Name: The Classic Tomato Spaghetti with Basil & Parmesan
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 11 oz spaghetti; 1 can tomatoes (peeled); 1 can tomato sauce; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp basil (dried); 3 cloves garlic; 1/2 cup parmesan (grated); 1/2 tsp ground pepper; 1 tbsp sugar (optional)

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A symbolic dish of Italian cuisine, the tomato sauce spaghetti is a timeless classic recipe made of the typical ingredients of the sunny peninsula: spaghetti, tomato, and basil. Spaghetti with the marinara sauce has become an institution. Italians all over the world guide and treasure this recipe which is simple, but far from trivial.

Get inspired by my recipe and try to recreate the old classic to feed your family at any time with any occasion. Learn how to cook the famous Italian tomato sauce with the scent of basil leaves for inevitable success!

Ingredients for tomato spaghetti

The good news is that you need only a few simple ingredients. Moreover, this dish will cost you something close to nothing, instead, you will be delighted with an exquisite Italian dish. On top of everything, this spaghetti with marinara sauce (this is how the tomato sauce is actually called) will be ready in a matter of minutes.

See the list of the ingredients below:

Spaghetti 11 oz. For this recipe, I opted for integral spaghetti as I wish for my dish to be as healthy as possible. However, you can go for regular spaghetti and have no regrets.
Canned peeled tomatoes 1 can, approx 14 oz
Italian tomato sauce 1 can, also about 14 oz
Extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons
Garlic cloves 3 pcs
Basi fresh or dried to taste
Salt to taste
Parmesan to taste

How to prepare the marinara sauce

To prepare spaghetti with tomato sauce, start by preparing the sauce first. In a pan, pour the extra virgin olive oil and let it heat on medium-low. In the meantime peel and finely slice the garlic cloves, you can also grate them, use whatever method seems easier to you. Then add the garlic to the olive oil, you will notice and intense garlic aroma right away, it is how magic starts. Let the garlic saute for about 1 minute then add the can with peeled tomatoes, let it simmer for about 2 minutes. The tomatoes are very soft so they will crush whenever you stir the sauce. Don’t worry about it, by the end of preparation the tomatoes will become a uniform mass. Then add the tomato sauce and season with salt and dried basil.

At this point, the sauce shall be left to simmer for at least 30 minutes on low heat. It is the time when the tastes blend and the sauce is treated accordingly. Remember to stir occasionally.

Tip: lots of canned tomato sauces are very sour, as a result, the marinara gets the extra-sour taste. To solve this problem, many Italian chefs recommend adding one teaspoon of sugar to the sauce upon sauteeing. It is optional, you should always taste first, and if you feel it is too sour to your tastes, go ahead and add the sugar to it. Just make sure you add it at the beginning of the cooking. It should have enough time to dissolve and incorporate well into the sauce.

This is it. It is all it takes to prepare an authentic Italian marinara sauce for the tomato spaghetti. While the sauce simmers, take a big boiling pan and collect some water in it. Salt it well and bring it to a boil.

How to prepare tomato sauce spaghetti?

When the sauce is ready, turn off the stove and add a handful of grated parmesan, mix well for the cheese to melt it. It is a trick you will, later on, thank me for.

At this point, you just have to cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water according to the package instructions. Just remember to cook the pasta al dente. This is how it will soak in the marinara sauce and will get the fabulous taste.

Next, drain the spaghetti al dente directly into the sauce and stir for a few moments on the flame to mix everything. Your spaghetti with tomatoes are ready, you just carefully place a portion of spaghetti in a deep bowl or spaghetti dish and garnish with fresh basil and some extra parmesan at your taste. Enjoy!

If you are a pasta lover, don’t miss other delectable pasta recipes:

What are the right doses when boiling pasta?

For a balanced supply of nutrients and calories, the quantity of pasta sufficient for one person is 3 oz (80 g). When cooking pasta, follow one simple rule, boil 3.5 oz of dried pasta in 35 oz water, that is a ratio of 1:10. The same rule goes to salt the water. For a quantity of 35 oz water, you should add about 0,3 oz salt, which is about 1.5 teaspoons. I hope this rule will ease your cooking spaghetti process.

How to store marinara sauce? (tomato sauce)

As I have already said in the beginning, this sauce is a lucky find for lots of reasons. You can prepare the sauce days in advance and keep it covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Moreover, you can also freeze the sauce and have it served weeks later. The taste will not fade and you will be able to enjoy an authentic Italian sauce at any time needed.

Tips:

The long cooking of the tomato guarantees a tastier flavor. For more intense color, you may add a teaspoon of tomato paste.
For a more intense taste with more character, you may add a few chili flakes to the sauce and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Tomato spaghetti can be considered the emblem of Italian cuisine, one of the dishes prepared according to tradition. Spaghetti with marinara sauce is an always satisfying dish suitable for family dinners or for romantic ratings.