While farmers markets are overflowing with fresh ripe summer tomatoes, take advantage of the season and make roasted tomato marinara sauce. Skip the stockpot and pull out your roasting pan for richly concentrated, flavorful roasted tomato sauce. Enjoy it tonight or freeze it for the months to come.
In late summer when prices are low, I'll bring home twenty pounds (double batch) of fresh tomatoes and make roasted tomato (or my easy homemade marinara sauce).. Roasting tomatoes concentrates the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, garlic and onions. Extra sauce freezes well for easy dinners in colder months to come. There is nothing like the flavor of your own homemade tomato sauce. It's a lot of tomatoes but it's an easy recipe.
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Ingredients
For a full batch with a yield of 7-8 cups of sauce, here is what you need:
- 10 pounds fresh tomatoes
- 16 cloves of fresh garlic (2 heads)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Dry red wine (optional)
- 1 bunch fresh oregano or fresh basil (or 2 tablespoons dried)
- 2 medium onions
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
Ingredient Notes
Some people add a little sugar to offset the acidity of the tomatoes but I don't think this recipe needs it. If you prefer to add sugar, try a teaspoon (or use monk fruit).
Another nice add is a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar. To use dried herbs instead of fresh herbs, use a dried Italian seasoning blend.
Types of Tomatoes
So what's a good tomato for this sauce? I look for Roma tomatoes and the heirloom varieties, especially Brandywine and Purple Cherokee (a purple beefsteak). Red beefsteak tomatoes are good too. Buy what looks best and a mix is great for homemade pasta sauce. For more info on varieties of tomatoes read this.
Wine or Not
Why add wine? Because the wine gives it more depth of flavor, it enhances and intensifies the flavor. When I cook with wine I use the mini airline size bottles so I don't have to open a big bottle or when a bigger bottle is nicer (and more expensive) than I want to cook with. If you don't want wine in a recipe, just omit it.
Roasting Pans
Use one large roasting pan (like you use for a turkey) for a half batch or two large roasting pans for a full batch. For a full batch with one roasting pan, split this recipe into two batches. If you have double ovens or one really large oven, you might be able to do two pans at once with two roasting pans. If you only have one pan, try borrowing a second from a friend.
Don't use disposable, uncoated aluminum pans. The acidity in tomatoes reacts with the aluminum with the possibility of leaving an unpleasant metallic taste.
While the long terms effects of aluminum leaching into foods it not fully known (there are conflicting reports), acidic foods like tomatoes are better off in stainless steel or anodized aluminum.
Anodized aluminum roasting pans work because the manufacturing process hardens the metal making it non-reactive.
Instructions
- Pre-heat a hot oven to 425°F
- Wash the tomatoes and core them, depending on variety. Beefsteak and heirloom tomatoes have bigger cores. If you are using Romas, no cores.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel and lay the tomatoes out while you work on them.
- Next, chop the tomatoes into larger chunks. Roughly chop onions and peel garlic cloves.
- As you chop them, place tomatoes, onions and garlic into the roasting pans
- Add olive oil, herbs, wine, salt and pepper and toss with your hands to mix.
- Roasting time is approximately 1 hour, depending on how juicy tomatoes are. Roast until the tomatoes and onions are a shriveled with some browned edges, and still some juice in the pan bottom.
Tip - Don't cut the tomatoes too small as smaller pieces roast faster. You want them to develop flavor.
Chunky Sauce or Smooth
After roasting, pour everything carefully into a food processor or blender and puree. For a chunky sauce, do a few pulses. For a smooth sauce, process for a little longer. Your preference.
Another tool option, use a stick blender (immersion blender). They are a handy tool that takes up a lot less kitchen space than a food processor or high powered blender for smaller kitchens. Be sure to puree in a tall pot in the kitchen sink to reduce splatter (and wear an apron!).
How to Store and Freeze
The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days in an airtight container, or freeze for several months. I prefer glass jars over freezer bags as bags can leak or puncture and they are plastic. A mason jar or ball jar work fine. When you fill the jars, don't fill them all of the way to the top. Leave just a little head space for expansion. To thaw frozen sauce, place it in the refrigerator overnight, pour into a pan over medium heat with a lid on until it's hot. On of my favorite things to label jars with is these removable labels. They work great.
To Serve
Serve over your favorite pasta noodle. It's a good basic spaghetti sauce, or for penne or rotini (corkscrew). For a low carb dinner, serve over zucchini noodles. It also makes a terrific pizza sauce.
