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Italian

Spaghetti al pomodoro

Vegetarian

The everyday Italian classic: spaghetti finished in a short-cooked sauce of good tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and basil, glossy with a little pasta water.

Spaghetti al pomodoro is an Italian pasta dish from Italy, ready in about 30 minutes and made with dried pasta, canned tomatoes and olive oil. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Classic Italian spaghetti in rich tomato sauce garnished with basil.
Photo: Willians Huerta / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
5 min
Cook
25 min
Total
30 min
Serves
4
Level
Beginner
Calories
525

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the olive oil (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) in a wide pan over medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and just golden.

  2. Step 2

    Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hand or a spoon, and a good pinch of salt. Simmer briskly for 15–20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce thickens and tastes sweet rather than raw. Remove the garlic (opens in a new tab).

    • 20 min
    • medium heat
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile cook the spaghetti (opens in a new tab) in salted boiling water until 1 minute short of al dente. Keep a mug of the cooking water.

    Food safety: Drain boiling pasta water away from you and keep children clear of the stove.

    Salt the pasta water at about 10 g per litre — it should taste pleasantly seasoned, not like the sea.

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the spaghetti (opens in a new tab) to the sauce with tongs (opens in a new tab), add a splash of cooking water and toss over the heat for 1 minute until the sauce clings. Tear in the basil (opens in a new tab), drizzle with a little more oil and serve, with Parmesan (opens in a new tab) if you like.

About this dish

Origin
Naples and southern Italy, Italy · Commonly attributedPasta with tomato sauce spread from Naples in the 19th century and is now cooked all over Italy.Also popular in United States, United KingdomMore food from Italy
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Pasta · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Boiled
Taste
tangy, fresh, herby
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly · Child-friendly
Cook more with
Dried pasta · Canned tomatoes · Basil · Garlic
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom parmesan
  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

525 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 317 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 11%
  • Carbohydrate 62%
  • Fat 26%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy525 kcal166 kcal
Protein14.8 g4.7 g
Carbohydrate82.3 g26 g
Net carbohydrate75.2 g23.8 g
Sugars7.8 g2.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre7.1 g2.2 g
Fat15.5 g4.9 g
Saturated fat2.2 g0.7 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium——
Salt equivalent——
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
617 mg
Calcium
93 mg
Iron
4.6 mg
Magnesium
74 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
43 µg
Vitamin C
26 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
408 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: parmesan.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): salt — so sodium is shown as unknown.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Finishing the pasta in the sauce is what makes it taste Italian — the starch binds the sauce to every strand.

Common mistakes

  • Over-cooking the sauce until it tastes jammy, or adding sugar to cover poor tomatoes.

Storage

  • The sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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