Grape Tomato Pasta Sauce
Fresh, simple, and easy, this Grape Tomato Pasta Sauce is an easy homemade marinara that’s loaded with flavor and ready in less than a half hour. Serve it fresh on your favorite pasta or freeze it for later. This sauce is healthy, oil-free, and delicious with store-bought or homegrown grape or cherry tomatoes.
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I love tomatoes, but I’ve never been a big marinara person. That is, until I started making my own oil-free marinara.
My favorite kind of tomatoes are grape tomatoes. Though they are usually the same size (or a little smaller) than cherry tomatoes, there is a difference.
I actually love both, but I usually buy grape tomatoes. I usually eat them raw with other veggies and dip in one of my (many) hummus recipes, including Pizza Hummus, Beet Hummus, Butter Bean Hummus, Spinach Artichoke Hummus, or even just my classic-flavored Creamy Hummus.
But one day I wondered, can I use grape tomatoes to make oil-free pasta sauce? So I tried it. And the answer was YES.
Actually, the answer was a question: Why did it take me this long to try it? This oil-free marinara is AMAZING. And easy.
All you do to make grape tomato marinara is slice the tomatoes, cook them for a bit, add a few herbs and flavorings, and blend (or leave chunky, if you prefer). That’s it!
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.
- Grape Tomatoes: You’ll need quite a few, about 2 pounds, for this recipe! But they have so much flavor. You’re going to love this easy oil-free pasta sauce.
- Aquafaba: This is what the liquid from a can of chickpeas is called (or the liquid leftover if you cook your chickpeas from dried). Aquafaba helps give our grape tomato marinara body without adding any oil or fat! I do recommend using the aquafaba from a can of unsalted chickpeas if you’re watching your sodium or not consuming added salt.
- Garlic: You can use fresh garlic or the jarred minced garlic here, or if you prefer, granulated garlic will work too.
- Dried Herbs: I used dried basil and dried oregano for this recipe.
- Yellow or White Miso Paste: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt if that is what you prefer.
Substitutions
- Grape Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes will work just as well!
- Aquafaba: You can use water if you’re unable to obtain aquafaba, but the sauce will have less body. This is what I use to give our oil-free pasta sauce that thickness and texture that we expect from a marinara.
- Garlic: Leave out if you’re not a garlic person. Maybe add a little granulated onion instead!
- Dried Herbs: You can use whatever you like! Dried Italian seasoning would be a good substitute for those two. Fresh herbs are fine too.
- Yellow or White Miso Paste: If you’re fine eating salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) you can go ahead and use that. If you are totally avoiding added sodium, you can leave it out. Maybe add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar at the end, and/or your favorite salt substitute. I really enjoy Benson’s Table Tasty salt substitute.
How to Make Grape Tomato Pasta Sauce
Watch me make this recipe or follow the step-by-step instructions below.
- Heat a large nonstick pot over medium high heat. After about a minute, add the garlic. I like to cook without oil, so I add a tablespoon or two of water every so often so nothing sticks.
- After 1 minute, add the sliced tomatoes and dried herbs, plus another 1-2 tablespoons water. Lower the heat to medium low and add the aquafaba.
- Place the lid on the pot and cook covered for 5-10 minutes. Your goal is to simmer the grape tomato marinara until the tomatoes burst. If you are impatient, you can use the back of a wooden spoon to carefully burst tomatoes, but let them cook for at least 5 minutes first. Be careful, because the juice is hot and can spray.
- After all the tomatoes have burst, remove the lid and allow the sauce to cook uncovered for 5 additional minutes.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender (or you can blend in the pot with an immersion blender). Add the miso paste and blend on high until smooth (or leave as chunky as you prefer). If you don’t want to blend at all, whisk the miso with 2 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl, then add to the pot and stir.
- Serve immediately with your favorite pasta or let cool for 30-45 minutes and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Serving Suggestions
Obviously my favorite way to serve this grape tomato pasta sauce is with pasta! My favorite pasta brand right now is Chickapea, so I’ve served this oil-free marinara on top of some Chickapea Spaghetti.
You could also serve it with garlic bread. This is something I’d like to figure out how to make WFPBNO but I also have to make it gluten-free because I stopped eating gluten a few months ago and my digestive system is so much happier since doing so. I’m not sure if I really am gluten intolerant, but the elimination diet certainly worked.
Anyway, you could also serve this grape tomato marinara with cooked veggies like broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, cauliflower, etc.
I’ve recently discovered how amazing spaghetti squash is. I am definitely not a proponent of low carb; I just really love the sweet flavor of spaghetti squash and it’s a great way to get extra nutrients in. Plus you can have so much of it for a much lower calorie density meal than pasta. So I alternate.
You could also use this grape tomato marinara in my Pizza Flavored Savory Oats or in my Portobello Pizzas recipes.
No matter how you serve this oil-free pasta sauce, I sure hope you enjoy it!
More Oil-Free Sauce Recipes, Dips, and Dressings to Try
- Silken Tofu Cheese Sauce
- Oil-Free Pesto
- Edamame Guacamole
- Oil-Free Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Sweet Lime Oil-Free Vinaigrette
- Silken Tofu Ranch Dressing
- Plant Based Nacho Cheese Sauce
- 3-Ingredient Plant Based Chocolate Sauce
Grape Tomato Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Chef's knife Any sharp knife will do, but if your knives aren't super sharp and are squishing the tomatoes, try a serrated blade.
- 1 Blender An immersion blender will also work.
Ingredients
- 2 Cloves Minced Garlic, or use 2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (if using the spice, add when you add the tomatoes)
- 2 Pounds Grape Tomatoes, cherry tomatoes will also work
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Basil, use fresh if preferred, about 1 tablespoon
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano, or swap both for Dried Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 Cup Aquafaba, the liquid from a can of (preferably no-salt-added) chickpeas, see notes section for substitution
- 1-2 Teaspoons White or Yellow Miso Paste, to taste, see notes for substitution
Instructions
- Heat a large nonstick pot over medium high heat. After about a minute, add the garlic. I like to cook without oil, so I add a tablespoon or two of water every so often so nothing sticks.
- After 1 minute, add the sliced tomatoes and dried herbs, plus another 1-2 tablespoons water. Lower the heat to medium low and add the aquafaba.
- Place the lid on the pot and cook covered for 5-10 minutes. Your goal is to simmer the grape tomato marinara until the tomatoes burst. If you are impatient, you can use the back of a wooden spoon to carefully burst tomatoes, but let them cook for at least 5 minutes first. Be careful, because the juice is hot and can spray.
- After all the tomatoes have burst, remove the lid and allow the sauce to cook uncovered for 5 additional minutes.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender (or you can blend in the pot with an immersion blender). Add the miso paste and blend on high until smooth (or leave as chunky as you prefer). If you don’t want to blend at all, whisk the miso with 2 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl, then add to the pot and stir.
- Serve immediately with your favorite pasta or let cool for 30-45 minutes and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Video
Notes
- Aquafaba: This is what the liquid from a can of chickpeas is called (or the liquid leftover if you cook your chickpeas from dried). You can use water if you’re unable to obtain aquafaba, but the sauce will have less body. This is what I use to give our oil-free pasta sauce that thickness and texture that we expect from a marinara.
- Yellow or White Miso Paste: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) if that is what you prefer. If leaving out entirely, try adding a splash of balsamic vinegar after removing from heat.