Related Recipes
This sauce is terrific with my ricotta and kale stuffed shells recipe. If you love mushrooms, try this homemade marinara sauce with mushrooms. For more roasted tomatoes, try these oven roasted cherry tomatoes with fresh thyme.
Tomato Canning Notes
I used to can this sauce with a pressure canner so it was pantry stable. Now I just freeze the finished sauce.
Low-acid foods, such as tomato sauce, should optimally be processed using a pressure canner, not a water bath. Only a pressure canner can reach the 240 degrees necessary to safely process low-acid foods (a ph value greater than 4.6).
For instructions on preparing canned tomatoes, check out these resources:
- From the Ball site
- From Simply Canning
📖 Recipe
Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce
Equipment
- Stainless steel roasting pans
- Food processor or blender
- Double ovens or split the batch into two
Ingredients
- 10 pounds fresh tomatoes
- 16 large whole garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup dry red wine optional
- 6 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 2 tablespoons dried
- 2 medium onions roughly chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar optional
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
Pre-heat Ovens
- Pre-heat the oven (s) to 425 degrees (218C). Get out two large stainless steel roasting pans (like for roasting a turkey).
Prep Tomatoes
- Wash the tomatoes. Depending on the type of tomato, you may need to cut out the core first, as with large Beefsteak or Heirloom varieties. Then, cut tomatoes into large chunks. Don’t cut the pieces too small. Big chunks are good. Smaller pieces might roast too fast.
Roast Tomatoes
- Place tomatoes in the roasting pan. Add garlic cloves, oil, wine or broth, oregano, onion, salt and pepper. Toss with your hands. Place pans in the oven (s) and roast until tomatoes have reduced and are starting to get a few black edges. The pan should still have some juices, not be dry. Depending on your oven it should take 45-60 minutes. Stir half way through. If the tomatoes are really juicy, it may take longer.
Cool and Puree
- Remove pans from oven, set on the stove top and allow to cool until you can handle it. Carefully transfer the roast tomatoes into a food processor and pulse 5-6 times. You can also use a blender and proess in batches. Serve or cool completely and freeze in portions.
Tricia says
Can you freeze in ball jars with the plastic covers, without sealing them? I would think it would be the same as freezing them in a plastic container? Thanks
Sally Cameron says
Hi Tricia. Yes, I freeze mine all of the time in ball jars with the plastic twist on lids. Be sure to leave enough head space for the portion to expand during freezing. If you don't, the jar might crack and break from the pressure of expansion.
Robin says
Looks really yummy! Question did you peel your tomatoes before roasting? Or did you food process all together?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Robin. Leave those beautiful nutrient rich peels on. They get soft during roasting then you puree and it's nice and thick. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the question.
Sara Simpson says
Thanks, Sally, for your quick response. We prefer frozen too, but we're out of freezer space, so we have to can. We're not super experienced with canning, and some of the info we've read suggests to use citric acid when canning tomatoes. We can't wait to try this recipe - sounds YUM!
Sara Simpson says
Do we need to add citric acid to help with the preservation? If so, will it affect the taste?
Is a granite-coated turkey roasting pan okay to use?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Sara. I've never used citric acid. I don't think it is needed, but you could. Mostly I just freeze my sauce anymore versus canning. I find that fresh and frozen has, for me, a fresher flavor, than after it's been processed through the heat of pressure canning. I've never used a granite-coated pan. As long as it is not aluminum, but stainless steel or ceramic, you should be good. Aluminum and the acidity of tomatoes is not good.
Georgine says
Love this recipe. Made it this weekend did two different batches both were great. But on the 2nd batch my husband wanted a little heat so I added a little Tabasco sauce and Worcester sauce it was great. I used Choke Cherry wine from Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City South Dakota and it gave it wonderful flavor. I canned mine in a hot water bath for 30 minutes. Worked out great. Thank you for sharing this great recipe it will be a family favorite.
Sally Cameron says
Sounds terrific Georgine! All good twists. Thanks for commenting.
Barb says
Sally, My husband and I made your sauce today and like Donna, it ended up being orange in color. We used fresh tomatoes from our garden and made sure they weighed 10 pounds. All the other ingredients were followed exactly as well, so we aren't quite sure what went wrong. We did not use Roma tomatoes which may have helped with the color. We did blended it to a puree instead of chunky and had to boil it on the stove a couple more hours to get the right consistency. Anyway, the taste is great and it will certainly be enjoyed this winter over our favorite pasta.
