Homemade Tomato Sauce

Make your own homemade tomato sauce using fresh, juicy tomatoes from the garden! Roast your tomatoes and puree them with garlic cloves, olive oil, and fresh basil.

Make Your Own Tomato Sauce!

Are you ready to learn how to make tomato sauce? This homemade tomato sauce is bursting with flavor from freshly roasted tomatoes and combines garlic cloves, olive oil, and fresh basil for the most delicious tomato sauce.

I absolutely love serving this tomato sauce from scratch on top of pasta and in other Italian-inspired dishes such as chicken parmesan because it’s freshly made and so easy to make!

This tomato sauce is similar to our homemade marinara sauce, but instead of using canned tomatoes, we’re using fresh!

What is tomato sauce?

Tomato sauce is a tomato-based sauce consisting of cooked down tomatoes, salt, and other flavors. It’s commonly used in different pasta dishes and is the base of many Mexican dishes.

What You Need

All you need are a few fresh ingredients (7 to be exact!) and you’re on your way to heaven in a jar!

• tomatoes: we recommend using medium to large tomatoes because they will ultimately be easiest to peel. However, you can use use any kind of tomato.
• olive oil: olive oil is such a wonderful flavor. It’s used to help break the tomatoes down in the oven.
• garlic cloves: roasted garlic is one of our favorite things. The flavor is wonderful and you don’t want to skip this!
• salt and pepper: you’ll note in this recipe that we’re leaving the salt and pepperup to you. This is becuase we know everyoe has a different palate. Salt in steps and don’t forget to taste test!
• fresh basil: the fresh basil really makes this recipe. We left ours in larger chunks so you can really get a burst of flavor, but you’re more than welcome to puree it further.
• apple cider vinegar: apple cider vinegar is our secret ingredient. It’s going to help bring out all of these delicious flavors and make them pop!

How to Make Tomato Sauce

Step 1: Oil & Roast Tomatoes

First, begin by prepping your tomatoes. Slice them in half and then transfer them to a baking sheet.

Drizzle your fresh tomatoes with a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt. Then, roast them on a baking sheet at 400ºF for around 30 minutes before you add the garlic cloves. Bake for another 20-30 minutes or until tomatoes reduce in size and begin to brown.

Step 2: Peel Tomatoes

Let tomatoes cool ever so slightly so you can peel the skins right off without burning your hands. The skin should come right off of the meat. Discard the skin.

Do you have to peel tomatoes before making sauce?

You don’t necessarily HAVE to peel your tomatoes, but we don’t recommend skipping this step. By peeling your tomatoes, you’re making sure to have a smooth consistency. After roasting the skins can shrivel and become hard.

Step 3: Blend

Place everything from the baking sheet into a high-speed food processor or blender (like a Vitamix) and blend until smooth. Then, add in the fresh basil and pulse until it’s broken up into smaller chunks.

Optional sweetener: This recipe calls for no added sugar, but adding a little bit of maple syrup (a few teaspoons) will really bring out all of the amazing flavors of the tomatoes. The option is yours!

Step 4: Serve or Jar

We suggest serving this marinara sauce immediately, but you can also transfer it into a mason jar or glass container for later!

How much sauce does this recipe make?

This tomato sauce recipe yields around 3 cups. So, plan accordingly if you’re meal prepping this for later in the week!

Recipes to Use this Tomato Sauce In

While you can keep things simple and serve this on top of spaghetti, you can also use this homemade tomato sauce recipe in countless other recipes!

• Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
• Healthy Chicken Parmesan Quinoa Bake
• Crock Pot Lasagna
• Easy Grilled Sweet Potato Pizza
• 30-Minute Sausage Pizza Pasta
• Eggplant Parmesan
• Italian Meatballs
• Sweet Potato Pizza Bites
• Naked Spinach Quinoa Lasagna Casserole

Storage

This sauce will stay good in the fridge for around 4 days. Remember, there aren’t any additives/preservatives and this recipe is 100% fresh. That’s why the shelf life isn’t super long.

Freezer Directions

1. Let sauce cool completely.
2. Then, transfer the tomato sauce into an airtight container.
3. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months.