Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
Quick and simple, homemade roasted cherry tomato sauce – packed with flavor from fresh cherry tomatoes that caramelize and become wonderfully jammy after a quick stint in the oven. This even more delicious take on traditional tomato sauce is made with simple ingredients like garlic, olive oil, basil, and thyme, and you’ll want to make batches all Summer long!
We inherited several tomato plants upon moving into our new house. The sprawling, sagging beauties, top-heavy under the weight of their fruit, have happily delivered a generous yield over the last few weeks, and I’ve been harvesting the delicious house-warming presents with abandon.
The collection of mystery varieties includes about half cherry tomatoes, and I’ve taken to calling the entire lot of them simply Parker tomatoes (after the previous owners). As the plants are still dotted with dozens of yellow flowers – i.e. future tomato babies – and given that it’s already September (!), I harvested the remaining ripe cherries to make a roasted tomato sauce, thus preserving some homegrown tomato goodness for the coming months.
Why you’ll love this roasted cherry tomato sauce
Despite the natural sweetness of perfectly ripe summer tomatoes, a quick roasting still enhances and intensifies their flavor, and – along with some onion, garlic and fresh herbs – transforms the raw tomatoes into a fantastically rich and flavorful sauce. It’s the sort of sauce you’ll be happy to have on hand to brighten up a chilly day in the next couple of months, and totally worth the (minimal) hands-on effort now.
A couple of quick notes: I threw in some yellow and orange cherry tomatoes from the farmers market in addition to our red garden cherries – thus the lighter, orange-y color – but you can use any kind of cherry/grape/small tomato you’ve got. The sweeter the better.
Also, I prepared this roasted cherry tomato sauce to be stored in the fridge or freezer, but if you’re feeling ambitious, and want to tackle shelf-stable canning, Annalise has a great tutorial (and marinara sauce recipe), here. Happy cooking!!
Looking for more easy summer favorites? Try these next:
- Easy slow roasted cherry tomatoes
- Summer pasta with burst cherry tomatoes
- Summer squash grain salad with feta
- Easy pork chops with peaches
- A simple peach galette
If you make this roasted cherry tomato sauce be sure to tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #forkknifeswoon and leave a comment and rating below letting me know how you liked it! ★★★★★ Star ratings are especially helpful because they help others find my recipes too. xo, Laura
PrintQuick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: About 4 pints/2 quarts 1x
- Category: Sauce, Dinner
- Method: Roasted, Blended
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Quick and simple, homemade roasted cherry tomato sauce – packed with flavor from fresh cherry tomatoes that caramelize and become wonderfully jammy after a quick stint in the oven. This even more delicious take on traditional tomato sauce is made with simple ingredients like garlic, olive oil, basil, and thyme, and you’ll want to make batches all Summer long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 lbs cherry tomatoes, stems removed
- 1/4 cup good-quality olive oil, plus more for roasting
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced
- small handful of fresh basil leaves
- 3–4 sprigs, fresh thyme, stems removed
- kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Toss the tomatoes with just enough olive oil to lightly coat, then spread out in an even layer onto a rimmed sheet pan or large baking dish. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and are just beginning to shrivel. Remove from the oven, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add the 1/4 cup of olive oil to a heavy-bottomed sauce pot. Heat over medium-heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to sweat and soften, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, stir to combine, and continue cooking for another few minutes until the garlic is golden.
- Add the roasted tomatoes (including all of the cooking liquid in the pan), and the herbs, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Turn the heat down to low, partially cover the pot with the lid (leaving about a 1-inch gap), and let simmer for at least 25 minutes – and up to an hour – stirring infrequently as the sauce cooks.
- Remove the pot from the heat, and let cool for 10-15 minutes. (Carefully!) Transfer the sauce to a blender (or use an immersion blender), and blend until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
- Pour the sauce into pint-size canning jars or other air-tight containers.
- Will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer. Enjoy!!
Keywords: roasted tomatoes, cherry tomato sauce, roasted cherry tomatoes, summer sauce, freezer tomato sauce, easy tomato sauce, herb tomato,
Loved this! The garden spewed out heaps of cherry tomatoes so this recipe was so perfect! I added a little cream at the end ! Molto bene!!!
