Tomato Base - Freezer friendly

Some recipes aren't really recipes at all.

They're foundations.

This roasted tomato base is one of the things I make again and again because it becomes the starting point for so many different meals throughout the week. Rather than making a fresh tomato sauce every time I cook, I spend a little time making a large batch, freeze it in portions, and then use it whenever I need it.

It's one of the small systems that sits at the heart of my Mindful Meal Prep System.

Having a homemade tomato base ready to go means soups come together more quickly, curries have a richer flavour, pasta sauces feel homemade with very little effort, and shakshuka becomes an easy weeknight dinner rather than something you have to build from scratch.

I still use tinned tomatoes and passata from time to time, but whenever I have a batch of this in the freezer, I almost always reach for it first. Roasting the tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and creates a depth of flavour that's difficult to achieve any other way.

Like most of my meal prep, the goal isn't to prepare every meal in advance.

It's simply to prepare the parts that make everyday cooking feel calmer.

Makes

Approximately 5–6 cups

Ingredients

1kg ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 punnets cherry tomatoes

1 brown onion, cut into wedges

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small red chilli (optional)

2 sprigs rosemary

1 tsp salt

Black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, chilli and rosemary onto a large baking tray.

Drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt and black pepper.

Roast for 35–45 minutes, until everything is soft and beginning to caramelise around the edges.

Remove the rosemary stems and squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins.

Transfer everything to a blender and blend until smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Freezer Notes

Once cooled, portion into containers or silicone trays before freezing.

I usually freeze mine in:

• 1 cup portions

• Silicone freezer trays

• Freezer bags laid flat to save space

It will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Ways to Use It

One batch can become countless different meals.

Some of my favourite ways to use it include:

• Pasta sauces

• Soups

• Vegetable chilli

• Lasagne

• Curry base

• Shakshuka

• Homemade baked beans

Once you start keeping a tomato base like this in your freezer, you'll be surprised how often you reach for it.

A Reflection

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about meal prep is that you have to prepare entire meals.

For me, it's almost the opposite.

I like preparing the foundations.

The things that quietly make cooking easier on the days when life feels full.

A freezer stocked with ingredients you'll genuinely use isn't about being organised for the sake of it.

It's about creating small moments of ease for your future self.

And sometimes, that's all meal prep really needs to be.