Perfecting a delicious, basic go-to recipe for spaghetti sauce has been on my to-do list for a very long time. Nailing that perfect sauce has required a lot of trial and error. It’s not that making tomato sauce is hard, it really isn’t! But it’s taken me an embarrassingly long time to realize exactly what it was I was looking for: Simplicity.
In the past I often over-seasoned my tomato sauce with too many dried herbs, onion, plenty of different veggies, and sugar. Over the years I've made a lot of sauces that I definitely enjoyed, but I never made one that felt like the one.
After browsing through 'Vegan with A Vengeance' for the millionth time, I read this tip from Isa Chandra Moskowitz:
Pizza sauce is a simple thing, a little garlic, a few herbs. The mistake some home cooks make is overseasoning it with all kinds of Italian spice mixes and whatnot - all it really needs is a subtle hint of herb."
Even though I'm not making pizza sauce, I figured that this logic probably applies to all tomato-based sauces. The tomatoes need to be the star of the show!
This tomato sauce uses a total of 7 ingredients: A variety of fresh tomatoes (grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, orange tomatoes, and romas), a hefty splash of olive oil, plenty of garlic, and a little bit of thyme, oregano, and sea salt. The tomatoes are roasted until they’re fragrant, soft and lightly browned. Simmer them with a little vegetable stock before blending them into a light, smooth sauce.
I love serving this sauce on (unrinsed) whole wheat spaghettini noodles, with fresh basil, vegan Parmesan, and of course, plenty of crispy garlic toast.
Simple Roasted Tomato Pasta and Garlic Toast
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-5
- Category: Pasta, Main Course, Entree, Lunch and Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A simple recipe for roasted tomato spaghetti and the perfect garlic toast.
Ingredients
Roasted Tomato Sauce
- 4 cups chopped tomatoes
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup vegetable broth
Garlic Toast
- ½ cup vegan butter or vegan margarine
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- French baguette or loaf
Instructions
Roasted Tomato Sauce
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Combine chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, thyme, and salt.
- Spread tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 20-25 minutes.
- Transfer tomatoes to a medium sized saucepan, add 1 cup vegetable broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Blend to your desired consistency (I like to use an immersion blender for sauces.) Serve with cooked pasta and garlic toast.
Garlic Toast
- Thoroughly combine the vegan butter with the minced garlic. Spread slices of french baguette liberally with garlic butter. Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Lay the slices of french baguette in skillet with butter side down, and cook until golden-brown and crisp, approx. 4-5 minutes. Turn and warm the unbuttered side briefly, approx. 1-2 minutes. Makes 8-10 pieces.
Notes
Feel free to use any variety of fresh tomatoes available.Makes enough sauce for ½ a box of spaghetti noodles. Do not rinse pasta after cooking.
Ashleigh
I made this tonight, it was delicious! Smooth and subtle flavours. I added onion, mushrooms and baby spinach at the end. Yummy!
Will never buy supermarket sauce again.
★★★★★
Brittany
That sounds great Ashleigh, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Tamika
This was the best vegan dish I have had so far and I’ve been looking up vegan recipes for about three months now, I’m a newbie 😊 love the roasted tomatoes never would have thought of that.
★★★★★
Brittany
Oh wow! That's wonderful to hear, thank you SO much Tamika!
Kaleigh
How long would this keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator?
★★★★
LeBron
Since going vegan, I have really been missing 'Sunday gravy.' This recipe is a good vegan substitute, very rich and savory. And so simple! Thank you.
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it!
Megan
Does this reciepe freeze well?
Brittany
The sauce will definitely freeze well!
Barbara Bernstein
you didn't say what temperature to set the oven for the sauce.
Brittany
Woops! Roasting usually means 400F or higher. In this case, 425F will do!
Heather
OH my Goodness!!!! Simple, beautiful and Delicious!! I used diced canned tomatoes and dried basil because I didn't have fresh tomatoes or fresh basil and I didn't use the veg. broth because there was so much liquid from the canned tomatoes and it was still Amazing! I love simple and I am soooo excited to make this with fresh garden vegetables...it will be even more amazing!!! Holy, that's a whole lot of Goodness. Thank you!
