Bold, garlicky, and bursting with fresh basil—this Simple Tomato Basil Sauce with Roasted Garlic is your new go-to for next-level pasta nights. Slow-roasted garlic adds irresistible depth, while ripe tomatoes and herbs bring that cozy, homemade magic in every spoonful. Say goodbye to jarred sauce—this one’s a keeper.

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With a maiden name like Yacono, I couldn’t have made it this far in life without a killer sauce recipe, and lucky for you, I have perfected it! This Simple Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce with Roasted Garlic is loaded with fresh vegetables, creamy roasted garlic, and finished with a fragrant pop of fresh basil that will have you skipping the jarred sauce aisle. It has become my favorite way to fill my family up with nutritious vegetables without the dinnertime bargaining. Careful though – my husband has officially barred jar tomato sauce in our household, because it really is THAT good!

This sauce can be used as a base in any tomato-based sauce recipes like spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs, pizza, and my husband’s favorite, Homemade Tomato Soup! The sky really is the limit with this sauce, and I love the versatility that it offers!

Why I Love This Recipe

Nearly 100 years ago, my great-great grandfather and grandmother packed up their five boys and set sail for America from Sicilily. Growing up in a Sicilian-American household, my veins are essentially pumping tomato sauce as we speak, which means I take this recipe very very seriously.

Jokes aside, this recipe is my favorite to make because there is minimal effort required, I can set it and leave it and add whatever veggies I’d like without sacrificing flavor. I love making a big batch of this sauce on the weekend and freeze the leftovers for easy sauce whenever I need it. I recommend making this sauce on a weekend, or on a day that you have extra time, as it is incredibly easy to make, but the low and slow nature of this sauce requires some extra time to achieve peak flavor.

Ingredients

Tomato’s – I prefer to use a combination of Roma and Cherry tomatoes, but you can use whatever tomato’s you’d like! Don’t worry about taking off the skin or seeds, these will be blended with the rest of our sauce and cannot be seen/tasted, but add incredible nutritional benefits to the sauce! However, you can strain the sauce after blending to ensure no seeds.

Garlic – In my opinion, the roasted garlic is the star of the show in this recipe. By roasting the whole head in the oven with the rest of the vegetables, you get a creamy rich garlic flavor that balances the whole dish.

Red Pepper – I love the hint of sweetness that red pepper gives this sauce, and also helps to add a robust red color to the sauce. If you don’t like red pepper, any other pepper can be substituted, just be aware that the final color of the sauce may differ.

Carrots – This is one of those “hidden veggies” that I love adding to this sauce! The carrots help to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, while adding another layer of nutrients! You can omit this from the recipe if you want, but the carrots are well hidden in the sauce, and cannot be tasted, and I’d recommend keeping them to help cut through the acidity.

Olive Oil – I use EVOO for this recipe, but any other oil can be substituted! I prefer EVOO for the flavor, and due to its mid-smoke point, it’s great for the roasting portion of this recipe.

Basil – I use fresh basil leaves for this recipe, because it adds a pop of fresh flavor that just can’t be achieved with dried basil. However, this can be substituted for dried basil based on what you have on hand at home!

Salt/Pepper – This can be adjusted by taste, however, salt has works as a natural flavor balancer in acidic foods such as this, and is used to help cut the acidity.

Thyme – You can use either dried or fresh thyme for this recipe! I only had dried on hand, so I used dried thyme for this recipe.

Oregano – You can also use either dried or fresh oregano. I only had dried on hand, so I used dried oregano for this recipe.

Brown Sugar – This is a “trust the process” ingredient! A common practice in my family is adding sugar to our sauce, this helps to balance the acidic/salt properties in the recipe. I prefer to use dark brown sugar, as it helps bring out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes and adds a deep caramelization flavor and color that really compliments the rest of the sauce. This can be adjusted per your family’s taste, and can be substituted with any sugar.

Red Chili Flakes – This is an optional ingredient, but I love adding just a sprinkle of red chili flakes to bring some heat to the sauce.

Grab These Tools Before You Start

9×13″ Casserole Pan – This is what you will roast the veggies in prior to assembling your sauce. If making meatballs to go with your sauce, consider baking the meatballs in the same pan that you roasted the veggies in for another layer of flavor!

Immersion Blender – I use an immersion blender to create a very smooth and silky sauce, but you can also use a blender or food processor to blend as well.

Deep Pot – This recipe needs a deep pot, like a stock pot or Dutch Oven, as it will be cooking down for multiple hours and must handle the contents of the sauce.

Directions

Preheat Oven – Before you begin, you’ll want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Prep The Veggies – This will be the most hands-on step of this recipe, as we wash and prep the veggies. Cut the tomatoes, carrots, red pepper and onion into chunks (I quarter my tomatoes and chunk the carrots/pepper/onion). Add directly into 9×13″ casserole dish, and top with seasoning. Drizzle with 2Tbs of EVOO, and toss to coat (I like using my hands for this step to ensure each ingredient is well coated). Finally, cut the tops off of the garlic heads, and drizzle with EVOO.

Bake – Once veggies are prepped in the casserole dish, bake uncovered on the middle rack for 45-60 minutes, or until vegetables are well roasted and slightly charred.

Assemble Sauce – Once casserole is out of the oven, heat up your stock pot on medium heat and add 1Tbs of EVOO. Squeeze both heads of garlic into the heated pot and cook for >1 minute, then add 6oz of Tomato Paste and stir until combined. Allow to cook for 1 more minute. Then, add contents of casserole dish into pot, and hit it with the immersion blender until it has reached your desired consistency. It will be a light red/orange color at this point, which is perfect! Add sugar, salt, and red chili flakes and stir until well combined.

Cook Down Sauce – Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for at least 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has reduced and is a deep red color, as seen below. Be sure to taste the sauce and adjust seasonings as needed! Once color and consistency has been achieved, serve and enjoy!

Storing

This sauce freezes very well! Just be sure to allow sauce to cool completely before moving to a container. This can be stored in the freezer until you’re ready to use, for up to 6 months. Alternatively, you can store it in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Want to make this ahead? Perfect! This is a great recipe to make ahead, or in bulk, and store for later. Skip the jarred sauce and impress your family and friends with a from-scratch tomato sauce that is sure to knock the jars out of the water!