One of the most leisurely meals is simple spaghetti with a jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce. But there’s nothing quite like homemade tomato sauce. Making homemade pasta sauce can sound like it’s complicated. But it’s not. You basically roast some tomatoes, saute some mushrooms, and stir it together with spices. 

You will need to plan ahead to make the sauce because the tomatoes need to roast for 40-50 minutes. But in total, the sauce only takes around an hour to make. Not too bad for a pasta sauce made from scratch.

You can also make this sauce ahead of time and store in the fridge for a couple of days before using. The flavors will really meld together if you can make it ahead of time, too.

Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce Recipe

It’s always best to prep all your ingredients before cooking. Dice the onions and garlic, slice the mushrooms and tomatoes; and measure out your spices and oils. 

Once all the ingredients are prepped, you will start by roasting the tomatoes. Start by preheating the oven to 400F. While the oven heats up, remove the stems and slice tomatoes in half. You can use any tomatoes you like to make the sauce. We really like to use Roma tomatoes as they have a nice flavor. You could even try mixing and matching types of tomatoes. 

Add olive oil, garlic, thyme and lemon slices to a large rimmed baking sheet or baking pan. Stir around to coat the lemons and garlic. The tomatoes will release juices as they cook so make sure the pan has sides. You can line the pan with aluminum foil for easier clean up, if desired.   

Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the lemon slices and olive oil with the cut side facing down.

Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil and then roast for 40 to 50 min.

While the tomatoes are roasting in the oven, prepare the mushrooms and onions.  Heat a large frying pan on the stove top over medium high heat. Add olive oil. 

Sauté the sliced mushrooms and diced onion on medium to high heat stirring frequently for 10 minutes or until onions begin to get translucent. Add garlic to the pan and cook on low to medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently.

When the tomatoes are done roasting, remove them from the oven and add them and the juices to the pan.  There is no need to allow the tomatoes to cool but be careful as they are hot. You can discard the lemons but use the rest of the juices.

Next add tomato paste, bay leaves, chopped basil, chopped parsley, oregano and salt & pepper to pan. Stir everything together and heat on low heat for 10 to 15 min. Remove the bay leaves. The sauce will be chunky. You can make it smoother if you like by blending with an immersion blender. 

Serve over your favorite pasta, add your choice of cheese and garnish with basil and/or parsley with a side of breadsticks.