This post contains affiliate links.
Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce is the perfect use up for your garden fresh tomato harvest! Four pounds of tomatoes are roasted along with onion and garlic, and finished with basil and herbs, for a rich flavored sauce that is so versatile and useful! Your blended sauce makes 3 pint jars that can be used in any pasta dish, like this Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti Pasta, as a pizza sauce, or frozen to preserve your garden tomatoes for winter!
- Garden Tomato Harvest - If you grow lots of tomatoes in your garden, this is the recipe you need to make roasted pasta sauce for the freezer, especially if you want to avoid the whole canning process!
- Using your Sauce - This recipe can be used for just the sauce, which can be used or frozen for later. The recipe also includes this Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti, which is just one example of a way to use it! The shrimp could easily be swapped with Italian sausage, homemade meatballs, chicken parmesan, or sautéed veggies. It's just your basic Italian flavored roasted tomato sauce, with endless possibilities to use it!
- Need More Ways to Use Garden Tomatoes? Try these similar roasting recipes for Freezer Pizza Sauce or Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, or try this Garden Fresh Salsa! Check out these 21 Ways to Use Garden Tomatoes too!
Jump to:
Ingredients & Substitutions
The top right half of the picture shows the fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs needed to make the Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce.
The bottom left half shows what is needed to then make the Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti dish. You can make just the sauce and use it in many ways, or make the whole dish. You'll still have about half the sauce left over to freeze.
For the Roasted Tomato Sauce
- Garden Fresh Tomatoes - Use about 4 pounds of any variety of tomatoes you have. Cut the tomatoes into large pieces, adding cherry tomatoes if you like. The amounts here don't need to be exact, you can really roast any amount of tomatoes you have. Four pounds is about what will fit on a large sheet pan and makes about 3 pints (6 cups) of tomato sauce.
- Onion and Garlic - Onion and garlic get roasted right along with the tomatoes. Break a bulb of garlic in half and then cut the tip off, exposing the cloves. Drizzle in a little olive oil, but let the garlic roast in its skin, this will protect it from burning.
- Basil and Herbs - A great way to use the herbs in your garden, basil is most important, but you can add other Italian flavored herbs like oregano, thyme, parsley or rosemary.
- Cream - The cream is optional and can be added to the sauce when making a pasta dish. You could add it to the blender and freeze the sauce with the cream, or just freeze it without, and consider adding cream when using your sauce with a pasta dish.
For the Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti Pasta
- Spaghetti Pasta - You can really use your homemade tomato sauce with any shape of pasta. I like spaghetti with the shrimp dish!
- Shrimp - It's easiest to get fresh peeled and deveined shrimp, but frozen shrimp could also be used. Depending on the size of the shrimp, I estimated about 6 shrimp per person, so about .75 to 1 pound.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes - The amount of spice in this dish is up to you! I used 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, added to the sautéing shrimp so the heat awakens its flavor a bit. This gave the pasta a nice kick of spice without being overpowering. Heat level, of course, varies from person to person, you can always start with a little and add more as a garnish over the top!
- Parmesan Cheese - I like to buy a block of Parmesan cheese and grate it myself for the best flavor and texture.
- Fresh Basil Leaves - Lots of fresh basil at the end is a nice looking garnish but also adds bright flavor! We always have lots of basil by the end of garden season when the tomatoes are needing to be used up, so I like to add it generously!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Start by making the roasted tomato sauce, which can then be refrigerated or frozen to use any time. The spicy shrimp pasta is quick and easy, made with your homemade sauce!
Step 1 - Wash your tomatoes and trim away any stem ends or bad spots. Cut them in large pieces.
Add them to a sheet pan with an onion cut into large pieces and half a bulb of garlic with the tip trimmed off exposing the cloves.
Step 2 - Toss everything with olive oil, salt and pepper, keeping the garlic bulb intact and in its skin.
Step 3 - Roast the tomatoes at 425°F for about 35 to 45 minutes.
They should be shriveled and starting to caramelize...and smell delicious!
Step 4 - Use a slotted spoon to add the tomatoes, onions and garlic cloves squeezed from their skins to a blender. You'll likely need to do 2 batches. Leave the juice behind on the pan, you can use it if you need to thin the sauce.
Add some fresh herbs and blend as smooth or as rustically chunky as you like.
Step 5 - At this point your blended sauce can be put in jars or any containers and refrigerated or frozen for later use.
Read below for info about freezing in glass jars!
Step 6 - To make the Spicy Shrimp Pasta, cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water.
Prep and measure your other ingredients and chop your garlic. Shrimp cook quickly so it's best to have everything ready!
Step 7 - Over medium heat, saute the shrimp, adding half the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to each side. Cook about 2 to 3 minutes per side, adding the fresh garlic to the skillet when you flip the shrimp.
Add about 3 cups of the roasted tomato sauce to the drained pasta, along with the cream, and toss well. Top the spaghetti with the spicy shrimp, lots of fresh basil and Parmesan cheese, and more crushed red pepper flakes if you like!
Recipe Notes & Tips
- How to Freeze Tomato Sauce in Glass Jars - Your roasted tomato sauce can be used in any pasta dish or stored for later. I love refridgerating and freezing sauce in glass jars, but follow these precautions to avoid cracking them!
- Fill jars only ¾'s full to allow room for expansion in the freezer.
- Allow sauce to cool slightly before adding to glass jars, glass doesn't like sudden temperature changes.
- Cool your jars overnight in the fridge before moving to the freezer.
- Label your jars with masking tape and a sharpie.
