This roasted garlic tomato sauce with beef is a wonderful way to switch up spaghetti night. Roasted garlic, sweet vermouth, and lots of Parmesan create an irresistible flavor profile that is lightly sweet, savory, and just a hint spicy.
How to roast garlic
I absolutely love roasted garlic. I use it in many recipes because the flavor deepens as it roasts, making it lightly sweet and aromatic. It also softens the punchiness of raw garlic. Roasting it is beyond easy, too. With this recipe, you can start the sauce as the garlic roasts and add it to the sauce as soon as it finishes.
- Step 1: Cut the garlic. You can cut it in half, but I prefer to just cut the top off enough to expose the garlic cloves. You can remove as much of the paper as you like, but just be careful to leave the head intact as much as possible.
- Step 2: Drizzle with oil. Place the garlic, cut side up, on a piece of foil. Drizzle the exposed cloves with extra virgin olive oil and add a pinch of salt. Wrap it up in foil and place it on a baking sheet.
- Step 3: Roast the garlic. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven at 400ºF and roast for 30 minutes. This will give you something similar to the color you see in the photo above. If you prefer a deeper roast, you can go for as long as 60 minutes. Be sure to begin checking the garlic at 30 minutes and in 10-minute intervals until the garlic roasts to your preference. The cloves will deepen and darken as they cook; just be sure not to burn them!
- Step 4: Remove and let cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, carefully pop the cloves from the paper and mash the garlic into a paste.
The paste will be added straight to the tomato sauce to give it a beautiful depth of flavor.
How to make the roasted garlic tomato sauce:
While this recipe has a longer cooking time to account for the roasted garlic, it is beyond easy to prepare. You can always prepare the garlic a day or two in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for your sauce whenever you’re ready to make it.
What you need
- Garlic: You’ll use a whole head of garlic for the sauce.
- Ground beef: You can use ground pork or ground chicken instead.
- Sauce: You’ll use an onion, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet vermouth, and canned tomatoes. I used Tutto Rossi tomato puree, but you can use crushed tomatoes instead. I also added a few thyme sprigs, but a few shakes of dry thyme will do the trick.
- Pasta: I loved this roasted garlic tomato sauce with penne, but rigatoni would be delicious. If you want to use a long pasta shape, I’d recommend pappardelle or tagliatelle. However, spaghetti or linguine would also work just fine.
- Parmesan cheese: This adds a nice richness at the end. Grate it finely on a microplane and stir it at the end.
How to make it
- Step 1: Roast the garlic! You can do this the night before, the morning of, or right before you start dinner.
- Step 2: Make the sauce. Start by browning the beef and removing it from the pot. Then, add the onion and sun-dried tomatoes. Return the beef to the pot and throw in the sweet vermouth. Finish with the canned tomatoes and thyme sprigs. Be sure to add a pinch of sugar to help offset any acidity from the tomatoes.
- Step 3: Simmer the sauce. When your garlic paste is ready, add it to the sauce. The sauce will thicken as it cooks, but if it reduces too quickly or begins to stick, add a few splashes of water.
- Step 4: Make the pasta. Make sure you reserve a bit of pasta water before draining.
- Step 5: Finish it up! Add the cheese and pasta water to the sauce. Stir in the pasta and toss to coat, adding more pasta water as needed.
You’re ready to serve! Spoon the pasta into shallow bowls and serve with more Parmesan on top. A few basil leaves on top would be delicious. I only had Thai basil–which actually worked really nicely with the sauce–but Italian basil or even freshly minced parsley would be delicious.
I hope you loved this recipe as much as I did! If you make it, please rate the recipe and drop a comment below to let me know what you think!
Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce with Beef
This roasted garlic tomato sauce with beef is a wonderful way to switch up spaghetti night. Roasted garlic, sweet vermouth, and lots of Parmesan create an irresistible flavor profile that is lightly sweet, savory, and just a hint spicy.
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Servings: 5
Calories: 608kcal
Equipment
- Aluminum foil
- Microplane
- Large pot
- Colander
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic, top cut off with cloves remaining intact in the paper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided; plus more if needed
- 1 pound ground beef, 90/10
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped
- 4 ounces sweet vermouth or use red wine or omit
- 28- ounces tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
- Pinch of sugar
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 16 ounces uncooked penne
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- Fresh basil leaves, optional, for garnish
- Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper
Instructions
Roast the garlic:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Place the garlic, cut-side up, on a piece of foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add a pinch of salt. Wrap the foil around the garlic and place it on a baking sheet.
- Transfer to the oven for 30–35 minutes. You can roast longer–up to 60 minutes–for a more robust flavor, but be careful not to burn it! Check them after 30 minutes and in 10-minute intervals to achieve your desired level of roasting.
- Remove the garlic from the oven and open the foil. Let cool. Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, carefully pop the cloves from the paper. Mash the garlic into a paste and transfer to a small bowl.
Brown the beef:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and season well with salt, pepper, and a generous pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook for 10-12 minutes, breaking it up into smaller pieces, until the beef is browned and cooked through. The edges should begin to caramelize. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Cook the aromatics:
- If the pot is dry, add another drizzle of oil. Add the diced onion and sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for 6–8 minutes over medium heat. Return the beef to the pot and toss to combine. Season lightly with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.
- Add the sweet vermouth to the pot and bring to a boil. Let the vermouth bubble rapidly in the pot for 3–5 minutes to reduce it by half.
Simmer the sauce:
- Add the crushed tomatoes, a pinch of sugar, thyme sprigs, and a generous pinch of salt. Stir in the garlic paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes until thick. Stir periodically.
- If the sauce sticks or reduces too quickly, add a splash of water. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Discard the spent thyme sprigs.
Make the pasta:
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Remove ½ cup of pasta water and then drain the pasta.
Finish the sauce:
- Stir the grated Parmesan cheese and half the pasta water into the sauce. Add the pasta and toss to coat, adding the remaining pasta water only if needed. Taste and season. Turn off the heat.
To serve:
- Spoon the pasta onto a large platter. Garnish with fresh basil and more grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 608kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 9g | Sodium: 279mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin C: 22mg
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Hi
It does not take 20 minutes to brown a pound of ground beef. on medium-high heat.
Oops; little typo! Thanks for catching. That said, you do want to go a little longer–about 3–5 minutes more than you may expect–in order to get that little bit of caramelization around the edges.