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Roma tomatoes roasted with garlic and herbs, and then blended into a delicious Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce. It’s perfect as a pizza sauce, on spaghetti, or as a dipping sauce for seafood.
Homemade Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce
When it comes to anything, homemade is always better, and it rings true with this homemade roasted tomato marinara sauce as well. Oven roasted tomato sauce is one of my favorites because roasting juicy ripe tomatoes seems to concentrate their sweetness and really intensify their flavors into the sauce.
Not only is this marinara sauce packed with delicious flavors, but it’s actually quite simple to make. Other than roasting the tomatoes, there’s not much that needs to be done to transform a good tomato into a delicious sauce. A few cloves of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, a few sprigs of basil and a food processor is all you’ll need to make a delicious homemade sauce.
How To Make Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce
Tomatoes grow quickly and easily in any garden, and if you’re like me, you don’t know what to do with all of them. One way to use up those roma tomatoes is to make this homemade roasted tomato marinara sauce. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Roma tomatoes– You’ll need fresh, ripe roma tomatoes. I prefer to use ones from my garden, but you can grab 2 pounds from your local grocery store.
- Onion– You can’t have tomato sauce without onion. Peel and cut your onion into quarters.
- Garlic– You’ll want a whole garlic head to add the most flavor to this sauce. This recipe won’t work with garlic salt, powder, or minced garlic.
- Olive oil– Oil helps cook the tomatoes while preventing them from burning. You can use vegetable oil or canola oil if you prefer.
- Balsamic vinegar– Balsamic vinegar enhances the sweetness and acidity in the tomatoes.
- Basil-Basil is my favorite herb to use in homemade marinara sauce. You could also add 1 teaspoon fresh thyme if you’d like.
- Seasoning– Add salt and pepper to taste.
The hardest part of this recipe is gathering all your ingredients! I’m serious…after roasting your tomatoes, it’s just a matter of plopping everything into your food processor. Follow the steps below for a quick and easy marinara sauce everyone will love.
- First, preheat your oven to 425?, Then, line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Place your roma tomatoes and onion on the pan. Drizzle with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil along with the balsamic vinegar.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Toss to combine everything.
- Slice the top off the head of garlic, leaving it intact. Then, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the garlic and wrap it tightly in foil. Place the garlic cut side up on the baking sheet.
- Roast your tomatoes and head of garlic for 35-minutes.
- Remove the garlic from the foil and squeeze out the cloves into your food processor.
- Next, add the roasted tomatoes, onion, remaining tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil to the food processor.
- Puree everything to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve or store. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Marinara Sauce and FAQs:
- Make sure you line your pan with foil. The foil prevents the tomatoes from sticking to the pan for easy removal.
- Before removing the tomatoes from the oven, make sure they are caramelized and the onions are golden brown.
- Be careful when squeezing your garlic cloves out. They will be very hot. If you need to, let them cool for about 5-minutes before squeezing them out.
FAQs
You won’t actually have to cook the sauce. Instead, you’ll roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic at 425?. Once they are done, all you need to do is puree everything together.
In addition to 5-minutes of prep time, this recipe will also take 45-minutes of cooking time. So, you should have a delicious sauce in just 50-minutes.
You can use your marinara sauce immediately, or you can store it in a mason jar with a lid. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 5-days. You can also store your homemade marinara sauce in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3-months.
Since this recipe is made rather quickly, it is considered a marinara sauce. Marinara sauce is a quick sauce that’s seasoned with garlic, basil, and onion. Tomato sauce on-the-other-hand is more complex.
This marinara sauce doesn’t come out watery, but you can make it thicker if you choose, especially if you are using it for pasta. To thicken the marinara sauce, you can add a small amount of cornstarch and a little bit of tomato paste. Stir and simmer it for 10-minutes to thicken it.
What To Serve With Tomato Marinara Sauce
This fire roasted tomato marinara sauce can be used in a variety of recipes such as in my Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs, Meatball Subs, or Lasagna Casserole. Additionally, you could use this marinara sauce as a dipping sauce for garlic bread, mozzarella sticks, or shrimp.
For delicious pasta recipes, click here.
Roasted Tomato and Marinara Sauce Recipe
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Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds roma tomatoes
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar divided
- 1 whole head garlic
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves lightly packed
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 and line a large baking sheet with foil (it will help keep the tomatoes from sticking to the pan).
- Add the tomatoes and onion to the pan and drizzle over 1.5 tablespoons olive oil along with the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
- Slice the top off the head of garlic, making sure to leave it intact.
- Drizzle the remaining half tablespoon of olive oil over the garlic and wrap it tightly in foil.
- Place the garlic cut side up on the baking sheet.
- Roast for 35 minutes, or until the tomatoes are caramelized and the onions are golden brown.
- Remove the garlic from the foil and squeeze out the cloves– be careful, it will be hot!
- Add the garlic cloves to a food processor, along with the roasted tomatoes, roasted onion, remaining two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil.
- Puree to your desired consistency and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Store the marinara sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
Notes
- I’m using roma tomatoes but you could also use heirloom– just avoid varieties with a bunch of seeds as they tend to be more watery.
- Onion and garlic add delicious flavor to the marinara sauce!
- Olive oil helps the tomatoes caramelize without burning.
- Balsamic vinegar enhances the sweetness and acidity in the tomatoes.
- Basil is my favorite herb to use in marinara sauce– it really makes a difference! You could also add 1 teaspoon fresh thyme if you’d like.
