My Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce is an easy homemade sauce made with roasted cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, garlic, and fresh basil. It’s fresh, flavorful, and perfect for pasta, pizza, dipping bread, and so much more.
Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce You’ll Make All Summer
If my garden is overflowing with cherry tomatoes, there’s a good chance I’m making homemade sauce. This spicy cherry tomato sauce is one of my favorite ways to use up a big harvest because it’s fresh, packed with flavor, and has just the right kick from roasted jalapeños. Everything roasts together in one pan before getting blended into a smooth, delicious sauce that’s so much better than anything from the grocery store.
I might have a slight obsession with making tomato sauce! This recipe is inspired by my classic Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce, but here we’re giving it a kick! Another fav is Roma Tomato Sauce when the garden is overflowing with big tomatoes. This spicy version is perfect when I’m craving a little heat, and I love tossing it with pasta, spreading it on homemade pizza, or freezing a few jars for later.
Recipe Tips + Helpful Notes
- Cherry tomatoes — Sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes make the best sauce. Garden tomatoes are my favorite, but store-bought work great too.
- Jalapeños — Remove the seeds for a milder sauce, or leave a few in if you want extra heat.
- Garlic — Roasting the garlic makes it sweet and mellow instead of sharp.
- Fresh basil — Add it after roasting so it stays bright and fresh.
- Blend it your way — Pulse just a few times if you like a chunky sauce, or blend longer for a smooth, creamy texture.
- So many ways to use it — Toss it with pasta, spread it on pizza, spoon it over chicken, use it as a dipping sauce for breadsticks, or swirl it into baked eggs.
Let’s Make My Spicy Tomato Sauce!
Spread the ingredients out in a baking pan.
Bake until the tomatoes are wrinkled and bursting.
Throw in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Take a taste – so good, right? Enjoy!
Storing & Freezing
Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This sauce also freezes beautifully. Let it cool completely, then freeze in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 3 mojalapeño tomato saucenths. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce with Jalapeños
PrintIngredients
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes stems removed
- 2 jalapeno peppers seeds removed, cut in half
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/3 cup fresh basil
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Spread tomatoes, jalapenos and garlic in a shallow baking pan or baking sheet. Add olive oil and onion powder on top, and stir to fully coat everything.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes and then pour the pan of tomatoes into the food processor (careful, it's hot!). Add fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste in the food processor.
- Pulse until sauce is creamy.
- Use it right away, or throw it in the fridge to use tomorrow, or freeze it for next month. Enjoy!
Greta says
Can you leave the seeds in the jalapenos ?
Pamela Reed says
If you want extra kick in the sauce, absolutely!
Greta says
great thanks, added 2 more roasted jalapenos with seeds and was perfect 🙂
Debbie says
I thought it tasted very good, but I also did not get 3 cups of sauce. I doubled the recipe and used 8 cups cherry tomatoes. Sadly, the yield was only 2 1/2 cups of actual sauce even using 8 cups tomatoes.
Sarah says
Recipe was delicious but doesn’t make the 3 cups it says
Casey says
I never usually leave comments for recipes I try, but I had to this time. This sauce is AWESOME!! Thank you!
Pamela says
Thank you Casey, I’m so happy to hear you liked this suace! Thanks for commenting!
Lily says
Seriously? You use fresh tomatoes but can’t be bothered using fresh garlic?
Pamela says
Hi Lily, if you’d like to use fresh garlic, by all means, go for it! If I have some that I just picked from the garden I will use it instead of the powdered form. 🙂
Jeanie says
This is the first time I made it, it looks so good.
Pamela says
So happy to hear you liked the sauce. Thanks for commenting Jeanie!
Jeanie says
can you can your Roma tomato sauce
TRACIE F GRIER BOEHME says
I’ve just started the journey into making sauce. This recipe was simple and great! My husband and I really enjoy the kick.
Pamela says
So happy you guys enjoyed this sauce! Thanks for letting me know!
Alexander says
I just made this and it is divine, I added roast garlic and onions to substitute for the powders which I was lacking. Also, a drizzle of reduced balsamic elevated this to heavenly status. By far the best tomato sauce I have ever made, will be adding it to the make-as-often-as-possible repertoire. Thanks so much!
-Alex
Pamela says
So happy to hear you thought this was delicious Alexander! Thanks for reporting back to let me know!
Jennie says
This sauce is so good! I did add sliced onions to tomatoes and jalapeños when roasting. Added splash of red wine when processing. Perfect!
Pamela says
Yum, those jalapenos sound great Jennie!
Erren @ Erren's Kitchen says
This looks SO GOOD!
Sophie says
Yumm! I am so going to make it with my red cherry tomatoes & with my green chills! Yummm!
Arpita@ The Gastronomic Bong says
I love spicy sauce… tomato sauce with jalapenos sounds out of the world.. so delicious.. 🙂
Emma @ Bake Then Eat says
That cheeky little spicy kick sounds divine I bet your kitchen smelt lovely while these were roasting!