Simple 5 Ingredient Tomato Sauce

Homemade tomato sauce made with just 5 simple ingredients. This is a simple, rustic take on homemade sauce. Use it on pasta, lasagnas, and eggplant parmesan. Delicious in every way!

Slow and steady as we get back into the swing of things.

Friends, let me start by apologizing for the cooking hiatus I’ve been on. The truth is, I still needed time to cope with the aftermath of the hurricane that ripped right through Houston and left everything that stepped in its path completely broken. But slow and steady does it. I want to THANK ALL OF YOU that reached out during this difficult time. You guys are absolutely amazing ❤️

Now it’s time to let food take over. The glorious aromas of garlic and slow roasted tomatoes have a way of healing me from the inside out; slowly coaxing me to put one foot in front of the other until it comes as naturally as breathing.

Right now, tomatoes are everywhere I look. They’re taking over the farmers markets, the grocery stores, and if you’ve got the green thumb I lack, you’ve probably got an abandance of juicy, vine-ripened ones in your very own yard.

Naturally homemade roasted tomato sauce is the way to go. You can use up 5 pounds at once, and store it in the freezer to use all winter long.

Just look at that luscious, beautiful texture. You don’t get to choose the consistency of your tomato sauce unless you make it for yourself.

This recipe is as easy as it gets. 5 ingredients are all you need.

Count ’em:

1. tomatoes
2. olive oil
3. garlic
4. basil
5. salt and pepper

And sure, if you’re going to get super technical, it’s 6 because pepper is it’s own ingredient. But really, that’s all you need.

You can amp up the sauce and do so many things with it. I prefer it with a big pinch of red pepper flakes to make it more of a spicy arrabbiata sauce. Stirring in a tablespoon of homemade pesto would also do wonders. Ppine nuts give this tomato sauce an undeniably rich and creamy texture.

You can do this one of two ways: leave the tomatoes whole or give them a slice down the middle. I prefer them sliced as it  gives the tomatoes a chance to char but it does turn your tomato sauce a little more orangey. Leaving them whole will give you less of a roast and more of that dazzling red color that tomato sauce is known for. You can’t go wrong either way, but I do slighty prefer the more rustic, orange sauce.

It all starts with 4 1/2 – 5 pounds of tomatoes and a handful of separated whole garlic cloves. I leave the inner wrapping on so that the garlic has a chance to steam inside and sweeten. Toss it all on two baking sheets and add in a good few glugs of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and give it all a nice rub. Now pop it in the oven and just sit back as the sweet oven-ripened smells of garlic and tomato consume your kitchen for the next 3 hours.

Once the tomatoes and garlic are done. Remove from the oven and allow the garlic to cool until it’s easy enough to handle then, peel off the outer covers. Toss it all into a blender or a food processor with a few sprigs of fresh basil and give it a whirl. I prefer my homemade tomato sauce on the smoother side so I let it go for a while. If you prefer it chunky, my suggestion would be to pulse the sauce to your desired consistency.

Depending on how tart your tomatoes are and what you’re planning on using this sauce for, a teaspoon of sugar or two helps balance things out so be sure to taste and adjust the sauce to your liking. No one can make it perfect like you can!

Tell you what. Here are my favorite ways to use homemade roasted tomato sauce.

1. lasagna (how wonderful would it be when it’s made entirely from scratch?)
2. over pasta on weeknights
3. two words. Eggplant. Parmesan
4. as a dip for mozzarella sticks
5. simmered with meatballs in a crock for football season
6. low carb chicken parm
7. with cooked chicken to make this mozzarella chicken in a flash!
8. on a pizza
9. as a dip for basil and mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches
10. turn it into this tomato basil (creamless) soup

So many ways to use this simple 5 ingredient tomato sauce recipe.

Homemade sauce is feel good food.

P.S. I want to tell you that you can can this homemade tomato sauce, only I can’t because I know exactly zero about canning. So if there’s a canning expert reading this, please leave a comment and teach us all your magical ways!

Continue to Content

Yield: approximately 32 ounces of sauce

Simple 5 Ingredient Tomato Sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Homemade tomato sauce made with just 5 simple ingredients. This is a simple, rustic take on homemade sauce. Use it on pasta, lasagnas, and eggplant parmesan. Delicious in every way!

Print

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 - 5 pounds of tomatoes (use a variety!)
• 7-14 whole garlic cloves (with the inner skin on)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• a few sprigs of basil

Optional add-ins:

• 1-3 teaspoons sugar, pinch of red pepper flakes, onions, carrots, homemade basil pesto, and homemade sun-dried pesto

Instructions

1. Position two racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300ºF.
2. Cut the tomatoes down the center if you prefer a more charred and rich flavor, leave them whole for a more vibrant red sauce. For smaller grape or cherry tomatoes, I suggest you leave them whole. Add the tomatoes and garlic onto two rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and season generously with salt and pepper. Massage the tomatoes and garlic to ensure they are evenly coated. Roast in the oven for 3 hours, stopping every 30-45 minutes to give them a toss. The tomatoes are done when they start to burst and shrink in size. Remove trays from the oven and let cool.
3. Peel the garlic cloves before tossing everything into a blender or food processor along with the basil. At this point, you can change it up! I usually toss in a big pinch of red pepper flakes for an arrabiatta style sauce. Pestos, also work well. For a chunkier sauce, I suggest you use to the pulse button until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. I usually just let it blend until it's smooth. Leftover sauce can be kept for 1 week in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

• If you plan on using onions or carrots, cut the onions into large wedges and the carrots into 3-4 pieces and allow them to roast with the tomatoes - it's a nice way to sneak in some additional veggies. This is how I make the base for my secret ingredient tomato basil soup!

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

SaveSaveSaveSave