This easy homemade marinara sauce starts with Roma tomatoes, roasted with garlic, herbs and spices, then blended into a lovely sauce, perfect for freezing. No tomato peeling or canning required!
When I walked in the door recently with a 25 lb. box of roma tomatoes, my family thought I might just have lost my mind. As I slid the 5th and final batch of this Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce in to the oven, I thought, just for a moment, that they might just be right ;)
Seriously though, how could I resist?. My box of roma tomatoes was only $7.99. For 25 lbs! I’d be crazy NOT to buy them! So I knew a lot of marinara sauce was in my immediate future, destined for the freezer so I could have delicious, homemade sauce all winter long.
I won’t lie. It’s a wee bit of a process when you start with 25 lbs. of tomatoes. But you don’t have to go all in if you don’t want to. The recipe below is written for starting with 5 lbs. of roma (or plum) tomatoes and yields 4 cups of finished marinara sauce.
This sauce makes the process super simple – no tomato peeling needed and it freezes beautifully so no need to jar and process. Simply package it up in 1 or 2-cup portions in freezer bags (laid flat for efficient storage), pop in to the freezer and you are all set.
Despite my whining above, this marinara is actually quite quick and easy to make and uses basic pantry items. There’s not an awful lot of hands-on time. Simply slice the tomatoes in half and toss in the pan. Toss in the garlic. Add some seasoning and olive oil and pop in to a hot oven for an hour, stirring once half way through cooking. Below is a quick “before and after cooking” photo.
Not sure how to use all your marinara sauce? I’ve list 10 Great Uses for Your Homemade Marinara Sauce below the recipe!
Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients you will need …
- Roma or plum tomatoes – these are best as they have very little pulp and seeds.
- Garlic cloves – use fresh garlic cloves and adjust to taste.
- Olive oil – any olive oil will work fine here.
- Balsamic vinegar – I love a splash of balsamic, but you can omit if you don’t have any on hand.
- Dried oregano and basil leaves – these just add a subtle bit of flavour to the sauce and is a great base for any use.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Recipe tips!
- I like to make this marinara without adding butter or onion, as it keeps the sauce as basic as possible and I can always add those things to the dish I use the marinara in.
- For an efficient way to make big batches, double the recipe and cook two pans at a time in the upper and lower third of your oven, rotating the pan position half way through cooking. Hopefully you have two large roasting pans to use (I sadly didn’t). If not, you can always do them one at a time.
- You may find large pieces of tomato skin as you blend the sauce that you can remove if you like. I just leave them in and process them down to smaller sizes.
- This sauce freezes beautifully. Simply portion into 1 or 2-cup freezer bags, seal and smooth flat, then freeze them all stacked up.
- I noticed that each batch ended with a little bit more or less liquid left in the pan. If there was a lot, I scooped the tomatoes out of the pan with a slotted spoon, to leave most of it behind in the pan.
10 great uses for homemade marinara sauce
- The obvious … for a quick dinner with any pasta. You don’t even need to thaw the marinara. Simply add frozen to a skillet and warm slowly over low heat, then add your cooked pasta. Add sauteed or roasted vegetables that need using up in your fridge for a heartier dish.
- Turn your basic marinara in to another sauce. Add cooked pancetta and chili flakes and make it Arrabbiata. Add butter and cream and make it a Pink Sauce. Add sauteed diced carrots, celery, onion and ground beef and make it a Quick Bolognese.
- Parmesan anything. As a topping for Chicken Parmesan or Eggplant Parmesan.
- As a filling for lasagna or a topping for meat or cheese filled cannelloni or pasta shells.
- Add some to any stew or ragout to give it an Italian spin.
- Use it as a pizza sauce!
- As a base for tomato or minestrone soup or other delicious soups.
- With eggs. Eggs in Purgatory or the Middle Eastern Shakshuka or to top a frittata or omelette.
- As a dip for cheese sticks or garlic bread.
- As a topping for meatballs subs.
- With fish or shrimp, like this Shrimp Marinara.
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Get the Recipe: Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 lbs fresh roma or plum tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, optional
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. (non-convection)Cut roma tomatoes in half lengthwise (no need to remove the stem bit). Place in a large roasting pan (mine is 11×16-inches and a couple of inches deep.) Scatter garlic over-top. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Toss with a large spoon to coat.
- Place in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes, stirring well half way through cooking. The mixture shouldn’t dry out completely and some of the tomato skins will char slightly. Stirring well half way through ensures that nothing gets too dark. Allow to cool.
- Remove tomatoes from pan (if there is a lot of liquid in the pan, use a slotted spoon to remove, leaving most of the liquid behind). Blend in a food processor or use immersion blender to create a sauce with your desired chunkiness level. If I’m making a large batch, I tend to do a few smooth and leave a few chunkier.
Notes
- I like to make this marinara without adding butter or onion, as it keeps the sauce as basic as possible and I can always add those things to the dish I use the marinara in.
- For an efficient way to make big batches, double the recipe and cook two pans at a time in the upper and lower third of your oven, rotating the pan position half way through cooking. Hopefully you have two large roasting pans to use (I sadly didn’t). If not, you can always do them one at a time.
- You may find large pieces of tomato skin as you blend the sauce that you can remove if you like. I just leave them in and process them down to smaller sizes.
