become your new favorite kitchen trick!
- Italian seasoning: An easy way to boost the Italian flavor even more. Use a premade blend, or make your own Italian seasoning mix at home.
- Salt and pepper: To help balance out the flavors in the sauce. Add more or less to taste.
How to Make Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce
- Wrap the garlic in foil. Slice off the top of the head of garlic and then wrap in foil. Place on the baking sheet.
- Prepare your tomatoes. Remove the stems and quarter the tomatoes, then place on a baking sheet. Add fresh basil on top, then drizzle with olive oil. Finish them off with a sprinkle of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Roast in oven. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the skins begin to shrivel and look a bit charred. Allow to cool slightly.
- Blend. Pour the tomatoes and basil into a blender. Then remove the foil from the garlic and squeeze out the cloves into the blender. Pulse until desired consistency is met. I like a smooth sauce, but you can keep it chunky if preferred. Taste and add more basil, salt or pepper if needed.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to the roasted tomato sauce for a little heat.
- Grated parmesan cheese makes it into a creamier sauce.
- There is no need to remove the tomato skins since they will be pureed into a sauce.
- To know when the tomatoes are done roasting, look for tomato skins that begin to shrivel up and look a bit wrinkly and a charred exterior on the tomatoes.
- If you would prefer your sauce even thicker, you can let it simmer on the stove for a bit once blended. This helps to boil out the excess liquid and will leave you with a thicker consistency.
Ways to Use Roasted Tomato Sauce
We like to serve this garlic tomato sauce over cooked pasta (which my kids request almost daily) or use it to make pizza, tomato basil soup, this easy lasagna and many other delicious Italian dishes. It’s so flavorful and can be used so many ways!
Storage
- Store: We love to store this sauce in a mason jar. It will keep for one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Freeze: Cool, place in a freezer bag and store up to 4 months in the freezer. Sometimes I’ll make a big double batch and use half during the week, then store the other half in the freezer. It makes a great freezer meal and is a perfect option for a busy weeknight!
- Reheat: Let thaw in the fridge overnight before enjoying, then reheat in a pot on the stove over low heat until warm.
More recipes with fresh tomatoes we love include this recipe for tomato pie and Caprese bread.
More Italian Sauce Recipes
Browse all
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Garlic Roasted Tomato Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pounds tomatoes , stems removed and quartered
- ¼ cup fresh basil , plus more to taste
- 2-4 Tablespoons olive oil , plus more if needed
- ¾ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 small head garlic
Serve with cooked pasta
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet. Top with basil and drizzle with olive oil. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Cut the top off the head of garlic, exposing the tops of the cloves, and wrap loosely in foil. Place on the baking sheet.
- Roast 45 minutes, or until the skins start to shrivel. Let cool slightly.
- Pour tomatoes and basil into a blender. Remove garlic from foil and squeeze cloves into the blender. Pulse until you reach your desired consistency. Taste and add more basil, salt, or pepper. Reheat, if needed, and serve over cooked pasta.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: Condiments, Dairy-Free, Freezer-Friendly, Gluten-Free, Italian, Nut-Free, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole 30
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Delicious and smelled so good roasting in oven!
Delicious and so simple! I love using this to show off my tomatoes all during the summer!
This homemade tomato sauce is the best. My entire family loves it!
I tried your recipe last night and loved it! Can’t wait to make it again!
This perfectly simple sauce is delicious!
This is by far the best way to use up garden tomatoes! Hoping mine grow sooner than later so I can make again! So yummy!
I tried this and loved it! I used it as a pasta sauce and as a dip for my garlic bread. YUM Thanks for posting!
Hurray for finding this recipe! I’m making this tomorrow so I’ll let you know about it then!
I admit I was not sure about this recipe for tomato sauce since I make mine with canned tomatoes, garlic,peppers and anchovies and we love love it; but I made it with my homegrown organic tomatoes and followed your recipe baking in oven and using blender…Served tonight overy pasta and veal and my husband licked the bowl and used baguette bread to wipe up every last drop! Tomorrow I am making a bigger batch with the pile of tomatoes I picked today! Thank you so much for
teaching me the easiest way every to use up my garden tomatoes!
My basil, roasted at 400, turned brown. Is there something I missed? Even if my temp was lowered, it would do same. Thanks.
Yum! That sauce looks so delicious. I would also use it as a pizza base, or stir come tinned tuna through it or some zucchini and mushrooms. Talk about a versatile recipe! Thanks for sharing :)
Totally loving the idea of serving this over zucchini noodles and YES for the pasta haha. I could literally eat pasta every day so I feel like I need to make a huge amount of this roasted garlic tomato sauce! I mean who wouldn’t love roasted garlic?!?
Ohhh this looks amazing!! I wish I had garden tomatoes. One day!
this looks SO good and fresh!
I can only only imagine the depth of flavor added to this sauce by roasting the tomatoes. My mouth is watering!
This looks so delicious! And now that we finally got a real blender this weekend, we can make it too!
Paige