Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce

Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce- Fresh tomatoes are roasted, blended, and finished with a special ingredient making the perfect homemade sauce.

September 13, 2026 by Nicole Collins

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Today, we’re making Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce!

Guys, how do we only have 1 week of summer left? I’m not saying I’m spiraling at this thought, but I’m not saying I’m not either.

I’m not at all ready to “celebrate” the end of summer, but I can always be ready to appreciate it. So, that’s what we’re doing today. We’re going to use the best of the end of summer produce to make a beautifully delicious homemade tomato sauce that will knock your socks off. 

There’s really not much work to do here but throw everything in a dish and toss it in the oven. And that starts with some gorgeous summer tomatoes. This sauce is pretty forgiving, so there are lots of different ways you can go about the tomato choice. I typically prefer to stick with a smaller tomato: campari, grape, cherry. They’re all a little sweeter, and they all generally taste delicious all year long so this doesn’t just have to be a summer only recipe. But really, I’ve added in hunks of whatever kind of tomato I have, and it works out perfectly every time.

We’ll get those tomatoes in a baking dish and add some pantry staples to flavor our sauce. We need some sliced shallot, a little smashed garlic, some Italian seasoning, and a little brown sugar to balance out the acidity in the sauce. Finish with the standard evoo, salt, and pepper; then give everything in the dish a good toss to make sure those tomatoes are completely coated. And to the oven it goes for about a half hour until the tomatoes are bursting, bubbly, and just starting to caramelize.

About halfway through the cooking time is generally when I like to start the pasta. I typically tend to go for a long cut pasta like spaghetti or linguine for this one. But honestly, a red sauce works on any kind of pasta you’re feeling. Just cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions, drain it, and toss it right back in the same pot you cooked it in (off the heat), so we can mix our sauce in right there without dirtying up another dish.

Once the tomatoes are done roasting, we’re going to very carefully transfer them to a blender. I like to use a personal blender cup as it’s the perfect size. But just a note, don’t twist that blender lid on too tight or you’re going to be wearing tomato sauce. Don’t ask me how I know that…

Carefully blend the tomatoes until they’re nice a smooth. And here comes our secret ingredient: cottage cheese. Stay with me here. We’re going to add some lowfat cottage cheese to the sauce, and blend it again until everything is smooth and creamy. The cottage cheese is replacing both heavy cream and parm in our sauce, and it turns our sauce into a creamy, blush delight. You don’t even know it’s in there. If you don’t want a creamy blush sauce, you can skip this step. I make this sauce all the time without the cottage cheese, and it’s still perfectly delish. You’ll just need to finish it with a little parm at the end, because it’s a sin not to have some kind of cheese with a tomato sauce.

All that’s left to do is toss our sauce with the pasta, plate it up, and finish it with a little fresh basil for brightness. And let me tell you, this sauce is brighter than the sun. It’s fresh, it’s flavorful, it’s comforting…it’s absolutely freaking delicious. I’ve been making this over and over for years, so shame on me for not sharing it with you sooner, honestly.

Ok, everyone! We’re going to do our best to embrace the last quarter seasons and transition to apple mode next week. So, stay tuned!

In the meantime, enjoy! And, let’s eat!

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Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce

Serves: 2          Print

Ingredients:

• 6-8 campari tomatoes, quartered (about 2 cups)

• 1 shallot, sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, smashed

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp brown sugar

• ½ tsp Italian seasoning

• ½ tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp pepper

• 4 oz long cut pasta

• ½ cup lowfat cottage cheese (I like Friendship Dairies whipped cottage cheese)

• Fresh basil, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To a 2 qt baking dish, add tomatoes, shallot, garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss well to combine. Bake for 25-30 mins until tomatoes are bubbly and start to caramelize.

2. About halfway through the tomato cook time, cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain, and add cooked pasta back to the pot off of the heat.

3. Carefully transfer the entire contents of the baking dish, including the juices, to a personal blender. Carefully blend until smooth. Add cottage cheese, and blend again until completely smooth.

4. Pour blended sauce over the pasta, and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving dish, and finish with fresh basil, if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe notes:

*The cottage cheese in this sauce is optional, but so good. It adds beautiful creaminess, and you don’t even know it’s there. I make this sauce all the time without the cottage cheese, and it’s just as tasty. Just finish the dish with a little shredded parm if you decide to omit the cottage cheese.

*When blending your sauce, make sure not to twist the lid to the blender cup on too tight. Otherwise, you’ll be wearing tomato sauce when you try to twist off that lid. 

*This really works with any kind of tomatoes, but the smaller ones make the best sauce in my opinion. Sometimes I use grape or cherry tomatoes. Oftentimes I use wrinkly tomatoes at the end of their life. This sauce is super forgiving!