- This sauce freezes beautifully. Simply portion into 1 or 2-cup freezer bags, seal and smooth flat, then freeze them all stacked up.
- I noticed that each batch ended with a little bit more or less liquid left in the pan. If there was a lot, I scooped the tomatoes out of the pan with a slotted spoon, to leave most of it behind in the pan.
More tomato recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Had a bumper crop of tomatoes this season, made this recipe and it worked out great! Roasting the tomatoes really intensified their flavor and I was able to freeze 7 quarts. Easy and delicious.
Glad to hear, Mary! Thanks :)
Wonderful, flavorful, easy to make sauce! I’ve canned a lot from my homegrown Romas! Thank you for the recipe!
So glad to hear, Myrrh. Thanks so much!
This marinara recipe is excellent. Easy to make and incredibly delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it, Krista! Thanks so much :)
Two for two, Jennifer! I’m working my way through your recipe list and you don’t disappoint.
This was my first foray into making any kind of tomato sauce. My only change would be to add a bit more salt. If I had known it was this easy and this good, I’d have started a long time ago.
Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed this sauce, Bill! Thanks so much :)
This is the best recipe I’ve tried for roasted marinara! I am really happy I found it because I am getting a bumper crop of bland Big Beef tomatoes. I wanted to give them a try but ick!
Not when they’re roasted though.I simmered a large pot of mixed kale until it was soft and added it to a quart of the sauce from the back of my fridge and served it over oven roasted polenta for a party of 13 eating family style in my backyard. We all loooved it! marinated green beans went really well with it too. Very easy way to eat out of the garden. High summer feasting.
Sounds lovely, Cindy! So glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks!
Made this today and added cream……it was a big hit in the house. Thank you
So glad you all enjoyed it, Emma :) Thanks so much!
Wow, what an incredible sauce that made. I will never make marinara any other way from now on. I could just eat spoonfuls of that by itself. Thanks so much for sharing and I really think adding the balsamic vinegar makes a huge difference in flavor.
I’m so glad to hear, Teresa! I love have packets of this in the freezer. A little taste of Summer all Winter long :) Thanks so much.
Amazing recipe! Thank you for posting it. I used the tomatoes you suggested plus beef steak that I grew. I did have to roast it longer because of the beefsteak tomatoes. When the juice at the bottom of the pan became about 1/4 of an inch thick I turned the oven down to 350 for about 20 minutes with the tomatoes still in it. I let it rest a bit then put the roasted goodness in my food mill with it’s fine grill. What I ended up with was seedless and skinless delicious marinara. I will NEVER make marinara any other way! The seeds and skin ended up in the compost. As an extra bonus my house smelled so good as it was roasting and there was no standing over a stove to stir.😊👍
What do you do with the liquid left in the pan after youve roasted the tomatoes?
Hi Barb, I don’t generally have a ton of liquid when using roma tomatoes (regular tomatoes would produce more liquid). That said, when you blend the tomatoes with an immersion blender or similar, the liquid incorporates with the tomatoes. If it seems like there is too much liquid, simply spoon off and discard a bit before blending.
I made this today and it is so yummy! I cooked italian sausage with onions and yellow peppers. My only thing is what type of pasta? I have spaghetti., noodles or penne pasta, decisions, decisions
So glad to hear, Judith :) Thanks so much!
Could this be made from frozen tomatoes? We grow our own and freeze them to process later 😊.
Also, can it be run through a food mill to remove seeds or would that change it significantly?
Hi Meg, I think you could probably roast the frozen tomatoes (from frozen or thawed) in the same way that the fresh tomatoes are roasted. As for running them through a mill, again, you could probably do that and then roast in a big pan, stirring often. You wouldn’t have to do the blending part at the end, obviously. If you try it, let me know how it works out.
This is a fantastic recipe! I use San Marzano tomatoes & with these few ingredients the sauce tastes amazing— no need to add anything else. I’ll be getting as many freezer bags in the freezer as I can. So easy & so tasty!
So glad to hear, Jill :) You will love having it in your freezer all Winter long! Thanks so much.
Hi Jennifer,
Can I use fresh basil and oregano? Maybe add them when blending vs. when roasting?
Thank you,
Donna
Hi Donna and yes, you can certainly use fresh herbs, though I would add when blending, as you suggest. Fresh herbs can burn in the oven and introduce a bitter flavour. Basil will also turn black when it gets warm, so if you want to keep the bright green colour in your sauce, add the basil once the sauce cools. Enjoy!
This is an amazing recipe. So easy and out of this world delicious. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you are enjoying it, Leslie :) Thanks so much!
I just made this sauce. It is very good. I used the 5lb tomatoes recipe plus I added 1 medium onion. I am canning my sauce. The 5lbs made 3 pints. I will be making more as soon as I have more tomatoes.
So glad to hear, Teri! You’ll be all set for the winter. Thanks :)
I haven’t tried this recipe yet. My freezer is small. Can I can this recipe? I have plenty of jars.
Hi Sandra, I can’t give canning advice, as I haven’t tried it myself and I am not a certified master canner. I suggest seeking out tomato sauce canning advice online from a reliable source.
Hi Jennifer.
I love this recipe. So easy and I was able to remove the skins as they were slipping off as I was removing them from the pan. So easy to make and very tasty. Thank you.
So glad to hear, Diana :) Thanks so much!