Description
This roasted tomato sauce that is bursting with flavor, easy to make and ready in just about an hour. Plus, it’s freezer friendly!
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic, peeled
- 2 lbs. medium tomatoes, stems removed
- 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped * (see notes)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil*
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grab a large casserole dish and set it aside.
- In the casserole dish, add the tomatoes along with the onions, olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix until well combined. Place the wrapped garlic in the corner of the baking dish and then place into the oven and roast for about 40 minutes, or until the skins start to lift from the tomatoes.
- Once roasted, remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Open up the roasted garlic (still leaving it within the parchment and foil) and using oven mitts or a towel, gently squeeze the garlic head to remove the roasted cloves into a food processor. Be sure no skins fall in. You can add as much garlic as you’d like, I added the full head.
- Transfer everything from the baking dish with all of the juices into the food processor.
- Add in the tomato paste and pulse until you reach your desired consistency. You can process it until smooth but we like to keep some texture.
- Add in the basil and pulse until combined but not blended in. If you over blend the basil, it may turn the sauce into an odd color! Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Reheat the sauce if using immediately or transfer it into an airtight container to store in the refrigerator for about a week or in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Notes
- To cut the onions, we halved them, then halved each half and cut the remaining pieces into thirds. Then, we broke them up into smaller pieces (they don’t have to be individual slices as shown in the picture in the blog post).
- We used a food processor for this but a blender works as well, just be sure to pulse it if you do not want a smooth sauce.
- We have tested this recipe with separated garlic cloves AND a garlic head wrapped in foil, and either work. If you want your garlic wrapped: using your hands, remove loose skin from the outside of the head of garlic. With a sharp knife, cut 1/4“-inch off the top of the garlic, or enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Wrap the head of garlic in a small sheet of parchment paper (optional), followed by a sheet of aluminum foil. Seal the garlic tightly, bring sure that there are no holes. Set aside.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
