Freezer Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

This Homemade Freezer Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes is perfect for what to do with so many tomatoes and herbs from the garden! This simple freezer tomato sauce is delicious, easy and can be used for any amount of tomatoes you have. Stock your freezer for pizza, pasta and so many recipes!

The Garden Bounty

What to do with too many tomatoes is certainly a great problem to have! When you've eaten all the Pesto BLT's, Garden Fresh Salsa, and Bruschetta you can eat, it's time to think about preserving those tomatoes.

This big batch of "Use-Up" Freezer Marinara Sauce is my favorite way to stretch our summer bounty for using in many different meals all winter long. Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is great for lots of garden tomatoes too!

• This Sauce is Easy and Versatile - With no canning rules to follow, you don't need to peel or deseed your tomatoes. Your food processor does the work and the exact amounts don't matter much. You can use up whatever amount of tomatoes you have as long as they'll fit in the pot! An alternative to simmering your tomatoes is to roast them first before blending with this Freezer Pizza Sauce.

• It's Healthy, Vegan and Gluten-Free - Fresh ingredients are good for you! This gluten-free marinara sauce is made from simple garden fresh ingredients. It's a great way to throw in a zucchini or bell pepper, herbs like basil and oregano, or a few extra greens like spinach or kale. Whatever you've got in the garden!

• If you have Garden Herbs to use up too - Lots of herbs can go into this tomato sauce, but if you have even more, try Freezing Mixed Herbs and Greens or making Freezer Pesto!

Ingredients

• Olive Oil - Used to saute the veggies as a base for the sauce.

• Onion - The base flavor for this freezer marinara sauce. I used a small yellow onion, but you can use a larger one if you are making a larger pot of sauce.

• Zucchini or Bell Pepper - These extra veggies are totally optional. If you are a big gardener, you may have more produce than you know what to do with by late August! This is a chance to throw in a few extra veggies. They will be pureed, so these hidden veggies simply add nutrition to the final dish you are making! We love throwing extra zucchini and bell pepper into this Honey Skillet Cornbread too!

• Garlic - A classic flavor in marinara sauce, fresh garlic is best for this recipe.

• Tomatoes - The star of the show! You can use any type of garden tomatoes for this recipe. The amount of tomatoes you use is also flexible, meaning you can use up what you have, as long as you can fit it in the pot! If you are really making a huge pot, you can increase the other ingredients a bit.

• Salt & Pepper - These simple seasonings bring out the flavor in all our fresh garden ingredients.

• Sugar - Sugar is optional but a pinch helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

• Fresh Herbs - I love this recipe for using up lots of herbs and greens from the garden. Any combination of basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, or parsley add great flavor. You can also add a bit of chopped kale or spinach to bump up the nutrition. If you don't have fresh herbs you can substitute a teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning.

Instructions

Step 1 - Add large chunks of onion and bell pepper or zucchini if using to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Saute the veggies in olive oil in a large pot until soft and beginning to brown.

Mince garlic in the food processor and add it to the veggies.

Step 2 - Prepare your tomatoes, wash them and cut out the core/stem end and cut away any bad spots. Chop them in large chunks and add to the food processor in batches.

Pulse the tomatoes a few times until ground, keeping some texture, you don't want to totally puree them.

Transfer to the pot to saute with the other veggies until you have processed all the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar.

Step 3 - Simmer over medium low heat for about an hour or more. You want it to lightly bubble, reducing the liquid to thicken the sauce.

Stirring often will help release steam which will help the sauce reduce. Add your herbs about half way through.

Step 4 - It's done when you think it is! This marinara sauce by nature is a bit of a thin tomatoey sauce, since fresh tomatoes contain so much water. But, the longer you cook the liquid away, the thicker it will get.

Allow the pot of sauce to cool slightly on the stovetop before transferring it to storage containers.

Storage & Freezer Instructions

This recipe was written specifically for freezing marinara sauce! If you have the freezer space, I really prefer freezing to canning. It just feels like less of an ordeal!

Less rules to follow, less equipment, and you can use whatever amount of tomatoes you have without following a strict recipe.

This freezer tomato sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months or more.

How to Freeze Marinara Sauce

• Choose Containers in Different Sizes depending on how you intend to use your sauce. A larger container or freezer bag may be best for a large pasta night, while a small container or mason jar might be a perfect sauce for Homemade Pizza. Jars are a great swap if you are trying to get away from plastic!

• Allow the Pot of Sauce to Cool Slightly on the stovetop before adding to containers. This will ensure your hot sauce doesn't crack cold jars, or melt plastic containers.

• Fill Glass Jars Only ¾'s Full - This allows the sauce room to expand as it freezes so your jars don't crack.

• Cool Jars or Containers in the Fridge First - Glass doesn't like sudden temperature change, so let your pot of sauce cool slightly on the stovetop before filling your jars, and then let the jars cool completely in the refrigerator overnight before moving them to the freezer. This allows for gradual temperature changes!

Chef Tips

• Tomatoes do Not need to be peeled or deseeded - There are no specific canning rules to follow here! Tomato seeds and skins are perfectly edible, and this is meant to be an easy recipe! Let your food processor do the work and just give your tomatoes a few pulses.

• Amounts are Flexible! - The amounts in this recipe do not need to be exact! This is a gardener's recipe, designed to use up what you have. Large tomatoes, small tomatoes and everything in between, if you've got tomatoes ripening on the vine faster than you can use them, throw them into the pot! If you are making a really huge pot of sauce, you can increase the amounts of the other ingredients a bit.

• Let it Simmer - Remember that tomatoes contain a lot of water. The longer you simmer the sauce and give it a good occasional stir, the more steam will escape and the more concentrated the tomatoes and flavor will be.

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!

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