Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Spaghetti with Pomodoro Sauce (Spaghetti al Pomodoro)
Tomato and basil can make a very satisfying plate of spaghetti without much else around them. This pomodoro keeps the tomatoes at the center, with fresh basil running through the strands. Twirl up a forkful and enjoy the sauce clinging to the warm pasta.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 11 min
- Total
- 16 min
- Original yield
- Serves 3
- Ingredients
- 6 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course · Sides
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Stop the first pasta cook early
Set the spaghetti timer shorter than its full package time because it finishes cooking in the tomato sauce.
2. Include collected tomato juices
Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and their juices to the garlic and basil before boiling them into sauce.
3. Transfer pasta straight to sauce
Use tongs to move spaghetti directly into the pan and add pasta water before finishing its cooking.
Get to know the ingredients
Divided basil leaves
Roughly chop the basil and use half with garlic, keeping the remainder for the final pasta toss.
Minced garlic
Mince the garlic before sauteing it in olive oil with the first basil portion until fragrant.
Roughly chopped tomatoes
Keep the tomatoes in rough pieces to begin; the full boil breaks their chunks down into the sauce.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 3. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 7 steps completeMake room for Spaghetti with Pomodoro Sauce (Spaghetti al Pomodoro)
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Toss in the last basil
Once spaghetti reaches the doneness you like in the sauce, toss through the remaining basil and serve.
A little more help as you go
Turn the sauce down while waiting
After tomatoes start breaking down, lower to a simmer while the pasta finishes its first cooking stage.
Add water to finish as needed
More pasta water is allowed during the sauce-stage cooking until spaghetti reaches your preferred doneness.
A few questions you might have
Should I drain all the pasta water away?
Keep it available; the directions add a few ladles with the spaghetti and more if needed while finishing.
Does basil go in only at the end?
Half cooks with garlic at the beginning; the other half is tossed through the finished pasta.
What should the tomatoes look like before simmering?
Their chunks should be starting to break down into sauce during the full-boil stage before you lower the heat.
Do I cook the garlic until brown?
The direction looks for fragrant garlic and green basil before adding tomatoes, rather than a browned garlic stage.
Is the spaghetti fully cooked before joining sauce?
The initial timer is one minute shorter than its package time, with final cooking done in the sauce.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: norecipes.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
