Simple Italian Tomato Pasta Sauce

This is the one. The recipe that sits underneath half of Italian cooking. Once you know it, you'll stop buying jars forever. Cheap, fast, and genuinely delicious.

What you need

For the sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 x 400g tin crushed tomatoes (or 4 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp sugar (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
• Fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley to serve

For the pasta

• 400g pasta
• Salt for the water

How to make it

1. Start the sauce Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Watch it carefully — garlic burns fast and ruins everything.

2. Add the tomatoes Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Add oregano, sugar if using, and season generously. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and a deeper colour.

How do you know when it's ready? Run a spoon through it — if it leaves a clear line that holds for a second before filling back in, it's done.

3. Cook the pasta Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a rolling boil. Add generous salt — the water should taste like mild seawater. Add pasta and stir immediately. Cook according to packet, tasting 2 minutes before suggested time. You want al dente — cooked through but with a slight bite.

What does al dente mean? Bite a piece. Tiny white dot in the centre = needs another minute. No white dot, just slight firmness = perfect.

4. Before you drain Scoop out a mug of pasta water and set it aside. This starchy water helps the sauce cling to the pasta. Then drain — don't rinse.

5. Bring it together Add drained pasta straight into the sauce. Toss over a low heat for a minute. Add a splash of pasta water if it looks too thick. Taste one more time. Serve immediately.

Serve

Fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley. Grated parmesan if you have it.

Good to know

• Sauce keeps in the fridge for 5 days and freezes brilliantly
• Add a tin of white beans for protein, or serve with grilled chicken
• A small knob of butter stirred in at the end makes it richer and glossier
• This is the base for dozens of other sauces — learn this one and a whole world opens up