Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Fresh tomatoes onions and garlic and a little carrot roasted to perfection and blended make the best sugar free homemade slow roasted tomato sauce you have ever had!

In this recipe learn how to make simple oven roasted tomato sauce from scratch. I use produce harvested right out of my backyard garden, but you can use whatever is readily available to you.

There is something so comforting about the smell of roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion. This slow roasted tomato sauce is so simple and delicious. Making homemade tomato sauce is a truly visceral experience. In my home there is a lot of tomato processing that happens mid August until October. Most of my tomato harvest becomes this simple sauce. Its a base for many other dishes like chili, or more complex pasta sauces like my bolognese. Or you can simply use as a standalone sauce over pasta or on pizza.

Tomato sauce is an essential in my home pantry and having the ability to make it from scratch with produce that I grow myself is empowering and very cost effective. You can also easily make this homemade sauce with simple store bought items as well. Better yet visit your local farmers market and pick up the supplies there. This recipe is easy to can as well. Be sure to use an FDA approved canning method. Although tomatoes are acidic I typically add citric acid to this recipe unless I am pressure canning (This is my favorite canning resource).

Make this simple sauce from scratch and start family traditions

This slow roasted tomato sauce is extremely versatile can be used in many other recipes. My family loves it when I combine this simple sauce with heavy cream and my garden spice blend to make homemade tomato soup. Our family has a tradition of using this sauce to make my homemade bolognese on the first tomato processing day of the season each year. the aromas permeate the entire room and your whole family knows that there is magic happening in the kitchen.

In this recipe you will be slow roasting the ingredients. To me this is the key step to making really delicious sauce. The tomatoes onion and garlic caramelize and the majority of the liquid from the tomatoes is eliminated giving you much more concentrated flavor. I know many who "sauce" their tomatoes down in a pot on the stove. This may also work, but in my experience it just doesn't give the depth of flavor that roasting does.

I chose to roast low and slow and when the process is over I use tongs to pick up each tomato and put it into the blender. As I mentioned before this allows for less liquid in the sauce which creative a lot of really good flavor. I use a metal vitamix attachment to blend my ingredients, but you can really use any blender.

What you will Need

• 5 pounds fresh tomatoes
• 2 large onions (I prefer a yellow walla walla onion that I grow, but you can use red or yellow depending on what you have available)
• 1 head of fresh garlic (8 cloves roughly)
• 2 table spoons good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon pepper

method

1. Clean and prep tomatoes, remove stems cut in half or quarter depending on the size of the tomato. 
2. Clean and prep onion. Peel and quarter
3. Peel garlic cloves
4. On a large baking sheet toss all ingredients with olive oil and salt and pepper
5. Slow roast in 250 degree oven for 40 minutes or until tomatoes and oinions are fully cooked and golden brown. Pan should be filled with tomato liquid. 
6. Let cool until ingredients are luke warm or room temperature 
7. Remove tomatoes onion and garlic individually with tongs and place in head safe blender. Secure lid and blen until silky smooth or leave chunky if desired. 
8. Add more salt and pepper to tasete.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes!