Spaghetti al pomodoro is spaghetti tossed in a tomato sauce built from almost nothing: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and basil. It is a pasta dish typically prepared with fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, and salt, intended to be a quick and light dish rather than one drowned in a heavy sauce. The name tells you exactly what you’re eating: given that pomodoro means tomato in Italian, the main ingredient of this dish is the tomato.
The dish has a documented history going back further than most people expect. The first official recipe for spaghetti with tomatoes dates back to 1837, when Ippolito Cavalcanti published his cooking manual Cucina Teorico Pratica. That early Neapolitan version leaned on pork fat for richness, but the modern spaghetti al pomodoro recipe does not contain meat or fish, even though the original Italian recipe from 1837 combined lard with olive oil for the flavor base. This recipe sticks with olive oil only, which is how most Italian home cooks make it today.
What you get at the end is a sauce that clings to each strand, tastes of ripe tomato and good oil, and smells faintly of garlic and basil rather than of either one taking over. It’s the pasta Italians cook on a weeknight when there’s not much in the fridge and no time to spare, and it’s just as happy next to a simple salad as it is on its own with grated cheese on top.
What you need
Three things decide how this dish turns out: the tomatoes, the olive oil, and how gently you cook them. Good canned whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano or another DOP variety if you can find them) give a more consistent result than off-season fresh ones, since they’re picked and tinned at peak ripeness. Use a fruity extra virgin olive oil you’d be happy to drizzle raw over bread, since it’s doing a lot of the flavour work here with so few ingredients. Fresh basil, added at the end rather than simmered the whole time, keeps its scent instead of turning flat and tea-like.
If fresh tomatoes are in season and very ripe, you can use those instead of canned; peel them first by scoring an X in the base and dropping them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then into cold water, and the skins will slip off.
| Ingredient | Swap | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Canned whole peeled tomatoes | Fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (same weight) | Sauce can taste sharper or sweeter depending on the season; simmer a little longer to cook off extra water |
| Fresh basil | Dried basil, about a third of the amount, stirred in with the tomatoes instead of at the end | Flavour is less bright and slightly earthier, but still recognisable |
| Spaghetti | Any gluten-free spaghetti or linguine | Cooks a little faster or slower depending on the brand; check the packet and taste for doneness early |
| Parmesan | Vegan hard cheese or nutritional yeast, to taste | Makes the dish dairy-free and vegan; flavour is less salty and nutty |
Spaghetti al pomodoro
A classic Italian pasta of spaghetti tossed in a simple, silky tomato sauce made with just olive oil, garlic, basil and good tomatoes.
- Vegetarian
- Halal
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 45 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves Garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
- 800 g Canned whole peeled tomatoes, or the same weight of very ripe fresh tomatoes, peeled
- 1 tsp Fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1 bunch Fresh basil leaves
- 1 pinch Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
For the pasta
- 350 g Spaghetti
- 15 g Coarse salt, for the pasta water
- 40 g Parmesan, finely grated (optional)
Equipment
Large saucepan, Large pot for pasta, Wooden spoon, Fine-mesh sieve or food mill (optional)
Method
- Start the sauce. Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until it turns fragrant and just pale gold at the edges. Don't let it brown or it will taste bitter.
- Add the tomatoes. Pour in the tomatoes, crushing them with the back of a wooden spoon or your hand as you add them. Stir in the salt and chili flakes if using.
- Simmer gently. Bring to a gentle bubble, then lower the heat so the sauce simmers very softly. Partially cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened slightly and turned a deep red.
- Smooth it out (optional). For a silkier sauce, pass it through a food mill or a sieve, or blitz briefly with an immersion blender. Return it to the pan and remove the garlic clove.
- Finish the sauce. Tear half the basil leaves and stir them into the sauce. Taste and adjust the salt. Keep the sauce warm over the lowest heat while the pasta cooks.
