Description
This Roasted Tomato Sauce Pasta recipe offers a rich, flavorful, and slightly smoky tomato sauce made by roasting fresh tomatoes and garlic, blended to a smooth texture and tossed with your favorite pasta. Topped with crunchy toasted breadcrumbs, toasted pine nuts or almonds, capers or olives, and creamy almond ricotta, this dish is a delicious, satisfying vegetarian meal perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Roasted Tomato Sauce
- 1 kg / 34 oz small tomatoes, halved
- 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled and crushed with the side of a knife
- 45 ml / 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Pinch of chilli flakes, optional
- Pinch of sugar, optional
- 1–2 sprigs of fresh basil, optional
Pasta
- 300 g / 10½ oz favorite pasta (gluten-free if needed)
Toppings
- 2 tbsp toasted coarse breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp pine nuts or almonds, toasted
- 2 tbsp capers or sliced olives
- Almond ricotta (vegan ricotta)
- Fresh herbs (basil or parsley) for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Heat your oven to 220° C / 425° F to prepare for roasting the tomatoes and garlic.
- Prepare Tomatoes and Garlic: Cut the tomatoes in halves and place them in a large baking dish along with the unpeeled, crushed garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and season with dried oregano, salt, pepper, optional chilli flakes, and a pinch of sugar if needed for sweetness. Add fresh basil sprigs if using.
- Roast Tomatoes: Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even roasting. The tomatoes should be soft, juicy, and lightly charred at the edges.
- Cook Pasta: While the sauce roasts, cook your pasta until just short of al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Blend Sauce: Remove the roasted tomatoes and juices from the baking dish into a blender. Discard wilted basil. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and add them to the blender. Blend until smooth or leave some tomato pieces whole for texture.
- Heat Sauce: Transfer the blended sauce to a pan and gently warm it on low heat. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Toss Pasta: Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce, tossing well to coat evenly.
- Plate and Garnish: Divide the pasta among four plates and garnish each with toasted breadcrumbs, toasted pine nuts or almonds, capers or sliced olives, almond ricotta, and fresh herbs such as basil or parsley.
Notes
- You can use small cherry or grape tomatoes for a sweeter, more intense flavor.
- Adjust the amount of chilli flakes according to your preferred spice level.
- If fresh basil is unavailable, dried oregano alone can provide great flavor.
- For a gluten-free version, choose gluten-free pasta and ensure breadcrumbs are GF or omit them.
- Almond ricotta can be replaced with any vegan ricotta or your favorite cheese if not vegan.
- To toast nuts and breadcrumbs, dry fry them in a pan on medium heat until golden and fragrant.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Roasting, Blending, Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate (approx. 1/4 of recipe)
- Calories: 380 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 320 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: roasted tomato sauce, pasta recipe, vegetarian pasta, vegan parmesan, almond ricotta pasta, easy italian dinner, homemade tomato sauce
