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This homemade roasted tomato sauce tastes better than anything you can buy at the store and is a great way to control the flavor and quality of the ingredients you're eating.
I'm all about sauce - from roasted red pepper pesto to basil pistachio sauce. But the king of sauce is tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce is just so versatile. You can use it in pizza, pasta, appetizers and much more. So with that in mind, why do we just buy flavorless tomato sauce when you can make your own roasted tomato sauce that is surprisingly easy and packed with flavor.
And even better, you don't HAVE to have fresh tomatoes from the summer to make this homemade tomato sauce taste amazing. While fresh is always better, mediocre tomatoes work just as well as roasting them deepens the flavor.
So whether it is the middle of winter like today or a hot summer's day, you can never go wrong with this delicious tomato sauce.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Olive oil - helps cook the tomatoes and adds flavor.
- Tomatoes - use whatever tomatoes you want, whether they're cherry, grape or Roma.
- Garlic - garlic makes everything better.
- Carrot - adds sweetness and give a more rich, complex flavor.
- Basil - adds some freshness to the homemade tomato sauce.
- Parmesan rind - gives a slightly nutty flavor.
- Salt and black pepper - enhances the flavor.
How to Make Tomato Sauce
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread tomatoes, garlic, carrots, and Parmesan rind evenly on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper - making sure to keep the tomatoes skin side down. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Add basil and roast for another 5-10 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to caramelize.
- Add everything to the food processor and blend until you reach your desired consistency. Refrigerate in airtight containers for a week or place in freezer for 3 months.
Benefits of Tomatoes
Luckily if you are a big fan of tomatoes, and eat them raw, cooked or in a sauce, there are plenty of benefits:
- Rich in vitamins - just one tomato supplies 40% of vitamin C needed for the day.
- Help digestion - the high fiber and fluid from a tomato can improve digestion.
- Improve vision - tomatoes are high in lycopene, which is good for your eyes.
- Manages diabetes - helps decrease lipid peroxidation, which is associated with diabetes.
Best Tomatoes for Sauce
While some tomatoes might be better than others, at the end of the day, if you are using fresh tomatoes, your sauce will taste better than anything at the store. The types of tomatoes you can use include:
- Beefsteak - firm, meaty and rich vibrant color.
- Cherry - small, tender and slightly sweet.
- Cocktail - sweet, juicy and traditional tomato flavor.
- Heirloom - meaty, firm and a variety of colors.
- Grape - crisp, crunchy and oval shaped.
- Roma - meaty, dense and full flavor.
Why Roast the Tomatoes?
Honestly to me, roasting is the only way to go when it comes to tomatoes. The roasting just intensifies the flavor and brings out a richness you don't get from cooking on the stove top.
How to Store Tomato Sauce
When I make homemade tomato sauce I usually make big batches so I place in freezer bags and then stack in the freezer for later use. It will last up to 6 months. You can also pour the sauce in ice cube trays for smaller portion sizes.
If using immediately, just store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Uses for Tomato Sauce
There are so many uses for tomato sauce - from pasta to soup. Some of the recipes you can use the roasted tomato sauce for include:
Pro Tips/Recipes Notes
- Use quality olive oil as part of the taste comes from it.
- When placing the tomatoes on the baking sheet, make sure they are skin side down with the cut part facing up. This allows the skin to caramelize which contributes to the flavor.
- Don't skip the Parmesan rind. I always save the rinds and put in the freezer to be able to use for recipes just like this. It adds a little nutty flavor that can't be topped.
Other Sauce Recipes
- Brown Butter Marinara Sauce
- Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
- Easy Marinara Sauce
- Kale Pistachio Pesto
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
If you’ve tried this roasted tomato sauce or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 lbs fresh tomatoes, sliced in half (cherry or grape)
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 1 Parmesan rind
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6-8 basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread tomatoes, garlic, carrots, and Parmesan rind evenly on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper - making sure to keep the tomatoes skin side down. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Add basil and roast for another 5-10 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to caramelize.
- Add everything to the food processor and blend until you reach your desired consistency.
- Refrigerate in airtight containers for a week or place in freezer for 3 months.
Notes
- Use quality olive oil as part of the taste comes from it.
- When placing the tomatoes on the baking sheet, make sure they are skin side down with the cut part facing up. This allows the skin to caramelize which contributes to the flavor.
- Don't skip the Parmesan rind. I always save the rinds and put in the freezer to be able to use for recipes just like this. It adds a little nutty flavor that can't be topped.
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