- Cook the spaghetti. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the coarse salt; the water should taste like the sea. Add the spaghetti and cook until just shy of al dente, about 1 to 2 minutes less than the packet says.
- Combine pasta and sauce. Scoop out and reserve about 200ml (1 cup) of the pasta cooking water, then drain the spaghetti. Add the pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding splashes of the reserved water until the sauce coats every strand and looks glossy.
- Serve. Divide between warm bowls. Tear over the remaining basil, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, and grate parmesan on top if using. Serve immediately while hot.
Contains: milk, gluten. Check the labels on packaged ingredients.
Written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. This recipe has not been cooked in a home kitchen, so taste and adjust as you go. The header picture is an AI-generated illustration, a stock photo or an official press picture, not a photo of this exact recipe. Use halal-certified meat.
Tips for success
Crush the garlic, don’t chop it fine. A lightly smashed or halved clove flavours the oil without leaving bitter bits in the finished sauce; you lift it out before serving if you like a cleaner sauce.
Keep the heat low once the tomatoes are in. A hard boil breaks the sauce and makes it taste sharp instead of rounded. A gentle, steady simmer with the lid tilted lets the flavours settle without the sauce turning watery or scorching at the edges.
Salt the pasta water properly. It should taste like the sea. This is the only chance you get to season the spaghetti itself, since the sauce is light and won’t carry all the seasoning on its own.
Save a cup of pasta water before draining. The starch in it is what makes the sauce cling to the spaghetti instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Add it a splash at a time while tossing.
Finish the pasta in the sauce, not after it. Drain the spaghetti a minute or two before it’s fully done, then let it finish cooking in the pan with the sauce over medium heat for the last minute or two. This is what gives restaurant versions their glossy look.
Don’t drown the dish in cheese. A light grating of parmesan at the table is traditional; piling it on masks the tomato instead of supporting it.
Storing and reheating
Cool the pasta and sauce within two hours of cooking and keep it in a covered container in the fridge, where it will keep for 3 to 4 days; this follows the general USDA guidance on cooked leftovers. Reheat a portion in a pan with a splash of water over medium heat, or in the microwave, stirring partway through, until it’s steaming hot all the way through (an internal temperature of 74°C is the USDA benchmark for reheated leftovers). The sauce on its own freezes well for up to 2 to 3 months in a sealed container or bag; thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating and cooking fresh pasta to go with it, since cooked spaghetti turns soft and watery after freezing.
Serving ideas
Keep the rest of the meal as simple as the pasta. A green salad with a sharp lemon dressing, some crusty bread for mopping the bowl, or a plate of roasted or grilled vegetables all sit well alongside it. For a heartier dinner, spoon the sauce over spaghetti as a base and add pan-fried chicken breast or seared white fish on the side rather than mixing them into the sauce, which keeps the dish true to its light, fresh character.
Diet and allergen notes
As written, this recipe is vegetarian and halal (use halal-certified parmesan if that matters to you, since some hard cheeses are made with animal rennet). It contains gluten from the spaghetti and dairy from the parmesan; both are easy to work around using the swaps above to make it gluten-free, dairy-free or fully vegan. It is not a low-carb or keto dish, since pasta is the main ingredient.
Questions
Why does my sauce taste thin or watery?
This usually means the tomatoes didn’t simmer long enough to concentrate, or there’s too much liquid from very juicy fresh tomatoes. Keep the lid off for the last few minutes of cooking so excess water can evaporate, and crush the tomatoes well so there are no large watery pockets.
Can I use fresh tomatoes all year round?
You can, but tomatoes out of season tend to be paler and less sweet, so the sauce can taste flat. Good-quality canned whole peeled tomatoes are picked at peak ripeness and are the more reliable choice outside of summer.
Do I need to peel and seed the tomatoes?
For canned tomatoes, no, since they’re already peeled. For fresh ones, peeling makes for a smoother sauce since the skins don’t break down fully when simmered; seeding is optional and mostly affects how much liquid ends up in the pan.