This healthy spaghetti sauce is a mild tomato based pasta sauce. It's an excellent pantry staple that you can use for a wide range of different recipes, including of course, spaghetti!
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For the longest time, I used to buy store bought spaghetti sauce. Although I love cooking, I just never thought to try making my own tomato sauce. But then I did, and now I love it.
Knowing how to make a basic Italian tomato sauce, and how to use it for different purposes, has changed my life. This sauce is homemade, tasty, easy and honestly the best healthy spaghetti sauce I've ever tasted.
Making this exact sauce has become a part of my monthly cooking routine. I tend to make a big pot full of it, and freeze it down in portion sizes for easy future meals. It works well with pasta, pizza or for any other purpose where you need a basic tomato sauce.
Ingredients
For this recipe you will need canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, garlic, salt and olive oil.
Additionally, you will need fresh basil, or any other herbs that you like.
Instructions
First, you should finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, and saute for a few minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.
Then, add the tomato paste and garlic, and saute for about 30 seconds while stirring until they are warmed up.
Add the canned diced tomatoes and salt, and stir to combine.
Cover with a lid, and leave the sauce to simmer on very low heat for up to 1 hour. Give the sauce a stir every 20 minutes to ensure that it doesn't burn.
You can either keep the sauce chunky, or if you prefer a smooth spaghetti sauce, you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender to blend it completely smooth.
Lastly, finely chop fresh basil, and add this to the sauce a few minutes before serving.
Top tips
Here are my top tips that will help you make the best ever tomato pasta sauce:
- Allowing the sauce to cook for a while on low heat will make it thicken up, and give it a milder flavor. I highly recommend to not skip this step.
- You can keep the sauce chunky, or blend it smooth. It comes down to your personal preference.
- If you are using a low quality brand of diced tomatoes, they might be quite acidic after cooking. If your sauce tastes acidic or sour, you can add a pinch of sugar to balance it out.
Serving suggestions
This sauce is perfect to serve with any pasta dish. You can either serve it on plain spaghetti, or you can use the sauce as an ingredient in other dishes like spaghetti bolognese, minced beef pasta bake and more.
Although it's called a spaghetti sauce, you can use this sauce for other purposes too. Use it as a base for naan pizza, or in other Italian dishes.
Variations
Spaghetti sauce can be varied endlessly, and there are so many possible ways you can make this recipe. Here are some excellent alternatives:
A kick of spice: Add some red chili flakes. This will give the sauce a little heat. You can adjust the amount to suit your preferences.
Creamy sauce: You can add cream or butter for a creamy version of the sauce.
With vegetables: Add finely diced vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes or celery for a chunky vegetable pasta sauce.
With meat: You can add some ground beef, shredded chicken, or other types of meat if you prefer. I usually like to make this sauce plain, and rather add meat to it if and when needed.
Leftovers
Leftover healthy spaghetti sauce can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 6 months.
I like to make a big batch, and freeze it down in portion sizes for quick and easy future meals. The recipe is really easy to multiply to make larger amounts.
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Frequently asked questions
The secret to making a good spaghetti sauce is to allow it to cook for a long period of time.
Tomato based spaghetti sauce is generally healthy, however some types can contain large amounts of salt or sugar.
Recipe
Healthy Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes (2 x 400 g)
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 tablespoon finely chopped basil
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- First, you should finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, and saute for a few minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Then, add the tomato paste and garlic, and saute for about 30 seconds while stirring until they are warmed up.
- Add the canned diced tomatoes and salt, and stir to combine.
- Cover with a lid, and leave the sauce to simmer on very low heat for up to 1 hour. Give the sauce a stir every 20 minutes to ensure that it doesn’t burn.
- You can either keep the sauce chunky, or if you prefer a smooth spaghetti sauce, you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender to blend it completely smooth.
- Lastly, finely chop fresh basil, and add this to the sauce a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Leftovers
Leftover healthy spaghetti sauce can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 6 months. I like to make a big batch, and freeze it down in portion sizes for quick and easy future meals. The recipe is really easy to multiply to make larger amounts.Top tips
- Allowing the sauce to cook for a while on low heat will make it thicken up, and give it a milder flavor. I highly recommend to not skip this step.
- You can keep the sauce chunky, or blend it smooth. It comes down to your personal preference.
- If you are using a low quality brand of diced tomatoes, they might be quite acidic after cooking. If your sauce tastes acidic or sour, you can add a pinch of sugar to balance it out.
Bethany
Hi! I don’t see a measurement for salt? How much did you use or is it ‘to taste’?
Tonje
Hi Bethany. I typically add salt to taste. The exact amount needed depends on personal preferences and the brand of tomatoes used. Hope that helps!
Isabelle Brennan
What is a serving size of this?
Tonje
The exact volume of the finished sauce can vary a little depending on how much it reduces. One batch of the recipe makes 6 servings, and each serving will be around 1/2 cup of sauce.