Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce
One of the things I have learnt from my trips to Italy is that everyone outside of Italy really over complicates Italian food, and I am definitely guilty of this too.
You only have to look at how many toppings we put on our pizza, or how many different ingredients we add to our pasta dishes to see this. In Italy, their food tends to be much more simple, and I think it is tastier because of it.
We have kept this pasta sauce really simple with just a good quality passata, some fresh and dried herbs, garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
There are plenty of other ingredients you could add to it, like vegetables, or meat, but if you want something quick and simple then this is a great base.
Why should you try it?
✔ Super simple sauce with very few ingredients
✔ Just 70 calories a portion
✔ Healthier than a jar of pasta sauce
✔ Easy to adapt and add other ingredients
✔ Can be frozen for a quick and easy dinner.
How To Make Tomato Pasta Sauce – Step by Step:
One: Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Gently cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
Two: Add the passata, herbs and balsamic vinegar and season.
Three: Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Four: Stir through cooked spaghetti and add parmesan.
Healthy Pasta Sauce
This is an easy recipe, but of course it would be easier to just open a jar of store bought sauce. But, next time you are in the supermarket, take a look at the ingredients of some of those pasta sauces. Some (not all – there are some great options out there now) contain so much salt, sugar and unnecessary ingredients.
Making your own pasta sauce means you can control exactly what goes in to it and you can use just a pinch of salt to season it. The splash of balsamic gives it a little sweetness too.
Pasta Sauce with Passata
Passata (or tomato puree as it is called in the US), is strained tomatoes (liquid tomato puree). It will come in a carton or tall glass jar and it is a store cupboard essential in our opinion, as it is the base of so many sauces that we make.
Passata is an uncooked tomato purée that has been strained of seeds and skins. If you can’t find any passata, then an alternative would be to blend up a tin of tomatoes and then pass it through a sieve.
Can You Freeze it?
This Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce is perfect for batch cooking. Triple the recipe and then freeze it in portions. Then all you need to do it get it out the night before to defrost and heat it through some cooked pasta (or use it as a pizza base sauce) for a quick week night meal.
Extra Tips:
- You can use this simply stirred through pasta, as a spaghetti bolognese sauce or as a pizza base sauce.
- It freezes really well, so feel free to triple the recipe and batch cook it.
- This is a simple sauce, but you can use it as a base and add vegetables or meat to it. Cooking times will vary though.
- This is a vegan sauce, but some parmesan or vegan alternative, is really nice sprinkled on top after cooking.
Want to try some other pasta recipes? How about these:
Sausage Pasta Bake
Chicken Pasta Salad
Penne Arrabbiata
Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta
Creamy Avocado Pasta
Healthy Mac and Cheese
| Do you want to be kept up to date on more delicious posts like this? Please subscribe to the blog mailing list (it takes 30 seconds). Click here to sign up. |
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog then let us know how you got on in the comments below, we love hearing from you!
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy – we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 0.5 Onion, diced
- 2 Garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp Fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp Dried oregano
- 250 g Passata
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the onion and garlic in a little oil until softened.
- Add the passata sauce and herbs.
- Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir through cooked spaghetti and top with parmesan.
Notes
- You can use this simply stirred through pasta, as a spaghetti bolognese sauce or as a pizza base sauce.
- It freezes really well, so feel free to triple the recipe and batch cook it.
- This is a simple sauce, but you can use it as a base and add vegetables or meat to it. Cooking times will vary though.
- This is a vegan sauce, but some parmesan or vegan alternative, is really nice sprinkled on top after cooking.
Scarlet says
Quick and easy. That’s my kind of tomato sauce! Yum.
Emily says
Love a good pasta sauce, thanks for all the tips!
Anita says
This tomato sauce is lovely and so much better than any store bought version. :)
Toni says
This was really amazing!! Quickly became a staple at my kitchen!