Description
If you need a quick and easy tomato sauce for pasta this recipe is the most essential (and delicious) of them all. Made with basic pantry staples — a jar (or can) of high-quality San Marzano (or Mutti brand tomatoes), extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, and a little carrot, this tomato sauce is wholesome and delicious. We make a lot of pasta as you may know, but it may surprise you to learn that this particular recipe is often our go-to sauce when we’re really busy, or when we’re low on groceries. I like to MealPrep it and make enough sauce to be eaten for two or three days at a time because we don’t only just use it for making pasta. We also make tasty “fake pizza” dipper with it (which kiddos also really love). For those of you who are new to cooking or have little kitchen helpers, I’ve included step-by-step recipe photos at the end of the post
Ingredients
- 1 (19 to 20-ounce) jar of San Marzano whole tomatoes, gently crushed (or your favorite canned tomatoes) (540g)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (25-40g)
- 1/2 small yellow or white onion, finely diced
- 1/4 small carrot, diced
- 1 fresh basil leaf
- salt to taste
- crushed red pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the onion, carrots + garlic. Heat the olive oil and the smashed garlic over medium heat until fragrant and the clove is lightly blistered (about 1 to 2 minutes). Add the diced onion and carrots, stir and cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender (about 5 minutes) and add the crushed tomatoes. Pour about 2 to 3 tablespoons of water into the tomato jar (or can) and swirl it around to get every last bit of tomatoes to release from the sides and pour this into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and add salt to taste.
- Simmer the sauce. Cover the sauce with a lid left slightly ajar and continue cooking over low heat for about 25 minutes total, stirring occasionally. After just about 15 minutes of cooking time have passed, remove the lid and continue cooking for the remaining 10 minutes or so, or until the sauce is slightly reduced, glistening, and deep red in color. Remove the garlic clove and serve with your favorite pasta like tagliatelle, pappardelle, rigatoni, spaghetti, penne, or fettuccine and Enjoy.
Notes
- If you’re eating this sauce with pasta right away be sure to add a spoonful or two of pasta cooking water to the sauce just before the noodles have finished cooking. This helps the sauce bind to and coat the noodles making it extra delicious.
- To make the bowl of pasta taste even better you can always add freshly grated Parmigiano or Grana Padano, or Parmesan to taste.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Sauces + Spreads + Dips
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
