Freezer-Friendly Roasted Tomato Sauce

I cook up this Fresh Tomato Sauce every few Sundays to keep in the freezer for easy peasy mid-week meals. Tomato Pasta is one of the foods all four of my children will eat and freezing batches of this sauce means I get the convenience without resorting to store bought processed jars.

You can thaw the sauce overnight in the fridge but more often than not I am dragging a cube of sauce out of the freezer (I’ll explain about the cube in the freezing section below) and de-frosting quickly in a lidded saucepan for 10 minutes whilst the pasta is cooking.

It's not a quick sauce to make. Braising the tomatoes slowly first means they are allowed to gradually release their juices and then roasting at the end serves up a rich punchy flavour. For a balanced flavour (and because more veg is always better in my opinion) it’s also crammed with red peppers, carrots, onions and celery. Flavoured gently with garlic and herbs it can be used for a myriad of purposes from pizza sauce to bolognaise. I’ll show you how to select the best tomatoes for this sauce, step-by-step instructions on how to make it and my best tips for freezing.

Why Roast Tomatoes For Sauce?

Braising the tomatoes for the initial 2 hours cooks the tomatoes enough to blend into a sauce. However I urge you to continue cooking the tomatoes for a further 30 minutes with the lid off in the oven. This last blast of roasting:

• Intensifies the sweetness of the tomatoes.
• Reduces the acidity.
• Removes excess water so the sauce is lovely and thick when its blended.

How To Select the Best Tomatoes

The best advice I can give is to use the freshest in season tomatoes. Homegrown tomatoes or those from your local farmers’ market will make this sauce taste so much better.

If you are buying your tomatoes from British supermarkets then choose as local as possible. British grown tomatoes are available in supermarkets pretty much year round so check the labels.

If you prefer the flavour of outdoor grown tomatoes (I certainly get them when I can) then you’ll find the best, most flavourful tomatoes at your farmers’ market between June and October.

There are many varieties of tomatoes to choose from Sungolds (the orange-yellow cherry tomatoes), Gardener’s Delight (classic variety), Romas, Beefsteak tomatoes, Tigers, Campari vine tomatoes. If you can use a mix of tomato varieties for a complexity of flavour.

However so we’re on a level playing field I tested this recipe using the medium-sized Isle of Wight British grown variety which are available in most supermarkets. These are often slightly less sweet so I added ½ teaspoon sugar to the sauce. If you are adding more cherry tomatoes your sauce will naturally be sweeter.

I avoid only using cherry tomatoes though as there will be an excess of tomato skin and seeds compared to the tomato flesh.

Ingredients Needed

Fresh tomatoes. Preferably organic and local (see above).

Onion. A large white onion is great but red onions also work very nicely.

Red peppers. Choose lovely fresh red peppers. You can omit. I love the sweet flavour they lend the sauce.

Carrots. Organic or from the famers’ market will provide superior flavour.

Celery. As above, the best celery you buy will give the most authentic flavour.

Garlic. You must use fresh garlic here for the best flavour. Crushing it will give a more even flavour to the sauce rather than dicing.

Fresh thyme leaves. If you don’t have fresh then omit. Avoid dried thyme, I may be biased as I don’t like dried herbs but it adds a more musty flavour which doesn’t marry well here.

Bay leaves. Again, fresh is best. Omit if you can’t access fresh leaves.

Olive oil. I love the flavour that olive oil brings here but you can substitute for sunflower oil or hemp oil.

Salt and pepper. Choose sea salt and cracked black pepper for flavour.

Sugar. A pinch of sugar is enough to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. I usually add the sugar as I’m blending the sauce so I can taste to adjust the sweetness. Different varieties of tomatoes will provide different levels of sweetness. I use white sugar, you could use a little honey or maple syrup.

Step-by-Step Instructions

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Braising & Roasting

Cut the tomatoes into even sized pieces. I was using medium sized tomatoes here so I cut them into eigths. Cherry tomatoes will only need to be halved and beefsteak tomatoes may need more pieces.

Dice the rest of the vegetables and place everything in a large casserole dish with the garlic, herbs and seasoning.

Place the lid on and cook in the oven for 2 hours.

Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Blending

Allow the sauce to cool for 10-20 minutes before blending which just makes it a little less scorching when you will inevitably splash some on yourself (am I just really clumsy?)

You can use an immersion blender but a stand blender will usually provide a smoother sauce. I like to blend for at least 2 minutes on a high speed.

You can then choose to strain for a smoother texture. I like it more chunky and rustic so I don’t bother straining.

Check for flavour balance after blending. You might need to add extra sugar. I used ½ teaspoon for my medium sized tomatoes.

Freezing the Sauce

Once your sauce has blended as smooth as you can then you can portion it out into freezable containers.

You can obviously use this sauce immediately without freezing or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container before re-heating and using.

Make sure the sauce is at room temperature before you store it away (either in the refrigerator or the freezer).

Divide the sauce into meal-sized portions. I find 250g the most useful (it will serve 2 - depending on what you’re making).

Storage Methods

I have experimented with many different containers for freezing my meals / sauces over the years, here are my favourites:

Airtight plastic lidded containers. The thicker containers with decent lids are the best. I choose small ones which will hold 250g sauce. My plastic containers are often slipping out of my freezer so these break a lot at our house. These fare much better in chest freezers .

Ziplock (or freezer-safe) bags. We use these in our freezer drawers and they are re-useable and last a surprisingly long time. Once the sauce is inside and you have expelled the air and sealed the bag you can store flat. You can also thaw easily from the bags as you place the whole bag in a sink of tap water and leave for 10 minutes.

Souper Cubes. These are a relatively new addition to our freezer game and I’m a total convert as they don’t tend to slip out of the freezer as the silicone is grippy. They also are compartmentalised into 250g portions and are easy to pop out and thaw.

Thawing

It depends on which container you are using as to which thawing method is best. However, any container will thaw perfectly overnight in the fridge in the container.

If you’ve left things to the last minute and want to thaw and use immediately (this is 100% my experience) then you can do the following:

Ziplock bag. Lay in a bowl / sink of cold water for 10-15 minutes and re-heat as above.

Plastic airtight container. Run under the cold tap for 10 seconds or so, then the sauce should pop out fine and

Souper Cubes. The sauce just pops right out.

Re-heating

Thawed sauce. 250g of sauce can then be re-heated on the stove in a lidded saucepan for 5 minutes at a low-medium heat. Stir well as you are re-heating.

Frozen sauce. As above but 250g of sauce will take about 10-15 minutes. Add 1 tbsp water into the saucepan to help it out.

Microwave. You could also use the microwave to thaw and/ heat your sauce. Place 250g frozen sauce into a covered bowl and heat for 6-8 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave). To re-heat thawed sauce then 1-2 minutes is enough.

Uses for Roasted Tomato Sauce

The Roasted Tomato Freezer Sauce is excellent in its own right but with these few nifty changes you have a different dinner every time:

• Pasta dishes. It really enhances any gluten-free pasta meals. Try it in this Lasagne recipe, you could also use it for spaghetti bolognaise, penne arrabiata, spaghetti alla puttanesca with just a few adjustments after thawing.
• Rice dishes. Use it as a base for a delicious tomato risotto or a Spanish rice dish.
• My youngest children like it as is but if I’m making a meal for my more adventurous child then I will often add a couple of tablespoons of mascarpone for a creamy tomato pasta sauce (Philadelphia Cream Cheese also works).
• Use as a base sauce on your pizza dough for homemade pizza night.
• Simmer a portion of sauce with a drained tin of haricot beans for homemade baked beans.
• Thin out with some fresh stock and freshly chopped dill for a quick lunchtime tomato soup.

More Sauce Recipes You’ll Love

Feta Pesto with Pistachio & Mint is beautifully bright, fresh and creamy. Wonderful in pasta but also delicious drizzled over grilled meat or roasted veggies.

This Homemade Smoky Fajita Seasoning Paste takes about 10 minutes to make, it’s smoky, spicy, zingy and will soon become an absolute staple in your kitchen.

Tahini Turmeric Sauce is bright, vibrant and full of flavour. Better yet it can be paired with almost anything from roasted veggies, salad, meat to potatoes or rice. It’s a supper saviour.