Roma tomatoes possess numerous valuable qualities that make them a desirable crop to grow in your home garden. They are especially great if you have a favorite marinara recipe, as they are the top choice for making sauce. They are great producers of firm, flavorful tomatoes and have excellent disease resistance. 

To call them by their formal name, ‘San Marzano’, this variety of tomato must grow in its region of origin. However, you can grow the seeds from this delicious heirloom in your own garden. They have a rich, sweet flavor and low acidity. They are nicely balanced and cook up beautifully, resulting in a smooth, creamy sauce. Mangia!

‘Italian Roma’

It’s a garden favorite when preserving homemade sauces and salsas.

‘Italian Roma’ is a gorgeous determinate variety, meaning all the tomatoes mature together, making it perfect for canning or preserving. They are a firm and tasty heirloom that grows on highly productive, compact vines. The fruits are bright red and smooth with few seeds.

The Italian Roma varieties are rich and sweet with balanced acidity. Their selective breeding makes them the best of the best. These mature in about 80 days, making a second planting suitable in mild climates for a second harvest in early fall. 

‘Amish Paste’

The thick and velvety texture cooks into rich sauces.

‘Amish Paste’ is a well-loved Roma tomato variety known for its rich flavor and dense, velvety texture. It’s delicious, fresh, and prepared, and has stood the test of time, remaining a favorite since its development in Wisconsin in the 1800s.

These fruits are large for Romas, also called paste tomatoes. They often weigh as much as 12 ounces each! These sometimes have the classic plum shape, but also can be heart-shaped. The skin is thin and smooth, and easy to remove for sauce making. 

‘La Roma II’

Reliable and sturdy, it yields fruit that ripens evenly together.

‘La Roma II’ is a modern, improved version of the classic Roma tomato variety. It’s bred for even better performance in the garden and in the kitchen. This determinate cultivar exhibits better disease resistance and more uniform fruit than traditional paste varieties. 

This is a compact plant that grows to about three feet tall. The six-ounce fruits ripen together on this excellent producer. They are mild with low acidity and a sweet, rich flavor and texture. Their low moisture content makes them ideal for pastes and purees. 

‘10 Fingers of Naples’

It keeps producing juicy, wine-red fruits well into summer.

’10 Fingers of Naples’  is a unique and eye-catching heirloom variety, beloved by gardeners and tomato experts who appreciate great flavor with a fun twist. The bushes are semi-determinate, producing a large crap initially and then sometimes continuing to produce through the summer. 

The rich, sweet, tangy flavor is all tomato, and the texture is meaty and dense. The six- to ten-ounce, long, pointed fruits are deep crimson with golden-orange stripes. These are ornamental and delicious!

‘Plum Regal’

Compact plants handle heat and keep diseases away.

‘Plum Regal’ is an excellent hybrid variety for those seeking flavorful paste tomatoes with minimal disease issues. The plants are determinate and compact, rarely requiring staking, and are early producers. They’re bred to resist the diseases that commonly affect plants in hot, humid climates.

The fruits are small to medium-sized, weighing approximately four to six ounces, and are plum-shaped. They have thin, smooth, uniform skin and a mild, sweet, rich tomato flavor. The flavor is neither acidic nor tart, but it’s full-bodied and wonderful for making sauces. 

‘Red Italian Pear’

It’s a garden favorite for anyone serious about sauce.

‘Red Italian Pear’ is a flavorful and elegant heirloom variety prized for its distinctive shape, rich flavor, and exceptional performance in cooking. Its breeding was especially for use in making traditional Italian sauces. The tall, indeterminate vines produce throughout the season on this traditional variety. 

Generations of Southern Italian cooks relied on this variety and continue to, to this day. The lovely teardrop-shaped fruits can weigh up to eight ounces, are deep, wine red, and have smooth, glossy skin. The flavor is complex and classic with a rich sweetness that screams to be used for making Nonna’s famous gravy.

‘Sunrise Sauce’

Early harvest means fresh sauce sooner, every season.

‘Sunrise Sauce’ is a superior hybrid renowned for its stunningly vibrant orange color, exceptional flavor, and early harvest time. It’s perfect for gardeners and chefs who want a paste tomato that’s both visually beautiful and easy to grow. It’s a determinate cultivar and a compact plant that performs well in containers. 

What makes these fruits special is their vibrant orange color. Their fully ripened shade is electric, and the fruits are small and uniformly shaped. The skins are thick and resistant to cracking, with a mild, sweet flavor and low acidity. 

‘Martino’s Roma’

Early to mature with fruits don’t crack easily.

‘Martino’s Roma’ is a popular heirloom Roma variety that stands out for its excellent flavor, high yield, and compact growth habit. It’s ideal for gardeners seeking a dependable, flavorful tomato for making sauce. The determinate plants are compact and remain bushy and low-growing. They produce a lot of fruit for such a compact plant.

The fruits are small to medium-sized and mature early. The skin is smooth, thick, and resistant to cracking. The flavor is rich and slightly sweet. It’s considered superior to many Roma varieties. There is little juice, so they are perfect for making paste and puree.

‘Daytona’

It produces bright red fruits that roast beautifully every time.

‘Daytona’ is a modern hybrid determinate variety bred for disease resistance, uniformity, and high yield. It’s exceptionally tolerant of hot, humid climates. This cultivar is a favorite among commercial growers but also works well for home gardeners who want dependable, fuss-free performance. 

This variety is excellent for sauce making, and it matures early, in as few as 70 days. The bright red fruits are oval or egg-shaped and medium-sized, with thick, meaty walls and few seeds. They are less acidic than most heirlooms and excellent for roasting.