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Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

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Adriana has published hundreds of recipes online and is a Board Certified Nutritionist. Read our recipe development process or more about Adriana.

Here is a delicious fire-roasted tomato sauce using canned fire-roasted tomatoes. These canned tomatoes are superior to plain diced tomatoes as the fire-roasting brings out amazing flavors! With just 4 ingredients you most likely have lying around and 15 minutes to simmer and thicken, you’ll have a unique, smoky spin on the classic tomato sauce.

No fresh tomatoes required for this delish sauce!

Muir glen organic canned and fire-roasted tomatoes

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Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce– Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient here is CANNED TOMATOES, yes that’s correct. Specifically, fire-roasted canned tomatoes. That’s where the big flavor comes from and you really can’t use anything in its place.

What’s so special about fire-roasted tomatoes? These canned tomatoes are roasted over open fire and usually sold diced. They are sweeter than traditional canned tomatoes and have a more balanced flavor profile. The sweetness balances out the acidity of the tomatoes and there is a hint of smoky char. They are bright red and speckled with charred, blackened bits.

This sauce can either be thick and chunky or thin and spreadable. An immersion blender (or your regular blender) can bring this sauce to a really thin, silky consistency. Do as your preference dictates.

A pan with fire roasted tomato sauce cooking

Ingredients For Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

We love how easy this sauce is and we basically buy cans of fire-roasted tomatoes for this sauce. On nights when you just don’t have the energy to answer ‘what’s for dinner’ enter this sauce to save the day. Toss it with pasta or gnocchi and a handful of veggies and bada bing, bada boom.

Here’s all you’ll need:

2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes: Any brand will work! The diced variety is what we usually reach for as there is no need to blend or puree the sauce at all. Sometimes you’ll see fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles, these work also but are a less Italianish sauce.

Fresh garlic: Tomato sauce and garlic? It’s a must. You can use the jarred minced garlic here or mince your own using a knife or Microplane.

Olive Oil: That minced garlic will simmer away and give this olive oil a lovely flavor for the sauce. Butter also works if that’s more your situation.

Dried Herbs: We’re going with an Italian inspiration here so oregano, thyme, basil, pizza seasoning, or Italian seasoning herb blends will work great.

a can of diced and fire roasted tomatoes on the counter

Ways To Use Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

This fire-roasted tomato sauce recipe is versatile. The beauty of this sauce is not only that it comes together in 10 minutes, but you can use this as a base for so many recipes! Use on pizza, pasta, gnocchi, mixed into scrambles, or as a sauce for grain bowls.

Reinvent leftover sauce as a base for salsa or bruschetta, a seasoning for taco filling or chili, or as a base for puttanesca sauce.

A pizza made using fire roasted tomato sauce

Related Recipes: San Marzano Pizza Sauce | Vegan Cheese Pizza | Roasted Garlic Pesto

Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce FAQs

  1. What do fire-roasted tomatoes taste like? Fire-roasted canned tomatoes are less acidic than regular canned tomatoes. They are also a little sweeter, making the overall flavor more balanced. Fire-roasted tomatoes have a similar flavor to canned San Marzano Tomatoes, which are the best of the best!
  2. What’s in fire-roasted canned tomatoes? Depending on the brand, it’s tomatoes that are roasted, tomato juice, salt, and potentially a preservative and that’s it! It’s the roasting that brings out robust flavors in this type of canned tomato.
  3. Can you freeze this sauce? Fire-roasted tomato sauce freezes very well for about 3 months. Make up a big batch and enjoy some now and some for later.
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vegan chipotle marinara sauce in a jar

Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Adriana
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 2.25 cups 1x
  • Category: vegan sauces
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian
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Description

Here’s an easy recipe for fire-roasted tomato sauce using canned tomatoes. Everyone needs a trusty canned tomato sauce recipe for when pizza or pasta cravings strike, ahem- now, so run, don’t walk to make this firey spin on classic tomato sauce!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes 
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried herbs (oregano, thyme, pizza, or Italian seasoning)
  • salt & pepper

Instructions

  1.  Heat olive oil on low and gently sautee the minced garlic until fragrant.
  2.  Add the diced fire-roasted tomatoes and juices as well as the dried herbs, salt, and pepper.
  3.  Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes until your desired thickness is achieved.
  4.  Taste and adjust for seasoning & consistency. Add salt if needed.
    1. You can puree this in a blender, or use an immersion blender to achieve a thinner consistency if desired. Be cautious of splatter and splashes if blending. 
    2. Leave the sauce as-is for a rustic, chunkier sauce.
  5. This sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 6 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months!

Notes

You can purchase canned, fire-roasted tomatoes in most grocery stores, right next to regular canned tomatoes!

To increase the firey/smokey quality of this sauce you could add 1-3 teaspoons of canned chipotles in adobo sauce– It makes a lovely smokey, spicey, sweet sauce.

Keywords: fire roasted tomato sauce

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  1. Cece

    03/13/2020 at 5:19 am

    Made this to go with the vegan cheese pizza.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Kris Jensen

    04/06/2020 at 5:05 pm

    I totally get this is a pizza sauce but I used it for a vegan lasagna.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Adriana

      04/09/2020 at 5:45 pm

      I’m on board with this idea. I hope it was great!

      Reply
  3. Elise Kelley

    08/06/2020 at 7:57 am

    This was a really good sauce– love the smoky and spicy flavors with the added peppers.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Adriana

      08/10/2020 at 4:36 pm

      Thanks Elise! Glad it worked out for you.

      Reply

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