Preserve your garden fresh tomatoes with jars of Pizza Sauce for the Freezer! This basic roasted tomato sauce uses up 4 pounds of fresh tomatoes, with garlic, onions, and lots of fresh basil. Makes 4 pint jars to use on Homemade Pizza, pasta, plus lots of other versatile ideas!
- Tomato Harvest! - We grow lots of tomatoes in our garden, but I'm just not a big fan of the whole canning process! Instead, I love making our tomatoes into the finished sauce and freezing it!
- Roasting is Delicious! - The smell of roasted tomatoes, onions and garlic is heavenly! Roasting condenses all that water in the tomatoes, bringing out their bold flavor into a robust sauce!
- If you have lots of Garden Tomatoes, try my Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, this Freezer Marinara Sauce, and this Garden Fresh Salsa!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Lots of garden fresh produce, simply seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper, this versatile tomato pizza sauce preserves the harvest all winter!
- Fresh Garden Tomatoes - I used a little over 4 pounds of tomatoes and really any variety or combination you're growing will work! Four pounds is about what will fit on a large sheet pan, but you can really adjust this recipe up or down for any amount of tomatoes you want to use up.
- Onion and Garlic - Roasting the garlic and onions intensifies their flavors and is simply delicious!
- Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper - Very basic seasonings let the homegrown tomato flavor shine through!
- Fresh Herbs - Definitely include basil, but you can also add thyme, oregano, parsley, sage or rosemary.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Simply roast and blend, this freezer pizza sauce is quick, easy and so useful!
Step 1 - Cut the tomatoes into large chunks or quarters, depending on the size. Remove large cores or any bad spots.
Slice the onion into a few pieces and cut the tip off the garlic while leaving the cloves whole in the skins.
Step 2 - Toss the tomato, onion and garlic on a large sheet pan with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Step 3 - Roast in the oven at 425°F for about 30 to 45 minutes.
You want the tomatoes shriveled and just beginning to caramelize.
Step 4 - Use a slotted spatula to transfer the tomatoes and onions to a blender, leaving behind the liquid on the pan.
You'll likely need to blend in 2 batches.
Step 5 - Try to make your two batches even with half the tomatoes, onions, garlic cloves squeezed from the skins, and herbs.
Step 6 - Puree as smooth or as rustically chunky as you like.
If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little tomato juice from the pan.
Helpful Tips
- Use Any Variety of Tomatoes you Have - This sauce is great for using any types of tomatoes. Some tomatoes contain more liquid and you can probably roast a little longer if using. You can also add a handful of cherry tomatoes, whatever needs using!
- Cut Any Bad Spots off your Tomatoes - A freezer sauce is a great way to use tomatoes that are less than perfect! Cut off any bad spots, but if your tomato is rotten, throw it out!
- Leave the Juice in the Pan - Pull your roasted tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spatula, leaving the juice behind as you transfer them to the blender. This will give you a thicker sauce without all that water from the tomato. Then, if your sauce is too thick, you can thin it with that tomato juice from the pan.
- Don't Over Blend - Start with a low speed and only blend just to get everything incorporated. Then you can decide how smooth you like your sauce. It will thicken more as it cools.
How to Store and Freeze Pizza Sauce
- Storage - Sauce can be stored in a jar or any container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer Instructions - Pizza Sauce can be frozen as a great way to preserve your tomatoes for up to 6 months! You can freeze sauce in glass jars for the perfect serving size. One pint jar is the right amount for a Homemade Pizza night!
- Important Precautions when Freezing in Glass Jars:
- You don't need to use canning jars, any glass jars and any size will work.
- Allow sauce to cool slightly before adding to the jars.
- Fill jars only ¾'s full to allow the sauce room to expand as it freezes.
- Cool your sauce filled jars completely in the fridge first before moving to the freezer, overnight is great.
- To use, thaw overnight in the fridge before microwaving, reheating, or adding to pizza. Never submerge a frozen jar in hot water, it will crack!
- Glass doesn't like sudden temperature changes, so following these steps will avoid cracked jars. If a jar does crack, throw it out, do not try to save the sauce!
- Label and date jars with masking tape and a sharpie!
How to use your Frozen Pizza Sauce
Let a jar of frozen pizza sauce thaw overnight in the fridge and it's ready to use!
- Pizza! - Use for Homemade Pizza, or on quick flatbread pizzas, pizza bread or bagels, sauce for dipping breadsticks, any type of pizza you can imagine!
- Pasta - I called this a pizza sauce, but it's really just a roasted tomato marinara sauce, Italian in flavor, and could be used in lots of dishes as a pasta sauce. For example, if the recipe calls for a can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce, you could probably sub this sauce! Try it in this Baked Tortellini with Italian Sausage or this Creamy Tomato Pink Sauce Pasta. It's a great simple sauce with any type of pasta or gnocchi, you can add protein, vegetables and Parmesan cheese!
- Other Ideas - Heat this sauce up with a little milk or cream and it's similar to this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup! Or add it to Pasta Fagioli Soup in place of the canned tomato.
Recipe FAQs
Pizza sauce being too thin or too thick is just a matter of how much water stayed in the tomatoes. So if you roast the tomatoes longer, more water will be cooked out and your sauce will be thicker. Transferring the tomatoes to the blender with a slotted spatula so the liquid stays on the pan will make your sauce thicker. If you still want your sauce thicker after you blend it, you can always simmer it on the stovetop, stirring often so the steam can escape. To thin the sauce, you can add the tomato juice from the pan, or just add plain water at any time, even after being frozen and thawed.
No, the roasted tomato peel and seeds will all get blended and are fine to leave in the sauce.
Yes, while cherry tomatoes are not the best as the bulk of the sauce, adding a few handfuls to your larger chopped tomatoes is totally fine.
More Garden Tomato Recipes!
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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Freezer Pizza Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 4 to 4.5 pounds fresh tomatoes
- ½ onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 grinds fresh black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh Italian herbs basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Slice tomatoes into large pieces or quarters, discarding the stem end and any bad spots. Cut the onion into a few large pieces. Leave the garlic cloves whole with the skin on but cut off the tip.
- Toss the tomato, onion and garlic cloves on a large sheet pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands!
- Roast for 30 to 45 minutes until the tomatoes are shriveled and beginning to caramelize.
- Transfer the tomatoes and onions to a blender, you'll likely need to do 2 batches. Squeeze out a few garlic cloves into each batch and divide the fresh herbs. Blend on low at first until everything is incorporated. You can decide if you want the sauce very smooth or with some texture.
- Store in glass jars or any containers, filled only ¾'s full to allow room for expansion. Cool overnight in the fridge, use within 5 days or freeze up to 6 months.
Notes
- Recipe makes 4 pint sized jars of sauce.
- Only fill jars ¾'s full to allow room for expansion when freezing. Very important to avoid cracked jars!
- Cool the jars in the fridge overnight before transferring to the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Garden Tomatoes - Use any assortment of tomato varieties, you can include some cherry tomatoes.
- Thaw sauce overnight in the fridge before using. Never run a frozen jar under hot water to thaw, it will crack!
- Nutrition info is for 1 pint jar filled ¾'s full.
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