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This red sauce pasta recipe is full of classic Italian flavor! Simmer up this tasty dish with pure, simple ingredients.
Craving a simple, cozy pasta? Try this Classic Red Sauce Pasta recipe! Like any great Italian recipe, it features simple ingredients simmered until they meld into a velvety tomato sauce. This one is based on a real Italian grandmother’s recipe (so you know it’s good!).
Throw it onto pasta with a little salty Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, and it’s simply divine. This one was a huge hit in my house!
Ingredients needed
This red sauce pasta features my classic tomato sauce recipe, which is based on a recipe from a real Sicilian grandmother! It’s a spin on Nonna’s recipe from the memoir From Scratch by Tembi Locke (which I highly recommend). Like Nonna’s, it uses simple, high-quality ingredients that are simmered to extract the essence of their flavors.
- Olive oil
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Crushed tomatoes (San Marzano or best quality)
- Oregano
- Fresh basil
- Sugar
- Salt
- Pasta of any shape
- Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, to garnish
For the canned tomatoes
The most important ingredient in this red sauce pasta recipe? The canned tomatoes. Low-quality canned tomatoes can have a bitter, flat, or metallic flavor; no salt or oil can compensate for that! Here’s what to know about buying the best canned tomatoes for tomato sauce:
- Look for the San Marzano variety. San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomatoes with fewer seeds and acidity than most tomatoes. This variety originated in Italy, but it’s grown all over the world. This type of tomato is slightly more expensive than the typical American canned tomato, but it’s well worth the price!
- Some of the best brands are Muir Glen, Cento, and San Marzano. That’s right — there’s a brand called San Marzano too! These are the brands I lean toward (I’m not affiliated).
- Or, use fire-roasted tomatoes. Fire-roasted tomatoes are roasted over an open flame before canning, which gives them a sweet, lightly smoky flavor. They work wonderfully here, too.
Fresh vs dried basil
This red sauce pasta recipe calls for fresh basil, which is like the gold of Italian herbs. The fresh, peppery flavor that it imparts is key if you can find it. But it can be expensive, especially when it’s out of season. Substitute ½ teaspoon dried basil if you like in this recipe. The flavor won’t be as developed as fresh basil, but it’s an easy swap.
Types of pasta to use
This red sauce pasta recipe works with most long and short noodles! Avoid using angel hair noodles because they’re much too delicate. Here are some of the best types of pasta for this sauce:
- Spaghetti
- Bucatini
- Linguine
- Spirals (fusilli)
- Bowties (farfalle)
- Penne
- Shells (conchiglie)
- Orecchiette
- Gemelli
- Gigli
How to serve red sauce pasta
The best part about this red sauce pasta recipe? The garnishes! Garnishing pasta is key to maintaining a balance of flavors and texture. Especially key here is the cheese, in my opinion, but you can easily use a dairy-free cheese for vegan. Here’s how to serve this red sauce pasta:
- Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese: Topping the pasta with grated or shaved aged cheese brings a pop of salty flavor. Eat vegan? No problem, substitute purchased dairy-free Parmesan or make this Vegan Parmesan.
- Red pepper flakes: They’re not required, but a modest sprinkle of red pepper flakes ups the ante flavor-wise. (I used just enough to season, but not enough to be spicy.)
- Fresh basil: If you buy it, fresh basil looks and tastes beautiful in this red sauce pasta. I typically save this for a special occasion if it’s not in season, or grab some from my garden in the summer (here’s how to grow basil).
Red sauce storage info
Want to make this homemade red sauce in advance? Store refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
More pasta and sauce recipes
Love Italian pastas? Here are a few more tasty pasta recipes to add to your arsenal:
- Try Pomodoro Sauce, Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, or Tagliatelle Pasta
- Go for spicy Arrabiata Sauce
- Make a Cream Sauce to go on Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
- Opt for Lasagna Roll Ups or Baked Tortellini
- Grab Easy Stuffed Shells, Easy Manicotti, or Penne Pomodoro
Dietary notes
This recipe is vegetarian.
Red Sauce Pasta
This red sauce pasta recipe is full of classic Italian flavor! Simmer up this tasty dish with pure, simple ingredients.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Pasta
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, San Marzano or best quality
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 6 large basil leaves, plus more to garnish
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces pasta
- Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, to garnish (or vegan Parmesan)
- Red pepper flakes, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add the tomatoes and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often.
- Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the salt, sugar, oregano, and basil and blend until combined.
- Return to the saucepan and simmer partially covered until thickened to the desired consistency, 15 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt as desired. (Variations: Stir in red pepper flakes, a splash of cream, grated Parmesan cheese, or a splash of balsamic vinegar if desired.)
- Serve all 3 cups of the tomato sauce with 12 ounces pasta, and top with Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, and/or red pepper flakes. Sauce stores refrigerated for 5 days or frozen for 3 months.
