Try my easy basil roasted garlic tomato sauce today. This pasta sauce is thick and full of garlic and fresh basil. Serve it with your favorite pasta!
Last summer I was taking some photos at a local restaurant and one of the items was a roasted garlic dish. It smelled heavenly. Usually, when I am offered the food after I am finished photographing, I pass.
That day however, I said “Yes Please!” to the garlic dip and ate the whole thing. I think a server or two were peering over my shoulder, hoping I would share… and I just couldn’t.
I love garlic. I needed to eat it all.
As I headed home, hanging my head in shame because of my bad-sharing manners, I vowed to roast more garlic at home.
Unrelated, but that same summer I planted some herbs in my yard. I have a black thumb but have lots and lots of luck with basil. Seriously, this is a photo of a just a 1/4 of the basil harvested from my basil plant.
I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s because I pick it often so it always has a chance to regrow. Maybe the spot the pot is in happens to be a magic basil spot, with just the right amount of sun and the opportunity to get just the right amount of rain.
Last year, I made pesto. This year, we make pasta sauce.
Easy Basil Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce
When you add a love of roasted garlic to a green thumb for basil, you sometimes end up with a fantastic and easy pasta sauce. As I was roasting the heads of garlic, I had flashbacks to taking those photos because Oh Man the smell!
Maybe that’s what I like so much – not the garlic itself, but the smell? Nah, it’s the garlic which includes the smell.
This easy roasted garlic basil pasta sauce can be made quickly, which is awesome. I pulled this recipe out of my bag of tricks this week because I had limited groceries and I wanted something with maximum flavor.
The hardest part about this is roasting the garlic – it takes a little bit of time in the oven but I like to use that time to do some of those “other things” on my to-do list.
Once that oven timer goes off, I start gathering up all of the other ingredients to this recipe and I get cooking.
Many store-bought pasta sauces include sugar which I think is to cut some of the acid. Many moons ago, on some cooking show or another I saw the chef cut their sauce’s acidity with honey and that has been my trick ever since. Love me some honey.
If three heads of garlic seem like too many for you, don’t be afraid to cut it to two. It will still taste great but the basil may overpower the sauce. So much goodness in every bite either way.
Can you freeze pasta sauce?
You can freeze pasta sauce for up to 6 months. Let it cool completely and then transfer it to freezer safe bags or containers.
To defrost frozen pasta sauce, place the sealed bag or container in a bowl of warm water until the sauce has been brought to room temperature.

Roasted Garlic Basil Pasta Sauce
Try my easy roasted garlic basil pasta sauce today. It's thick and full of garlic and fresh basil. Serve it with your favorite pasta!
Ingredients
- 3 heads of garlic
- 6 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons diced basil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top of each head of garlic so the cloves are exposed. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over each garlic head, then wrap the garlic in foil.
- Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until the garlic cloves are tender. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, use a spoon to remove the roasted garlic and crush in a small bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 105Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 596mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 9gProtein: 3g
Looking for more pasta recipes? Try my one pot mediterranean pasta dish
or this cheesy tomato pasta skillet!
Bayou Andy
Monday 1st of February 2021
This is wonderful. Sorry, but I leave the honey out and use stewed tomatoes instead. No matter what...it is a deliciously simple recipe. I love it.
Madison
Friday 1st of January 2021
This sauce was so good! I was worried about the 3 heads of garlic being too overwhelming (it’s my boyfriend who’s not a fan of ~strong~ garlic flavours, not I) so I only used 2 — next I definitely will definitely use 3. This will be my new go to pasta sauce!
Anna Anderson
Monday 27th of July 2020
This sauce is so amazing. It is so full of flavor and is so thick. I really could eat this on everything!
Jenny
Tuesday 28th of July 2020
Thanks for you comment Anna! Glad you like it!
Valerie
Saturday 28th of December 2019
How many cups of sauce does this recipe yield? Thanks!
Maria Magdalena
Saturday 19th of March 2016
Looks so delicious! I pinned it at Tasty Tuesday Creative K Kids Pinterest board.