Sally Cameron says
Hi Barb. Don't worry about the color. Nothing probably went wrong. Different tomatoes yield different results. The taste is what matters! And sometimes tomatoes can be juicer than what I might have had, so again, not to worry. This recipe is meant to be done in the oven, then pureed. If you did, but it was still juicy, simmering would help to thicken. Just simmer until it is as thick as is your preference. Donna asked about adding tomato paste. That might help the thickness, viscosity, but not sure how much it will deepen the color, depending on your batch. Does that make sense? You should not have had to boil it for a few hours. A low simmer, for awhile? Maybe, but not boiling for hours. And I have never had to take that extra step. A long simmer, if you have time, makes the flavor richer and deeper as it concentrates the flavor. Thanks much for writing and let me know if you have more questions.
Donna says
I made this today and it is very good. I do not like the orange color - redder would be more appealing. Would adding tomato paste work? I may not have had enough tomatoes! I modified a bit.
Sally Cameron says
Hi Donna. It might be the color of your tomatoes? Sometimes winter tomatoes are not as rich and deep a red as in summer. Just my first thought. Tomato paste would make it thicker and it's already pretty thick. Not sure it would make a big color difference.
Steph says
The addition of basil was delicious!! The original recipe was so good that I almost didn't try it, but I added it to the last portion prior to puree and it rocks! We will keep both methods for future use! (My second bath is in the oven as we speak.)
Molly says
Just made this and it came out VERY Tomatoey. I cut it with some sugar but also heard baking soda would help. Any suggestions? Also, is it possible to do this in a water bath canner?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Molly. I am not sure what you mean by very tomatoey, as it is based on tomatoes. Adding a little sugar cuts acidity. I have not heard of using baking soda, and personally would not do that. If it is too thin, you probably needed to let it roast longer, until more moisture is gone and it is very thick and reduced. Different ovens and pans may take different times. Sometimes it needs to go longer. If its not too late, put it back in the oven and reduce longer. Form what I have learned and done in my own kitchen, tomatoes take a pressure canner, to be safe. Why don't you just freeze it? Easier. One more note, you can read on the Ball canning site about water canning tomatoes if you want tor try that Here is the link. Do some research. http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/crushed-tomatoes. And here is another link. I've added both of these to the post.http://www.simplycanning.com/canningtomatoes.html
Steph says
Hi! I'm wondering what your thoughts are about adding fresh basil and red or green pepper? Can't wait to try this recipe!
Sally Cameron says
Hi Steph. Thanks for your question. I have never made it with peppers, but I am sure the fresh basil would be good. I kind of like the flavor of the tomatoes to shine, but it's certainly worth trying! Please report back if you do. As fresh basil is so soft, and fresh herbs are usually added towards the end of recipes, I also wonder if adding the fresh basil at the very end would be good. After you pull the pan from the oven, then add finely sliced basil leaves and mix in. Let the heat of the hot tomatoes wilt them just enough, then puree.
Sheryl says
Making this sauce now and the house smells divine! Can't wait to try it. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Sally Cameron says
Reminds me I better get some made too while tomatoes are so beautiful and plentiful. Thanks Sheryl. Let us know after you get to try it!
Bailey Burton says
I made the sauce today , and it was lovely. When I make it again, I will blanch the tomatoes to remove the skin. I am not a fan of skin in my tomato sauces, and this short added step will fit my needs and taste better.
Elizabeth says
Wonderful sauce, do you think it could be frozen instead of canned?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Elizabeth. Yes, it freezes perfectly. That is what I usually do now versus canning. Hope you enjoy!
Bonnie says
At what pounds of pressure do you keep the pressure cooker at for the 20 min?
Sally says
Process the sauce in pint/half liter jars for 20 minutes at hight pressure or according to the manufacturers instructions. If you do this Bonnie, please report back! Thanks, Sally.
Syrenna says
This sounds very good and an interesting way to make it. I'm excited to try it, but you didn't say how long or at what pressure this should be processed at for canning. Thank you
Sally says
Hi Syrenna. I use a 10 quart Fagor pressure cooker and high pressure. It is the stove top style, not an electric. Process the sauce in pint/half liter jars for 20 minutes or according to the manufacturers instructions.Give yourself enough headroom before screwing on the lids. I have not canned this for awhile. I just freeze it now. Getting lazy! Thanks for the question Syrenna.