★★★★★
I have a stupid question : the photo shows the washed & roasted tomatoes still have the little green part attached on them. Is it part of the recipe and will not make the sauce bitter? I usually remove the green part before cooking or putting them in salad.
Please advice. Believe it or not, Im still getting some cherry tomatoes in Southern California but they R not sweet, so I thought I’ll make a sauce and add sweet paste or other sweet ingredient.
Tnx!
Esther
Hi, Esther! Yes, remove the stems before cooking, they’re just there to make the tomatoes look a bit more photogenic for the photo 🙂 And, I remember still getting homegrown tomatoes at Christmas growing up in southern CA too!
I absolutely adore this recipe! It is one of my favorite things to make. Some variations of it I have made include slicing the tomatoes in half and not roasting them, then putting them in the pan as is. Then, after blending the sauce, I put it back in the pan and add 1 cup of heavy cream. Another variation is using 6-7 beefsteak tomatoes and again, slicing them up and putting them in the pan. I love this recipe because it turns out perfect every time! Also, I am making this recipe with Roma tomatoes(2 lbs, to be exact) this weekend for at least eight people. Do you think that will be enough? Or should I use more tomatoes?
★★★★★
I will make. Lots of cherry tomatoes! Will write back later.
Would it work to puree the tomatoes instead of using a blender?
Very tasty! Could add cooked carrots (when at the blending stage) and use it as a ‘gravy’ on roast beef with potatoes. I will use this recipe again.
★★★★★
Thanks, Susan!! That sounds like a great combo with the roast beef 🙂
Had a bunch of cherry tomatoes hanging around… made this…. sooooo delightful!!! 😋 It’s perfect.
Thanks, Manon!! So happy to hear that! 🙂
I added three small red jalapeños to the recipe for an sweet spice taste. My family loves it!
Ooh, my husband would like your spicier take on it. Thanks, Angie!!
I’d never made a tomato sauce before, so greatly appreciated this really doable recipe. I had three pounds of cherry tomatoes from my plant and had already given about two pounds away. I made two batches and gave one to my daughter. It was delicious, with a terrific texture. Now that I know how to do this, I would use more garlic and add some veggies – personal taste.
Thank you so much, Joan!! Extra garlic is always a good thing… 🙂
Hello! I am looking for canning recipes and this looks delish, could I can this sauce? Or add lemon and can it? Thanks!
I love this sauce but I do not agree with your statement that tomatoes are an acid food – all canning guides recommend canning tomato sauce with acidification with lemon juice or citric acid in a pressure canner. You can water bath can it but it will take hours and even then the temperatures aren’t high enough to kill botulinum.
Hi, Ann! Happy to hear you love the sauce! I am definitely not a canning expert, so would defer to those with much more experience than me when it comes to shelf-stable canning. I do know that it freezes well 🙂
Look up Tomato Sauce 101: From Vine to Jar “You Bet Your Garden”
Mike Mcgrath also says that lemon is NOT necessary, tomatoes are very acidic. 🍅❤
Love love your sauce Ms. Laura
I dont know what/who your source is but tomatoes vary in acidity – some are acidic and some aren’t – I go by Ball canning recommendations for safety and it seems like a small enough thing to add a bit of lemon or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid to prevent food poisoning.
Always, better safe than sorry! 🙂
Glad to hear you love the sauce! Thanks, Chelsi!
Hello! I am a canning expert & can provide some clarity. Tomatoes are considered a high acid food, but because varieties of tomatoes & conditions in which they grow affect acidity levels, any canned tomatoes should include added acid. Tomatoes is the only food that can be safely pressure or water bath canned. If you need more instructions, go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation or a state Extension service. 🙂
Wondering how you freeze the sauce? In freezer bags? Certainly not canning jars…correct?
You can use freezer bags or glass canning jars. Just leave some room at the top for expansion. Enjoy!
How come I have little stick thingys in my sauce?
Hi Susan, I’m not sure – maybe the tomato stems?
Just made my first batch of this sauce and it is delicious. I have stacks of Tommy Toe tomatoes and I won’t be giving any more away lol. Still growing season here in Australia. Thank you so much for sharing that recipe and best of all, it’s preservative free.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Fred!!
When the skins break apart, they roll up into little tubes. Just puree it a bit more.
