This all-from-scratch recipe for Fire Roasted Spaghetti Sauce is full of rich flavor and vibrant color. The recipe calls for fresh and healthy ingredients that combine to make the best spaghetti sauce ever!
When I start seeing deals on in-season tomatoes, I’m reminded that it’s time to make Fire Roasted Spaghetti Sauce again. I look for a good sale and then buy a ton. Made from scratch spaghetti sauce is in a league of its own. First of all, homemade anything is almost always better than store bought, but this recipe, in particular, will spoil you for homemade spaghetti sauce. Don’t be afraid to try making sauce from scratch if this is your first time—you will love it!
It is true that the most time consuming part of this recipe takes place in a crock pot, with very little babysitting. However, there are definitely some extra steps involved in producing what you will find to be the most delicious spaghetti sauce. Tomatoes are roasted on a grill, skinned and then pureed with other fresh ingredients. Then the sauce will slow cook in a crockpot while flavors blend together in perfect harmony.
This recipe makes a lot of sauce. You can have a really large gathering, give the extra sauce away to friends, freeze it, or can it. Whatever you choose, everyone who gets to try it will want it again and again.
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Do I have to grill the tomatoes?
In order to create the rich flavor that makes this sauce so amazing, you will have to grill the tomatoes. Although it is an extra step from regular spaghetti sauce, it’s definitely worth it and it’s actually a fairly easy process. If you don’t have a grill, you can get a good roasted flavor by broiling the tomatoes. Cut them in half, place them with the skin side up on a baking sheet and broil on high for 10 minutes and then on low for another 5. Alternatively, you can roast your tomatoes and garlic in the oven. Roast at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes, until tomato skins are blackened and easy to peel.
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Can I use canned fire roasted tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce?
You can. They just don’t have the awesome flavor that freshly roasted tomatoes have, but if you find yourself in a pinch or you just don’t feel like grilling the tomatoes, you can use prepared ones—it will still make a great sauce. For a great recipe using preserved tomatoes, like canned fire roasted tomatoes, please check out this recipe instead.
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STORAGE/FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
This sauce is great when made a day or two in advance, as this gives the flavor even more time to develop. This sauce can be stored in an airtight storage container (like a mason jar) in the fridge for 7 to 10 days. To freeze, divide the sauce into quart sized freezer bags. Lay the bags flat in the freezer until frozen solid. The sauce will stay good in the freezer for about 3 months.
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CANNING INSTRUCTIONS:
Sterilize 6 pint sized mason jars. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each jar. Fill the jars with prepared spaghetti sauce, leaving 1/2 inch at the top. Place the lids and bands on the jars and secure tightly. Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes.
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Great recipe. I had planned to work this with your other sauce recipe with the oregano and fennel. But instead I decided to make this as is.
It was GREAT!!
I used the paste tomatoes out of our garden. Was a blend of Roma, San Marzano Redorta, Amish Paste, Opalka. White Onions and Sweet Basil from the garden as well.
We freeze them as we pick them till we are ready to make sauce and canning.
I did one batch and everyone loved it so much we then made a full stock pot batch 4x the recipe.
Awesome recipe!! The fire roasting makes a huge difference. Tastes good just fire roasted LOL.
My wife wants to try your other sauce recipe for our next batch. We make and can our various sauces, paste salsa etc and other garden veggies for the year.
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Made this weekend. I had never grilled tomatoes on the the grill but it was SO easy. Really made the peels slide right off! Easy recipe. I added some ground beef to one night’s serving (used about 4 cups of the sauce). I then put 3 ziplock bags of 28 oz each in the freezer for later (no beef in those). Thank you for this recipe!
Do the seeds need to be removed or so they soften and blend away?
No need to remove them.
Just a suggestion to those that want to remove seeds and maybe do not want even skin them by hand (it is so easy we still do it by hand) etc…
Pickup a hand crank tomato press. They will suction cup to your counter and will separate flesh (sauce) from seeds skin core etc. I run them thru 2-3x to get all the flesh/pulp extracted. Takes about 30 min for me to do 100 lbs.
The manual hand crank versions like I used this season are $30 range. They make attachments for those that have powered meat grinders. I will be getting one of these for our grinder for next season. We do 200+ quarts of tomato based canning…sauces, salsa, stewed tomatoes, BBQ sauce, ketchup, paste.. After a 500+ pounds thru a hand crank your ready to let an electric motor do the job next time lol.
The hand one is all you need for most people and does all sorts of soft pulp fruits as well. But you must run them thru 3x or you will loose good pulp and juice as waste. The waste makes great compost or if you have farm animals a good treat. They go to our egg or broiler chickens.
We ended up making 75 quarts of the fire roasted sauce and 40 quarts of Rachel’s other spaghetti sauce (one using store bought sauce paste etc with fennel). We started with our own tomatoes and made the sauce and paste for the recipe.
2 of the best sauce recipes we have made to date. People have really loved the fire roasted one. Love the freshness and depth of flavor.
Wow sounds simple and easy..love it
Can I cut this recipe in half to make a smaller batch?
Yes you can!
I don’t have a grill. Any other way I can toast the tomatos?
You can toast them over a gas stove, or place them under the broiler.
To remove the peelings without a grill, cut an X in the bottom and top of the tomato. Put in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. The skins blister and can easily be removed.
I’m trying to downsize this a little to more manageable means. Ballpark about how many servings do you figure this recipe makes?
oooo, this probably serves 12.
Can you use jars of roasted tomatoes instead of roasting them yourself
You can, but the flavor just doesn’t compare to freshly roasted. It’s an acceptable substitute in a pinch or if you aren’t feeling up to roasting. I’ve certainly been known to do it.
This recipe sounds wonderful! I have never made spaghetti sauce in my slow cooker before but I am going to give it a whirl tonight. Thanks for the recipe and wish me luck!
Homemade spaghetti sauce is the best! Thanks for the recipe.