Posted Oct 24, 2026
Roma tomatoes roasted with whole garlic and onion, pulsed into a can of San Marzano, finished with butter and chile. Coat-a-spoon pasta sauce. Not the dipping marinara.
↓ Jump to RecipePosted Oct 24, 2026
Romas cut side up on the pan. Whole peeled garlic and the onion wedges in with them. Oil, salt. 425°F until the tomatoes slump and the edges brown, about 25 minutes. Toss the garlic in the oil so it doesn’t sit on bare metal.
Large pot, 1 Tbsp oil, crushed red pepper first. 15–20 seconds. Can of San Marzano in. Mash the tomatoes against the bottom. Heat down to medium.
Hot pan into the blender. Pulse 3–5 times. Lid on, towel on the lid, don’t fill past halfway.
Blended roast into the pot. Fresh black pepper, 1–2 teaspoons. Salt. Simmer until it coats the back of a spoon. The filmed batch was there in about 5 minutes. Taste. Sugar only if it’s sharp. Ours wasn’t. That pinch went out the window.
Half a stick of butter. Kill the heat. Stir in 1½ Tbsp fresh basil. Final taste. That is enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
Plum tomatoes — Roma and San Marzano both — were built for sauce: thicker walls, less water, fewer seeds. San Marzano is the name for a specific plum from the valley south of Vesuvius. “San Marzano style” on a can from anywhere else is a compliment. “Italian Style” is a label.
Roasting is the extra step your stovetop marinara doesn’t take. The can still does the body. Butter in tomato sauce is an old Italian-American kitchen trick, not a steakhouse move — it rounds the acid so you aren’t forced to bury it in sugar.
| Calories | ~160 |
| Total fat | ~13 g |
| Saturated fat | ~6 g |
| Cholesterol | ~20 mg |
| Sodium | ~420 mg |
| Total carbs | ~10 g |
| Total sugar | ~6 g |
| Protein | ~2 g |
Ballpark from the ingredient list, not a lab. Butter and oil are most of the fat. Sodium is mostly the can and the salt you add.
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