Marinara sauce is not something you relate to making on the grill. However, once you’ve had this sauce you will never be able to enjoy regular sauce again. This sauce is full of smoky goodness and little bits of charred ingredients, that is achieved from roasting the ingredients on the (charcoal) grill first. Its more work than just opening a jar of sauce, but OH SO WORTH IT!! I put this sauce on a bed of spaghetti squash paired with chicken sausage, but it would be great in any dish calling for tomato sauce. Add your favorite ingredients to the mix to make it your unique recipe. We’ve been putting a pool in the backyard and the backyard is a major construction zone so I made this on my Weber Smokey Joe. This proves you can achieve awesome flavor even on a $30 dollar grill! In fact, I am in love with hibachi style grills right now for their simplicity and the smokiness they provide by having such close proximity to the coals. And if you like this recipe, you will go ga-ga over the fire roasted gazpacho I’ll be posting soon!
Print
Fire Roasted Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (2 containers) of Campari tomatoes, or medium vine ripened tomatoes
- 1 poblano pepper
- ½ large onion, sliced into thick rings for the grill
- 1 bulb garlic, put cloves onto skewer for grilling
- 1 large bunch fresh basil or oregano to taste
- ½ teaspoon sugar (to cut the acidity)
- ¼ cup water (optional)
- sea salt, fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Set up a grill for medium high direct heat (375-400 degrees). Grill all ingredients until nice char marks have begun to form. Put garlic cloves onto a skewer and grill them until they begin to brown. Once all the ingredients have begun to char and caramelize on the grill, remove and place in a pot.
In a large bowl, blend all the grilled ingredients and fresh herbs with a stick blender. Add water, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Trust me, once you’ve had this marinara, you will be spoiled forever!
If you like tomatoes on the grill, try my grilled blue cheese and herb stuffed tomatoes.
The backyard is a major construction zone right now and it’s very hard to get to my grills which is why I’ve been using my smokey joe. Can’t wait for the pool to be finished!
Because of the craziness of my backyard, I’ve pulled out my portable grill. I’ve really been enjoying the great flavor of the Weber Smokey Joe. It’s great to know that anyone can achieve great flavor with a $30 grill!
A stick blender is a girl’s best friend.
Yes, you can make sauce on the grill! Grill the tomatoes and veggies first to add smoke and depth of flavor. You will never go back to average marinara again. Moroccan style Bowls are from Le Souk Ceramique
Robyn, this marinara recipe looks amazing and is probably well worth the extra step of roasting over charcoal.
I can vouch for the great tastes you get from roasting those veggies!
Can’t wait to see the Gazpacho recipe you are promising.
Thanks Brian. The Gazpacho is coming soon!
This absolutely makes sense. After all, grilled salsa is amazing and this is essentially just a different consistency of many of the same ingredients, so it ought to rock. Great idea, Robyn.
Robyn,
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea! We grill all the time so this makes sense for us.
It’s Harvest Time here on the homestead. We planted 68 tomato plants this year and I was prepping everything for canning pasta sauce. My original plan changed after I read your recipe!
All I can say is my house smells soo good right now, Thanks to YOU!
Mendi
Mendi, so glad! Let me know what you think when you try. of course it’s an extra step but OH SO WORTH IT!
How much does the above recipe make?
Hi Mark,
Enough for 2 large bowls of pasta.