Name: Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3lbs Roma tomatoes, halved; 1 yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon dried basil; ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling; 1 whole head of garlic

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This Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce is healthy and easy to make on a sheet pan in the oven. It’s packed with fresh garden tomatoes, yellow onion, carrot, red bell pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. Roasting the tomatoes before blending gives this sauce an incredibly rich flavor.

When tomatoes are abundant near the end of the summer, I love making this homemade marinara sauce. It’s simple, delicious, and you can freeze it to enjoy all winter long.

The best part is you don’t need to use picture perfect tomatoes to make this pasta sauce. The oven will do the heavy lifting for you to help deepen their flavor and enhance their natural sweetness.

This tomato sauce is thick and creamy without adding any dairy. It’s not watery, like some homemade pasta sauces that use fresh tomatoes.

Some tomato sauces add sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, but this recipe uses a carrot and red bell pepper. They give the sauce good flavor and a touch of sweetness.

Table of Contents

Roasted tomato pasta sauce ingredients

Below is everything you’ll need to make this homemade Italian tomato sauce.

Tomatoes: You can use any tomatoes you want in this recipe. I prefer to use Roma tomatoes because they have more flesh and less water content than other tomatoes, which makes for a creamy and velvety sauce.

Onion: I usually use yellow onion in this recipe. I’ve also had good results with red onion and sweet onion.

Carrot: Adding a carrot to the recipe helps to naturally sweeten the sauce.

Red bell pepper: Adding red bell pepper to this recipe adds a depth of flavor to the sauce. The sweetness of the bell pepper balances the tanginess of the tomatoes.

Seasoning: I use dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, and salt and freshly ground black pepper in this recipe.

Extra virgin olive oil: Don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of olive oil. It helps give the sauce good flavor.

Garlic: I use one whole head of garlic in this recipe. It’s roasted along with the tomatoes and vegetables, which helps mellow out its flavor and adds sweetness to the sauce.

How to make roasted tomato pasta sauce

Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Prep the tomatoes and vegetables. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, and red bell pepper to the sheet pan. Sprinkle the dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, and a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper over everything.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes and vegetables. Gently toss to coat and spread the vegetable mixture into a single even layer with the tomatoes cut side up.

Prep the garlic. Peel and discard the outer layers of the whole garlic bulb, leaving the individual skins of the garlic cloves intact. Use a knife to carefully cut ¼ inch off the top of the garlic bulb. This will expose the individual cloves of garlic.

Drizzle the top of the garlic with olive oil and use your finger to rub the oil over the exposed garlic cloves. Turn the head of garlic cut side down on the middle of the sheet pan.

Roast the vegetables and garlic. Roast in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, turning once halfway through until the vegetables are soft and slightly charred.

Remove from the oven and let cool briefly. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, use a small fork or your fingers to gently squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves from their skins.

When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, use your fingers, tongs, or a pairing knife to remove the skins if you’d like. Or you can leave them on if you prefer more texture in your pasta sauce.

Blend everything together. Add the tomatoes and their juices, onion, carrot, red bell pepper, and roasted garlic to a high-speed blender. Blend everything together until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Serve and enjoy. Use immediately as a sauce with your favorite pasta and enjoy.

How to serve roasted tomato pasta sauce

You can enjoy this roasted tomato sauce with your favorite pasta noodles or gluten-free noodles. I like using this sauce with spaghetti noodles and sprinkling freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top with some fresh basil.

To serve with pasta, simply cook your pasta noodles to al dente according to the package instructions. When there is one minute left in the cooking time, reserve some of the cooked pasta water.

Toss the roasted tomato sauce with the cooked pasta, adding some of the reserved water as needed to coat the noodles. Then serve and enjoy!

How to store leftover roasted tomato pasta sauce

To store: Let the sauce cool before storing in the fridge in an airtight container. It will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

To freeze: Let the sauce cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe bags or containers, leaving about one inch of headspace for expansion. Make sure to remove any excess air before sealing the bags or containers. It will keep in the freezer for 3 to 6 months.

To reheat: Transfer the frozen sauce to thaw in the fridge overnight. Once thawed, you can reheat it in a saucepan on the stove over medium low heat until warmed through.

Please let me know how you like this Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce recipe in the comments below! Your feedback and review encourages me to keep creating new and yummy recipes. I hope you love this tomato sauce as much as I do.