When tomatoes are coming in hot and heavy from the garden and I can't keep up with eating them fresh, I turn them into roasted tomato sauce.
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Canning (or preserving) tomato sauce can sound daunting. Sterilizing jars, special equipment and bad bacteria can scare even the most seasoned cook. Guess what? This Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe is not meant to be canned. It can be eaten straight away, stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen(!) for up to a year. It is versatile, adaptable and very easy to prepare.
Side Note: I don't like to share canning recipes personally as they can be technical and pose a health risk if not followed properly. Additionally, different countries have varying standards so I would recommend you research your own regional food safety standard when it comes to preservation and canning.
Change up the recipe
One way to adapt this recipe is by using different herbs and spices. No Thyme? No problem! Try roasting the tomatoes with rosemary or sage. Want to add basil flavor to the sauce? Blitz in a handful of basil at the end. I always have thyme on hand as it is one the main herbs I grow every year.
Storage
I like to freeze this sauce in reusable plastic deli containers and in wide mouth mason jars. A note about freezing mason jars. Wide mouth jars are a must as they prevent breakage. You also need to include head space to allow for expansion. I usually leave 1 inch of head space when freezing mason jars.
You can also freeze this sauce in freezer bags. The great thing about using freezer bags is that they will freeze flat allowing to you really save space. They also defrost very quickly.
How to use it?
Although pasta sauce is probably the first thing that comes to mind, there's a plethora of ways you can use this roasted tomato sauce:
- Pizza (flavorful base for your cheese and toppings)
- Chili (why use canned tomatoes when you can use a roast-y tasty sauce instead)
- Curries (many curry recipes call for crushed or pureed tomatoes... use this instead!)
- Ratatouille
- Eggplant Parmesan
- And much more!
How Long Will it Keep?
This sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to a year.
Other Delicious Tomato recipes
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Roasted Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- Baking sheets
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs Fresh homegrown (or local) tomatoes - can be any variety, shape or color but paste/plum tomatoes perform best
- 5 Garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fresh Thyme Sprigs - As many or as little as you like/have on hand
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F/175c.
- Line baking sheets or roasting pans with parchment paper.
- Arrange tomatoes in an even layer. Cherry tomatoes do not need to be sliced. Larger tomatoes can be cut up into rounds or chunks.
- Add peeled garlic cloves to roasting pans. No need to chop them up.
- Place sprigs of thyme over the tomatoes evenly. No need to strip the thyme leaves.
- Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Discard thyme sprigs. They did their job.
- Transfer tomatoes, garlic and all the juices to a blender and blend on Med-high until smooth.
- Optional - Sieve the mixture to remove seeds and skins
- Optional – If your sauce is too thin, transfer to a pot and cook down to desired consistency.
- Adjust seasoning and transfer to storage containers.
Nancy
Perfectly simple. Made a big batch and had some with linguine and froze the rest of it. Yumm.
Kimbal
Wowy. Very easy to make. Delicious.
Luay
thank you!
Barbara
Sterilizing glass containers is actually not that hard. I´d like to share my method which I´ve been using for years to store my jam and not a single jar ever caught mould:
1) make sure your containers are perfect (no scratches, dents etc.)
2) boil the glass and the lids in water (drinking quality) for 10 mins in a big pot
3) take them out of the water, place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 10 mins at 160°C
Can´t wait to try your recipe with this year´s harvest.
Christine
Could you add onions and peppers? Do you roast them with the tomatoes, and if so, is blending then a problem? How best to do that?
Luay
You can do that if you wanted to. Roast at the same time with the tomatoes and proceed as directed.
Denise Stevenson
Just made. Easy to do. Modify to what I had in the cupboard. Use garlic powder and mixed herbs. Did not sieve as don't mind seeds etc. Made enough for 5 meals for husband and me. Will just add extra with the meal. Will definitely make again.
Luay
Thanks for your feedback!
Ruth Boonzaaier
Can I use frozen cherry tomatoes as I have a lot which I froze to preserve?
Luay
You can. I recommend pureeing the finished sauce and passing it through a sieve. The cherry tomato skins can be a little tough.