Everyone needs a killer pasta recipe in their back pocket. This one is mine and it is a total classic. It is always a hit and always surprises people when they find out how simple and quick it is to make this homemade sauce. Once you make a homemade sauce you will never want to go back to jarred. The whole dish comes together in 15-20 minutes. You really cannot beat how fresh and gourmet this easy dinner is.
Growing up, pasta night was never simple in our household. My dad was from the south and cooking was sort of his thing. Everything was a production, even pasta. Most people just boil water, cook the pasta and pour on a jar of their favorite marinara sauce. Not my dad. He would saute the pasta in a homemade sauce and used jarred sauce infrequently. He loved to cook with olive oil, garlic and tomato paste and I learned quickly that together they create an amazing and simple sauce that is sweet and flavorful. In this recipe I added super juicy and sweet Roma tomatoes that add an extra something to every bite. Fresh basil brings everything together and takes the whole thing up a notch in terms of flavor.
Of course, this recipe uses gluten-free spaghetti noodles. The spaghetti I use is 100% brown rice and it does not get mushy or sticky. My trick is to add a little olive oil to a huge pot of boiling water and break the noodles in half to prevent them from sticking together. With a lot of water and broken in half they are fully submerged. I also stir them throughout the cooking process and follow the cooking instructions on the package precisely. I always salt my water and instead of draining it I use a pasta ladle to transfer the pasta to the sauce leaving some of the pasta water on the noodles which makes it extra creamy.
This sauce is made extra gourmet by Pomora olive oil. I’ve talked about my love for high quality olive oil before on this blog. So many of you know I have fallen in love with Pomora’s speciality olive oils. They even have a garlic flavored variety that would be perfect for this recipe in place of fresh garlic. The tin on that box literally says “vampires beware!” so expect a strong garlic flavor. Pomora is committed to supporting small, independent growers. Their farmers have generations of experience behind them and use traditional and sustainable farming methods. They respect the land which supports them and they take care of their employees. The coolest part about their company is that you actually foster or adopt an olive tree from one of two farmers. You will receive quarterly shipments of premium quality olive oil from your very own adopted tree.
Each quarterly shipment of olive oil contains 3 x 250ml tins of oil. Typically, these are:
- Winter: olio nuovo – young/fresh oil;
- Spring: flavored oils (e.g. 1 x lemon, 1 x chili and 1 x rosemary);
- Summer: classic extra virgin olive oil;
- Autumn: flavored oils (e.g. 1 x basil, 1 x garlic and 1 x white truffle).
You can even adopt a tree as a gift. If you are interested, check out their FAQ page (scroll to the bottom and select “FAQ”) to learn more. And be sure to use discount code: “EBE25” – which gives 25% off the cost of the first quarter of an Adoption.
This recipe is entirely plant-based and therefore dairy-free. It is also nut-free which means my entire family can enjoy (brother, mother, daughter - all have nut allergies). I hope you enjoy this simple and incredibly flavorful dish as much as we do. It always hits the spot for me when I have a pasta craving.
If you give this pasta recipe a try, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating it! And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it @eatingbyelaine and #eatingbyelaine on Instagram so I can see your spaghetti!
Chunky Tomato Basil Spaghetti
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Description
This easy and filling pasta dish tastes incredibly gourmet and yet only takes minutes to prepare. It is way better than using jarred tomato sauce and tastes super fresh. It is infused with fresh basil and pungent garlic flavor. The sauce is creamy and full of sweet tomato flavor. It is naturally vegan/dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free.
Ingredients
- 10-12 ounces gluten-free spaghetti pasta (I use 100% brown rice pasta)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (such as Pomora classic extra virgin olive oil or their garlic infused variety)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 4 roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup fresh basil, cut into thin ribbons
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Prep all other ingredients while you wait for the water to come to a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt to the boiling water. Break the pasta in half and then add to the pot. Cook according to package instructions.
- While the pasta cooks makes the sauce. Add oil, tomato paste, tomatoes, vegan butter, garlic, salt and pepper to a large rimmed saute pan. Turn the heat to medium and stir occasionally allowing everything to combine. The roma tomatoes will start to break down into the sauce. The sauce should cook for about 10-15 minutes. Typically when my pasta is finished cooking my sauce is usually done.
- Once the pasta is finished cooking, use a pasta ladle/spaghetti server to transfer batches of the cooked pasta over to the saute pan. You want to allow most of the pasta water to drip off but you can allow some of the pasta water to transfer over. This will make the sauce a bit creamier. Once all the pasta is in the large saute pan stir to coat evenly with the sauce.
- With the burner off, add the fresh basil and stir to combine. Serve immediately or transfer to a glass airtight container and store in your refrigerator for up to 5 days. Best when fresh. To refresh you might want to heat on the stove top with additional olive oil and tomato paste to bring it back to life and help re-moisten it. Otherwise, it might be a bit dry after being stored in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
This post is sponsored by Pomora. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Eating by Elaine possible.
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