This delicious Pasta with Tomato Sauce is so simple and tastes amazing. With flavorful ingredients, you’ll love how this scrumptious dish comes together.
Pasta with Tomato Sauce is a simple dish that’s made delicious by the complex mixing of flavors. To make a really mouthwatering sauce, you need to let the ingredients come together as they cook and release their aromatic properties. Garlicky, salty, and sweet, this pasta sauce has it all.
This recipe for Pasta with Tomato Sauce is an easy, quick meal that can be made any night of the week. And it’s a convenient option because most of the ingredients can be found in your fridge or on your pantry shelves. It’s also very versatile. You can add and subtract ingredients to fit your preferences, so everyone in the family will love it. Let’s see what deliciousness goes into it.
Main Ingredients
- Pasta. Any long pasta cuts would work with this recipe. Rigatoni, penne, and cannelloni are also great choices.
- Onion + Garlic.
- Tomato Paste. We are using tomato paste here because it adds extra smooth texture and nice sweetness, which helps to balance the salty anchovies.
- Anchovy. Although we are using the whole can of anchovies, they won’t be overpowering in the sauce. In fact, some people don’t even taste the anchovy flavor in this pasta, but they do work magic behind the scenes.
- Oil. We’ll need a touch of olive oil and the oil from the anchovy can (why waste?) for this sauce.
- Red Pepper Flakes. To add a touch of heat. This ingredient is optional, and the quantities could be adjusted according to personal preference.
- Parsley.
How to Make Pasta with Tomato Sauce
1. Fill a large pot with water and place it on the stove over medium heat (we’ll use this water to cook the pasta soon).
2. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and drain the oil from the anchovies into it as well. Then add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and cook until the onions are nicely browned and very soft, about 10-12 minutes.
3. At this point, add the pasta to the boiling water in the pot, season it generously with salt, and cook until al dente.
4. To the skillet with the fried onions, add the anchovies and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to low, and add about two ladles of hot water from the pasta to bring the sauce to a creamy consistency.
5. Drain the pasta, but reserve some more of the cooking water for the sauce. Add the cooked pasta and parsley to the sauce, and about 1 cup of cooking liquid. Stir everything well and add more water, if needed. The goal is to have a creamy sauce that is not too thick, and covers the pasta nicely.
Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Perfect timing. To make this dish super fast, we are cooking the pasta and the tomato sauce simultaneously. It is best to start boiling the pasta right before adding the anchovies and tomato paste. This way, the sauce and the pasta will be ready in about 6-7 minutes, so you can combine them and serve. If you don’t feel like multitasking, you can boil the pasta beforehand and rinse it with cold water (to prevent sticking). When the sauce is ready, just add the pasta and cook it until heated through.
- Don’t forget about the salt. Salt adds flavor to the pasta! When boiling pasta, add at least a tablespoon of salt per 4 quarts of water. Here is a helpful guide: How to Cook Pasta Perfectly Every Time
How to Store the Leftovers
Store this tasty pasta in the skillet or in a bowl, tightly covered with a lid to prevent drying out. It will stay in the fridge for up to 4 days.
How to Reheat this Pasta with Tomato Sauce
This pasta dish tastes great when reheated. Reheat it on the stove with a bit of water to help loosen the sauce. Or you can place it in a baking dish, add a generous amount of shredded mozzarella (or other cheese), and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes (until the cheese melts and starts bubbling).
What to Serve with This Pasta
You can serve this dish on its own as it makes a tasty and filling dinner. It will also taste great with chicken, seafood, steak, tofu, and roasted vegetables. Here are some of my favorite recipes:
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-Fry
- Easy Fried Tofu
- Shrimp in Roasted Pepper Sauce
- Cajun Salmon
- Healthy Cod Fish Skillet
- Roasted Zucchini Salad
Simple, delicious, and flavorful, this Pasta with Tomato Sauce is perfect. You’ll love the intense flavors of the sauce and how it’s just the right consistency for a perfect plate of pasta. Enjoy this recipe as is or make changes so it’s more to your liking. But either way, I hope you love this simple, yet irresistible dish as much as I do.
Video Tutorial
Pasta with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 16 oz. spaghetti or other kind of pasta
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 can (2 oz.) anchovies in olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or to taste
- 4 oz. tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and place it on the stove over medium heat (we’ll use this water to cook the pasta soon).
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet and drain the oil from the anchovies into it as well. Then add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and cook until the onions are nicely browned and very soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- At this point, add the pasta to the boiling water in the pot, season it generously with salt, and cook until al dente.
- To the skillet with the fried onions, add the anchovies and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to low, and add about two ladles of hot water from the pasta to bring the sauce to a creamy consistency.
- Drain the pasta, but reserve some more of the cooking water for the sauce. Add the cooked pasta and parsley to the sauce, and about 1 cup of cooking liquid. Stir everything well and add more water, if needed. The goal is to have a creamy sauce that is not too thick, and covers the pasta nicely.
Notes
HOW TO STORE THE LEFTOVERS
Store this tasty pasta in the skillet or in a bowl, tightly covered with a lid to prevent drying out. It will stay in the fridge for up to 4 days.HOW TO REHEAT THIS PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE
This pasta dish tastes great when reheated. Reheat it on the stove with a bit of water to help loosen the sauce. Or you can place it in a baking dish, add a generous amount of shredded mozzarella (or other cheese), and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes (until the cheese melts and starts bubbling).Nutrition
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I made this with my leftover anchovies from your breaded fish recipe. It was really flavorful and quick! Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you, Kim! I am glad you enjoyed it!