I used this recipe as a base. I have a crazy out of control cherry tomato plant this year, that as of the end of September, even though the nights are cool, is still producing! I’ve made two batches of this sauce, modified, so far, and am about to make a third. I’ve added a few things. When I roast the tomatoes, I also roast sliced mushrooms, and a mostly whole bulb of garlic (in an oven-proof dish with oil). So, I use the roasted garlic (best sliced a bit) instead of the raw garlic when cooking the onion. When I put the roasted tomatoes into the pot, I also add the other ingredients. And, I found that just the fresh herbs were fine for my first batch, but I wanted more punch, so added more of those plus some dried Italian herbs, as well. My first batch was just a bit flat. The second batch, with the addition of more herbs, was amazing. When I heat it back up, I sometimes add cooked chicken to it. With these additions, for me, it makes for a deeper, more flavorful sauce. I use a Vitamix to blend, and I find that it’s very easy to over blend it. Just some quick pulses, and I get a good consistency for me. It doesn’t need tomato paste, which I added to my first batch. That made it too thick. So, I basically stick with the ingredients mentioned, plus what is in the original recipe.
Thank you to whoever came up with this one. It’s the best basic cherry tomato sauce recipe I’ve found!Then, just get creative!
★★★★
Thank you, Sondra!! Love to hear how you’ve made this your own, sounds delish!!
This was delicious! I usually give more of my homegrown cherry tomatoes than I eat, but this recipe will help me make use of them from now on! I used fresh basil, parsley, oregano, and thyme from the garden. I also stirred in some ricotta cheese for protein. This will go into the summer rotation, for sure.
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you, Heather!!
Delicious! Had never made sauce from my tomatoes (they’re so good just to pop your mouth), but have had rain this year and they were splitting just as they came ripe. This sauce was a perfect way to still use them!
★★★★★
I’m the same way with our homegrown tomatoes (they’re SO good fresh)! So happy you enjoyed this sauce as much as we do 🙂
I made this recipe today and not only was it easy but delicious, I had so many cherry tomatoes from our garden I didnt know what else to do with them. Now I do .
★★★★★
So happy to hear I could help you with your tomato “problem…” 😉
Do you skin the cherry tomatoes? Or do they just get blended from the sauce?
Hi Lindsey! You don’t need to skin the tomatoes, they’ll get blended with the rest of the sauce. Enjoy!! 🙂
Thank you for the super quick response!
I will can for sure 🙂
Enjoy!! ☺️
Can’t wait to try this! Can I use the “water bath” process instead of freezing it to store?
★★★★
Did you get a response? I would love to can this with water bath method!
Hi! I have not personally tried using a water bath to can this sauce (have stuck just to freezer canning), but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work for this recipe. Enjoy!! 🙂
Hi Gwyn! I haven’t tried water bath canning for this sauce, so I’m not an expert, but I believe other readers have had success. Tomatoes are naturally high-acid, so it should be fine. Enjoy the recipe!! 😊
Oh my, this is good! Sweet from the cherry tomatoes, pungent from the garlic and herbs. It almost tastes as if there is cream in it after it is pureed, it is so smooth and buttery. I made the sauce and then incorporated it into a meat sauce with sweet red peppers, italian sausage and chicken parmesan sausage and a touch of tomato paste. Might be the best meat sauce I have ever made. Thank you for this, my tomato plants are producing like mad and I will be making more of this sauce and freezing it for a taste of summer in deepest winter!
★★★★★
Thank you, Jennie!! I’m so happy to hear it, and all your adaptations to make it a heartier sauce sound incredible!! ☺️
This is the third time this year of making this sauce, it’s easy and quiet delicious. I have frozen some, so look forward to a burst of summer tastes in the winter 😊
Oh, love hearing this! Thank you, Debbie!! 🙂
I made this sauce today with 100% garden ingredients. The sauce is yummy. The tomatoes are so sweet. I followed the recipe exactly and used my immersion blender. Will definitely make again
★★★★★
Thanks, Maureen! So happy to hear it! I bet it was extra yummy thanks to the homegrown ingredients 🙂
Wonderful recipe! I made it last year and froze some. It was a taste of heaven in the cold months.
I love love love having some of this stashed away in Winter. Thanks so much, Anita!