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Making Tomato Sauce from Scratch

Fire roasted tomatoes, blended with garlic and herbs, then cooked in a slow cooker make this sauce made from any kind of garden tomato the perfect consistency. To make a thicker sauce, use paste-type tomatoes.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4 one cup servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 10-20 pounds fresh tomatoes Core them and cut into halves
  • 1 clove garlic Mashed or pressed
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon Salt
  • 1/4 cup Sugar (Optional)

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Wash tomatoes. Slice tops off, then cut them in half. Place halves in an oven proof baking dish. Line them up so that they touch.
  3. Roast in the oven at 425 degrees for one to two hours. When they begin to burn a little, take them out. Let them cool at room temperature.
  4. Once cool, place tomatoes, herbs, sugar and garlic in a blender. Blend on puree setting until smooth, about 20-30 seconds.
  5. Pour mixture into a Crock Pot or Slow Cooker.
  6. Simmer on LOW for 4-8 hours with the lid off or slightly ajar to allow steam to escape.
  7. Stir and enjoy! If you want to freeze the extra, allow it to cool, then pour it into a freezer-safe container.
    process picture making tomato sauce from scratch

Notes

Canning Tomato Sauce

You can also can tomato sauce that you made from scratch. Use a hot water bath canner. Clean jars and place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into each jar. Ladle the sauce into the jar, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Place lid and screw band onto jars after cleaning the rims. Process in a hot water bath canner for 35 minutes (pints). I leave the seeds in my tomato sauce...if you really want to get fancy, a food mill will reduce the seeds.