This Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce is the best homemade red sauce to pair with any pasta. Super creamy and packed with vegetables!
Sauce carries a pasta dish and nothing tastes better than a homemade red sauce. In this roasted tomato pasta sauce, we combine the sweet, caramelized goodness of roasted tomatoes with Parmesan cheese and a bit of milk for the creamiest addition to all your dishes. As a dietitian, I love that this pasta sauce packs in some extra veggies too!
Save this recipe for your next pasta night and thank me later!
Why This Recipe Is Dietitian Approved
- Add more veggies. Pasta sauces are a great way to get some extra "hidden" veggies and nutrients.
- Freezer friendly. You can easily make a huge batch of roasted tomato pasta sauce and freeze for future use.
- Customizable. This recipe works well with a variety of vegetables, so it's a great way to use up leftovers in the fridge.
Ingredients
Tomatoes. Roma tomatoes work best in this recipe for the most traditional tomato sauce flavour. If you are unable to find roma tomatoes, you can use on-the-vine tomatoes.
Onion. The roasted onion flavor in this helps create the best flavour! I recommend using a spanish or yellow cooking onion.
Vegetables of choice. I use red bell pepper, however zucchini, cauliflower or carrots would also work great.
Garlic. We use an entire head of garlic in this recipe. Once roasted, the flavor becomes more mild but it adds the perfect amount of flavour.
Milk. I recommend using milk in this sauce as it creates the creamiest sauce while also adding in 9g of protein.
Parmesan cheese. I love adding Parmesan cheese to my tomato sauces to add a rich umami undertone. Grated Parmesan cheese is the easiest.
Balsamic vinegar. Adding balsamic vinegar to tomato sauces helps add a depth of flavour, helping to balance the sweetness of the tomatoes and create a more fresh and flavourful sauce.
Spices. All you need are salt, black pepper, and dried oregano.
The complete ingredient list with measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To the sheet pan, add vegetables and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
- Roast vegetables at 400F for 40 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are soft, add them to a blender with milk, Parmesan cheese, and spices. Blend until smooth.
- Pour over your favourite pasta and pair with a protein for an easy nourishing meal. You may want to heat the sauce over low-medium heat in a saucepan prior to adding.
Substitutions and Variations
To make gluten-free: this recipe is naturally gluten-free.
To make dairy-free: replace the milk with vegetable broth and omit the Parmesan cheese.
To make nut-free: this recipe is naturally nut-free.
This sauce is easy to customize to meet your taste/ texture preferences.
- For a spicier sauce: add additional red pepper flakes or chili flakes
- Less veggie taste: use zucchini and tomato as your vegetables of choice
- For a sweeter sauce: use red bell peppers or carrots as your vegetable addition
- For a thicker sauce: reduce the liquid by ¼ cup
Feel free to customize your vegetables using what you have. Tomatoes/bell peppers can be replaced with any vegetables of choice (ie. zucchini, carrots etc.). I recommend adding at least 2 tomatoes into this sauce for a traditional tomato sauce taste; however the remainder can be replaced with 2 and ¼ cups of a variety of chopped vegetables.
Equipment
Storage
This roasted tomato pasta sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 6 days in an airtight container or up to 3 months in the freezer. To reheat from fridge, add sauce to a saucepan over low-medium heat and stir until warm. To reheat from frozen, defrost the sauce in the fridge overnight and reheat in a small saucepan.
Top Tips for Success
This is a loose recipe for a roasted vegetable pasta sauce that you can make your own. I love using it to use up leftover vegetables in the fridge; just make sure you use at least 2 tomatoes for flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don't recommend leaving out the tomato in this recipe. It will still create a great tasting sauce, but it won't have the same “tomato sauce” flavour.
I recommend using a higher fiber pasta option such as this one.
More Healthy Sauce Recipes
Save these pasta sauce recipe next!
- Mushroom Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Beef
- Super Creamy Beet Pasta Sauce
- Healthy Green Pasta Sauce
- Creamy Vegan Red Pepper Pasta Sauce
See you in the kitchen!
PS. I love seeing my recipes in action! If you decide to make this roasted tomato pasta sauce, don't forget to snap a photo and tag me on Instagram- @nourishedbynic or leave a comment and rating below letting me know how you liked it!
📖 Recipe
Roasted Tomato and Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes about 4 cups, see note below
- 1 red bell pepper about 1 ¼ cup
- 1 yellow onion about 1 cup
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup milk *see note below
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar optional for depth of flavour
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To the sheet pan, add vegetables and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Roast vegetables at 400F for 40 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are soft add them to a blender with milk, parmesan cheese, and spices. Blend until smooth.
- Pour over your favourite pasta and pair with a protein for an easy nourishing meal! You may want to heat the sauce over low-medium heat in a saucepan prior to adding.
Nicole Addison says
My favourite way to add extra veggies into pasta! I hope you enjoy this recipe!