This Easy Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce only takes 5 minutes to prep. You can leave it to roast in the oven while you get on with other tasks and once its finished cooking, simply blend and combine with your pasta of choice and enjoy!
There's nothing better than knowing that you're going to have a deliciously fresh dinner that takes less than 5 minutes to prep. This roasted tomato pasta sauce is super low effort but tastes so good. You can serve it with any kind of pasta you fancy. I love to serve it with spaghetti or linguine!
Some of my other favorite easy pasta sauces are my spicy boursin pasta, high protein silken tofu pasta, sweet potato pasta sauce, and my one pot sundried tomato pasta!
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Why you'll love this recipe
Made by someone you can trust: for those of you who are new here, my name's Emily and I'm an ex-chef, turned food content creator/recipe developer. I adore testing and creating new recipes and sharing them with you. I don't use AI, I take inspiration from magazines, travel, restaurants, books, friends, and turn my thoughts into dishes that I think you'll love and want to make over and over again. So, I hope you love this dish, if so, then check out more of my recipes to make in the future!
5 minutes prep: yep, that's right. All you need to do is place all of your ingredients in a tray and into the oven for 30 minutes.
Great for meal prep: you can optionally make a big batch of this and store it in the fridge or freezer, ready for whenever you need a quick meal!
Ingredients and substitutions
Tomatoes: you can use a variety of tomatoes if you'd like but I like to use baby or plum tomatoes for the sweetest most flavorful option.
Shallots: fresh shallots provide a lovely flavor to the roasted tomato sauce but if you don't have shallots you can use white or red onions.
Garlic: a whole garlic bulb is necessary for this recipe. We slice the head off and then roast it so the inner cloves become soft and caramelised.
Oregano: dried oregano adds a herbiness to the sauce. You can alternatively use mixed herbs.
Chili flakes: for a bit of a kick, chili flakes are a great addition. But they're optional, if you don't like spice, omit them.
Balsamic vinegar: I always add balsamic vinegar to my pasta sauces as it helps balance out the acidity.
Sugar: this is optional depending on the sweetness of your tomatoes, so add according to your situation!
Basil: fresh basil is a great addition to bring freshness to our pasta sauce. You could alternatively use dill, parsley, or fresh oregano.
For the full ingredients list with measurements and instructions, scroll down this blog to the recipe card.
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 200C fan / 428F.
In an oven-proof tray add in the baby tomatoes, shallots, and garlic bulb. Drizzle with olive oil, ground black pepper, salt, and dried oregano. Give everything a toss, then place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Remove the tray from the oven and transfer 80% of the tomatoes (I like to keep a few whole roasted baby tomatoes for texture but feel free to blend everything if you fancy) and all of the shallots into a food processor. Squeeze out the garlic cloves from the bulb into the processor. Blend until smooth.
Step 3: Transfer the blended roasted tomato pasta sauce into a skillet and add in chili flakes, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Step 4: Add in your cooked pasta, the rest of your whole roasted baby tomatoes, and sliced basil with 50ml pasta water. Toss to combine on low heat.
Step 5: Taste and season according to your preferences. Once ready, divide between your bowls and top with grated parmesan. Enjoy!
FAQs
I always go for small tomatoes like cherry or baby plum here. They're sweeter, less watery, and roast down beautifully in 30 minutes. Larger tomatoes work too, but you'll want to chop them smaller and may need a touch more time in the oven to get that same concentrated flavor.
Nope, no peeling needed! Once the tomatoes hit the food processor, the skins blend right in and you won't notice them in the finished sauce. This is one of the reasons I love this method: minimal prep, maximum flavor, and one less fiddly step to worry about.
The sugar balances the natural acidity of the tomatoes, and the balsamic vinegar adds a lovely depth and subtle sweetness that plain tomatoes can't give you alone. Together they round out the flavor so the sauce tastes rich and balanced rather than sharp or one-note.
Absolutely, this is a great one to batch cook. Make the sauce up to the point of adding your pasta, then let it cool and store in the fridge for a few days. When you're ready to eat, just reheat gently in a skillet and toss through freshly cooked pasta.
Yes, it freezes really well! I'd freeze the sauce before combining it with pasta, in an airtight container or freezer bag, for up to three months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, then warm it through in a skillet and toss with freshly cooked spaghetti when you're ready to serve.
Place the tomato sauce in airtight containers and into the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet and toss with the freshly cooked pasta.
More pasta recipes
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Easy Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce (5 Minutes Prep)
Ingredients
- 600 g baby tomatoes
- 2 shallots remove the skin and slice in half
- 1 garlic bulb slice the top of the bulb off to reveal the cloves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 15 g basil finely sliced
- 10 g parmesan grated (for serving)
- 200 g spaghetti
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C fan / 428F.
- In an oven-proof tray add in baby tomatoes, shallots, and garlic bulb. Drizzle with olive oil, ground black pepper, salt, and dried oregano. Give everything a toss, then place in the oven for 30 minutes.
- 10 minutes before the tomatoes have finished cooking, get your pasta on and cook according to packet instructions in salted boiling water. Don't forget to save the pasta water.
- Remove the tray from the oven and transfer 80% of the tomatoes (I like to set aside a few whole roasted baby tomatoes for texture but feel free to blend everything if you fancy) and all of the shallots into a food processor. Squeeze out the garlic cloves from the bulb into the processor. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer the blended roasted tomato pasta sauce into a skillet and add in chili flakes, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Add in your cooked pasta, the rest of your whole roasted baby tomatoes, and sliced basil with 50ml pasta water. Toss to combine on low heat.
- Taste and season according to your preferences. Once ready, divide between your bowls and top with grated parmesan. Enjoy!
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