It’s a rare gloomy, rainy day here in Arizona and that just makes me crave comfort food. Native Arizonans LIVE for this kind of weather. Me…not so much.

Anyway, I digress 😉 I decided I’d make a nice pot of homemade spaghetti sauce. When I first began this blog over a year ago (and didn’t know how to take a decent photograph), I made an homemade oven roasted tomato sauce. The pictures weren’t pretty, but the sauce was amazing.

A few tweaks to that recipe and we get this one…

For the original Oven Roasted Marinara Sauce, here’s what you’ll need…

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a sheet pan, I added quartered Roma tomatos, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tomatos are tender.

Allow to cool slightly and place into a food processor. (See all of those charred bits? That’s flavor!) Add the basil and puree until smooth.

In a large sauce pot, add 1 Tbl of oil and the onion. Saute on high heat for about 5 minutes. We added vegan ground beef. There are a few brands I like, but I am partial to Lightlife’s Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style. You could also use any brand of ground crumbles. I like the Boca brand but I also hear really good things about Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles. They are soy-free, if you are looking to go that route. Add to the onion and saute according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Alternately, you could very finely dice mushrooms to make a ground beef-like mixture. Tempeh also has a ground-beef like texture when placed in a food processor. There are many options available here, but honestly, you could also make a really great sauce with just the portobellos.

I quartered the baby portobello mushrooms and sauteed them with the above mixture until softened slightly. Just to give them some added flavor. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the roasted tomatos and a can of tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

We used whole grain spaghetti, but you could use any pasta you like. Top with vegan parmesan, serve with crusty Italian bread and enjoy!

Before you go, why not check out some of our recent videos and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! 🙂