Meatless Spaghetti Sauce – Easy and Healthy
This recipe is so easy and so quick. We promise! And did we mention healthy?
It never ceases to amaze us that we never tire of this easy meatless spaghetti sauce. If we could pick one food to eat forever – it would be this dish! And, one of the best things about this sauce as well is it’s very easy on the grocery budget.
Cooked tomatoes are very healthy and just brimming with lycopene so it’s good to eat lots of cooked tomatoes. Raw tomatoes are just swimming with vitamin C so include both in your weekly diet.
It doesn’t really matter what type of pasta you use, as long as the noodles are long and thin. There is something about a red sauce that just goes with long thin spaghetti noodles.
- To start, fill a large pot with water and salt generously. About 1/2 tablespoon of salt to start with should be fine, but taste to make sure, and add another 1/2 tablespoon if you don’t get that immediate salty taste.
- Bring the pot of water to a rolling boil, make sure it’s a good hard boil, and then add the pasta. Start stirring immediately and keep it up for about a full minute. This is the “make or break” point where the pasta could possibly stick together. Once you are sure the pasta has been well separated, let cook for the full recommended cooking time.
- If you are a pasta lover like I am, it really pays to have a spaghetti grabber/stirrer when you cook your spaghetti.
- About a minute or two before pasta has finished cooking, carefully grab a few strands of pasta with a long fork and feel with your teeth for doneness. This should give you some idea of how much longer it needs to cook, or if you should grab it off the burner immediately.
When you drain the spaghetti, always save about 1 cup of the hot pasta water. This seasoned water comes in handy to keep the pasta from sticking in the pot and also to thin out the tomato sauce.
Tip: if you need to let pasta sit in the pan for any length of time, add a little of the reserved pasta water and butter or oil to the pan. For a less starchy pasta, make sure to drain and rinse well with cold water.
- 4 tablespoons good olive oil
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced fine
- 1 (28 oz) can whole san marzano tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomatoe paste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/2 lb. thin spaghetti
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Blend the tomatoes in a blender until nice and smooth.
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Using a large skillet, cook garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes careful not to brown.
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Add the tomato paste and cook about about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Salt & pepper the tomato paste while cooking
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Add blended tomatoes, 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and basil to the pan.
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Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
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Simmer for about 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
You can use this sauce for just about any type of pasta. Some of our favorites would include:
- Rigatoni Pasta
- Thin Spaghetti
- Vermicelli
- Linguine
- Shells
Another great way to serve this meatless sauce would be over packaged frozen ravioli. This makes a great sauce for the meat, sausage or cheese varieties.
Save Money! This is one of our favorite meals to prepare if you have children. It goes a long way and is one the cheapest meals you can put on your table.
Serve this meal with a basic salad and dinner rolls.
We also have a great recipe for spaghetti sauce with ground beef that everyone will love!
Spaghetti and pasta both keep very well. Place in an airtight container, when ready to use just heat in the microwave or you can toss it in boiling water for a minute to reheat.