Brittany
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. I bet it will be SO good with garden veggies, mmm... Thank you so much for commenting Heather!
LC
Hi Brittany, Just found your recipe, thankfully! I'm new to mami g my own sauces, Just wondering if I could roast some courgettes with the tomatoes in the same way, or would I have to change cooking time/temp? Looking forward to trying out your recipes, they look & sound delicious.
★★★★
Brittany
Hi LC! I don't see why you couldn't add some courgettes along with the tomatoes. Try to cut the courgettes small enough so they cook as quickly as the tomatoes. Hopefully you won't need to adjust the temp. or time. I hope that helps!
lacey
awesome!!! made this for lunch for me and my son actually ate most of it, and he hates tomato pasta sauce! couldnt believe it! it was super tasty, yet super simple. i added some nutritional yeast & dried basil too since i didnt have any fresh and the picture showed it. i also think this would be excellent on roast spaghetti squash mmm. NOW I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ALL MY EXTRA GARDEN VINE TOMATOES AT END OF SEASON, (do this method and freeze the sauce, easy peasy meals in a pinch) thanks you & thanks for supporting vegan! <3 🙂
★★★★★
Brittany
Ahaha! That is SO great Lacey, I can't believe your tomato sauce-hating son was even on board. That's awesome!! 😀
Ellen
Hello, I would like to know at how many degrees (Celsius) I have to put the oven to roast the tomatoes?
I spend a long time on your website and its simply beautifull! Thank you for all your beautifull recepies!
★★★★★
Jennifer
This was amazing! I wasn't quite sure I did it right when I was blending it....it looked a little different than the jar sauce I am used to but mixed with the pasta was just perfect! It was so light and flavourful, not too overwhelming of a tomato flavour like the jar sauce. The vegan garlic bread was so easy and delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
Brittany
Ah, this is so wonderful to hear, thanks so much Jennifer. I always find that my homemade tomato sauces are much lighter in colour than jarred sauces.
Kimbit
This looks delicious! Does it freeze well?
Brittany
The sauce should freeze just fine! Thanks!
Lisa Lewis
LOVED this recipe. QUICK and SUPER EASY. We are participating in the Daniel fast and we were getting bored with our meals. I roasted some broccoli and added it along with sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions, butternut squash and zucchini noodles. Might win the hubby over after all.. 🙂
★★★★★
Brittany
Haha, that's great to hear! I'm glad this recipe was able to fit into your fast. Thanks for commenting Lisa, I appreciate it! 🙂
Nicole
I am VERY new at making home made spaghetti sauce. So this may be a silly question, but what about the skins? I see some recipes tell you to boil the tomatoes then pull the skin off. This recipe leaves the skins on. Do they just get soft enough and blend well? no weird skin pieces?
Thanks!
Brittany
Skins are okay in this recipe! Since we're using grape tomatoes AND roasting them, they'll blend into the sauce really easily. I hope that helps!
Sarah | Well and Full
This looks so yummy! I love your minimalist approach to tomato sauces... when you're using fresh, in-season tomatoes, there's no need for a ton of extra herbs and spices! 😀
Brittany
I totally agree! Thanks Sarah 😀
Heather@ASpoonfulofHealth
This looks SO good! Yum! I love spaghetti, it's a childhood favorite that just the smell of the dish brings so many memories. This version is a great rendition of the classic I grew up on ... (without the meat of course, thank goodness). Great recipe:)
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Heather! Spaghetti was popular at my house while growing up too 🙂
Hilde
Wow! I have added this recipe to my to-cook list 🙂
Brittany
Yay! I hope you love it 😀
The Vegan Junction
That looks like some good pasta. I like that you used veg broth too! It's sure to have plenty of flavour that way!
Brittany
It sure does! Thanks for commenting 😀