Things I love about this roasted tomato sauce recipe:

1) No clean-up! There’s no food processor or blender of any kind. You won’t even need to wash the pan. I mean, you will end up with 1 fork and 1 paring knife to wash. But this recipe won’t contribute to the dinner dishes pile-up.

2) You can use any tomato to make it. I’ve got instructions for any size/shape of tomato.

3) There’s no chopping or ingredient prep work. I’ve kept it super simple. The recipe uses garlic powder (although you can also use fresh if that’s what you have). You can also use dried basil, or tear some fresh basil right over the serving dish. And simply slice the tomatoes in half before roasting.

4) It’s really easy. Not much more to say about it than that!

Jump to the recipe if you’re ready to cook, or read on for some useful tips and ideas.

Ways to serve roasted tomato sauce

Here are some ideas!

Over pasta + meatballs (use ground chicken, turkey, or vegan meat substitute if you’d like)
In a cheesy meatball bake (I have a recipe in Piecemeal, but it’s not rocket science!)
As a sandwich spread (especially anything with mozzarella, or in place of the tomato in a BLT)
Spread over an everything bagel that’s already topped with cream cheese
In a grain bowl
…with anything you’d use a regular tomato sauce for!

Why does this recipe work?

There are a few things that make this recipe special, and here is why these features work so well:

Cut-side-up, un-hulled

Placing the tomato halves cut-side-up means that they will turn into little bowls as they roast. Since you didn’t hull them, their juices will stay in those tomato-bowls (while running off just a little bit). And as those juices sit there, their moisture will cook off. This gives them the perfect texture and a super concentrated tomato flavor.

Fork instead of blender

While a blender works great for a smoother tomato sauce, a fork actually works best for this recipe. With these beautifully caramelized tomatoes, there are going to be some perfectly-charred bits, as well as some overly-charred bits. As you mash everything with the back of a fork, you’ll start to notice some overly-charred skins that won’t break down. That’s when you just lift them out with your fork and discard them. This leaves behind the perfect amount of char, for a roasted tomato flavor without too much toasty flavor.

It would actually be a really bad idea to just throw this in a blender and let it go, because you’d wind up blending too much char into the mix. With a fork, you can control how much charred skin you let in and how much you discard.

And besides, this roasting technique yields the perfect texture for mashing. You really don’t need a blender to end up with something pretty darn smooth, with just a bit of texture.

roasted tomato sauce (no dishes)

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Author: Kathryn Pauline
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: (see recipe)
Total Time: (see recipe)
Yield: 1 1/4 cup tomato sauce

Ingredients

2 lb [905g] tomatoes*
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
garlic powder (or fresh garlic**)
salt
basil (fresh or dried—both optional)

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line a sheet pan with foil and then parchment.
Carefully pull any vines or stems oﬀ your tomatoes, but do not hull them. Slice the tomatoes in half across their equators. Place the tomatoes so they are all cut-side up on the sheet pan.
Drizzle with olive oil and evenly sprinkle with the garlic powder and salt (to taste). Move them so they are evenly spaced out, still cut-side-up.
Roast for about 1 to 2 1/2 hours (longer for larger tomatoes, shorter for smaller ones). If your oven has a tight seal, open the door a few times while they cook to let the steam escape. The key is not how long they roast, but how they look: they will shrink down significantly, and they should be syrupy, not dry, and caramelized in spots around their edges.
Once they’re done, use a fork to lift away any burnt bits of tomato goo that have caramelized around them. Discard. If you were not able to remove some bits of stem, remove them now.
Mash them right in the pan using the back of a fork. If you notice any burnt skins that are not breaking up, simply lift them out and discard them.
Tear fresh basil and use it to garnish the dish you’re serving this tomato sauce with, or stir dried basil into the sauce (add basil to taste).

Notes

*You can use any kind of tomato for this. The recipe gives a wide range of times (shorter for small tomatoes, longer for large ones). If you want to double the recipe, use 2 sheet pans.

** If using fresh garlic, crush with a garlic press, and top each tomato with a little bit (to taste). Slightly rub the garlic into the tomato to make sure it’s not just sitting on top (or it will burn)