- Freeze sauce for up to 6 months.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge before using. Never run a frozen jar under hot water to thaw, it will crack!
- You can use any glass jars including reused and washed jars from store-bought foods. They don't need to be canning jars.
- If a jar does crack, throw it away, don't try to save the sauce.
- Check out these other 27 Homemade Foods to Stock in the Freezer!
- More Ways to Use this Tomato Sauce - The Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti is just one way to use your sauce. It's very versatile and can be used in any pasta dishes, with any vegetables or different proteins, especially when a recipe calls for a can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. You can use it instead of the canned tomatoes in this Baked Tortellini with Italian Sausage, this One-Pot Beef and Bowtie Pasta, or this Spicy Rigatoni with Meat Sauce. You can also heat it up with a little heavy cream and eat it as Tomato Soup with grilled cheese. It's great as a pizza sauce, or works with Meatball Subs. Really anytime you would use store-bought marinara sauce, you can use your Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce instead.
- Saving some Starchy Pasta Water - Whenever you are cooking pasta, get in the habit of scooping out a little of the starchy cooking liquid before draining. Use a ladle or a coffee mug. This starchy water can then be used if you need to thin your pasta sauce when it has been tossed with the pasta. Sometimes after a pasta dish sits for awhile, the noodles will absorb the sauce, making the dish a little dry. This is where you add a bit of the starchy cooking liquid you saved to loosed it back up. You may use this method with the shrimp spaghetti dish. And if you don't need it, just pour it out!
- Storage - Leftover shrimp pasta can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days and reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. Add a splash of water or more tomato sauce if the spaghetti is dry.
Recipe FAQs
Roasted tomato sauce is thickened simply by the water in the tomatoes evaporating in the oven, intensifying the flavor, and blending into a thicker sauce. To ensure it's thick enough, use a slotted spoon when transferring the tomatoes to the blender. Leave behind that liquid, you can always use it to thin the sauce, or add it to the pasta dish. If you want to use this sauce to make spaghetti with ground beef, you can add a can of tomato paste to thicken. Sauce can always be thinned by simply adding water. It will thicken as it cools.
No, when roasting tomatoes, there is not need to peel them or remove the seeds. Both will get blended into the sauce.
No, this recipe was not created or tested for canning. Extra sauce can be frozen for later use.
Yes, you could just make a quick sauce using canned tomatoes if you don't have the need to make the fresh tomato sauce. Just saute some onions in olive oil, add chopped garlic, then a can of crushed tomatoes with a little cream. Simmer the sauce along with a bit of salt, pepper and some dried Italian seasoning. Then continue with the shrimp recipe.
More Garden Tomato Recipes!
Love this Recipe?
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
Be sure to Join our Email List for new recipes delivered straight to your inbox!
Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce
Hit the stars to rate this recipe!
Print Pin RateIngredients
For the Tomato Sauce
- 4 pounds fresh tomatoes
- ½ onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh Italian herbs basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley
- ¼ cup heavy cream optional
For the Shrimp Pasta
- .75 pounds spaghetti
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- .75 to 1 pound fresh shrimp peeled and deveined
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
- ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
For the Roasted Tomato Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 425℉ convection bake.
- Wash tomatoes, remove the stem ends and cut off any bad spots. Cut into large chunks, halves or quarters. Cherry tomatoes can be left whole.
- On a large sheet pan, add the tomatoes, the onion cut into large chunks, and about half a bulb of garlic with the tip trimmed off to expose the cloves in their skins.
- Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to coat, use your hands! Roast in the oven for about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes and onions to a blender, you'll likely need to blend in 2 batches. Squeeze the garlic cloves from the skins and add fresh herbs to each batch.
- Blend as smooth or chunky as you like. At this point, the sauce can be stored in glass jars in the fridge for a few days or cooled first and then frozen for up to 6 months.
For the Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti Pasta
- Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water, following package instructions, about 10 minutes. Drain and toss with about 3 cups of the roasted tomato sauce. Optional, you can add a heavy cream to the sauce when tossing if you'd like. You won't need to use all your sauce for this pasta dish, about half, freeze the extra.
- Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet over medium heat with olive oil and add the shrimp to saute. Season with half the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Cook shrimp about 2 to 3 minutes per side until opaque. When you flip the shrimp, add the rest of the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, along with the chopped garlic. Don't try to move the shrimp in the pan before 2 to 3 minutes, let them sear. Shrimp will cook about 6 minutes total.
- Serve the shrimp over the tomato sauce pasta, topping with Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves, and more crushed red pepper flakes if you like.
Notes
- Recipe makes about 3 pint jars of tomato sauce. You will only need about half that, 3 cups to make the shrimp pasta recipe.
- Freezing Sauce - Fill jars only ¾'s full to allow room for expansion when freezing. This is very important to avoid cracked jars! Allow jars to cool in the fridge overnight first before freezing for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using, never run a frozen jar until hot water to thaw, it will crack!
- Garden Tomatoes - Use about 4 pounds of any type or combination of tomatoes that you have. You can really roast any amount of tomatoes you have, 4 pounds will fit on a large sheet pan, but you could do less or roast 2 sheet pans.
- Variations and Ways to Use - The shrimp pasta dish is just an example of one of the many ways you can use your roasted tomato pasta sauce. You can toss it with any pasta and add different proteins like grilled Italian sausage links, meatballs, or chicken parmesan. Add sautéed vegetables like zucchini, peppers, or mushrooms or use it as a homemade pizza sauce.
- Nutrition Info is for the entire recipe, including all the extra sauce, pasta and shrimp, divided by 4 servings.
Leave a Review