This roasted tomato marinara sauce is the perfect harvest dish. It is fresh and delicious and uses healthy ingredients (adding roasted vegetables is a great option too). Serve it over your choice of pasta or vegetable noodles for a delicious, harvest meal.
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I felt the first crisp fall chill the other day. It made me want to curl up in a blanket, put on my bunny slippers, and start sipping apple cider.
I love fall.
The smells. The food. The fun.
Well I’m obviously here for the food, so let’s get to it.
This is one of my favorite harvest dishes. Just take a peak at all those beauties, my friends.
How to make this roasted tomato marinara sauce
Fresh tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I like to stick with basic seasonings so as not to override the natural flavors.
Roast it all up and something miraculous happens. The flavors mellow and deepen and the dish turns into a masterpiece.
Blend it up along with some fresh herbs (fresh herbs really up the flavor).
Then simmer it on the stove for a few minutes until the flavors combine and it’s ready to serve.
Sometimes if I’m wanting to up my veggie game or have a million veggies staring me in the face that need to disappear (this is the most likely scenario during the harvest) I like to roast them up and add them in the sauce. You can roast them in the oven during the last 30 minutes so everything’s ready to go at the same time.
I like the texture that the roasted veggies add to the sauce, but if you’ve got picky kiddos, you can also blend them up. The texture become smooth and uniform (like most kids prefer) and you still get the flavor (+ health benefits) from the veggies.
Serve this sauce with your favorite pasta. Top it off with some chopped fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Yum.
This roasted tomato marinara sauce also works great as a lasagna sauce (with or without the veggies). It’s delicious in this zucchini lasagna, for example. It’s got plenty of flavor just as it is, but you can always brown up some Italian sausage or ground beef to add if you’re looking for an omnivorous version.
So many possibilities. So much deliciousness.
Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce {with optional roasted veggie add-ins}
This roasted tomato marinara sauce is the perfect harvest dish. It is fresh and delicious and uses healthy ingredients (adding roasted vegetables is a great option too). Serve it over your choice of pasta or vegetable noodles for a delicious, harvest meal.
Ingredients
Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce:
- 12-14 (3 pounds) small/medium tomatoes see note
- ½ large onion quartered
- 3 whole cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt see note
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 5 large fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
- 4 4-inch sprigs fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 4-inch sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
Optional Roasted Veggie Add-Ins:
- 1 small yellow squash diced, about 1 cup
- 1 small zucchini diced, about 1 cup
- 1 bell pepper any color, diced, about 1 cup
- ½ large onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar optional
- 1 3-inch sprig rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
For Serving:
- hot cooked pasta
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce:
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare tomatoes by washing and coring. You can cut some of them in half or leave them whole. Place tomatoes in a 9×13-inch dish. Arrange quartered onion pieces and 3 whole garlic cloves in pan. Drizzle olive oil over and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.
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Roast tomatoes for 1 hour at 425 degrees F until tomatoes have blackened slightly. Remove from the oven and place roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic and juices in a blender jar along with fresh basil, oregano, and thyme. Puree until smooth.
Optional Roasted Veggie Add-Ins:
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While tomatoes are roasting, add diced yellow squash, zucchini, bell peppers, and onions to a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk together minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (optional), and rosemary. Pour over diced vegetables and toss well.
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Pour vegetable mixture onto 9×13-inch baking dish, sprinkle with salt, and roast in 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or until vegetables become soft and golden brown. Pro Tip: You can put these in the oven during the last 30 minutes of roasting time for the tomatoes so everything comes out at the same time.
For Serving:
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In a medium saucepan, add roasted vegetables and marinara sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes and add additional salt and pepper, to taste. Serve sauce over hot cooked pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
1. You can make this dish with 3 pounds of any size or type of tomatoes. If you want the sauce a little thicker, add more plum or roma-type tomatoes. No need to peel the tomatoes (I never do), but if you want to, the peels will slip of really easily after roasting them.
2. You can use any type of coarse salt here (or regular salt if you don’t have coarse salt), but the coarse sea salt is my favorite.
3. Works great as a lasagna sauce. Add browned ground beef or Italian sausage for an omnivorous version.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
