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We all know pasta can be simple – but did you know you could make it THIS simple? This one pot Tomato Pasta recipe is a fantastic one for a quick, easy and delicious midweek vegetarian family meal.
There’s no doubt about it. This vegetarian Tomato Pasta recipe is the ULTIMATE cheat recipe.
This is taking a one pot recipe to the extreme. We literally just put all of the ingredients in a pan together and simmer it until it’s cooked. That. Is. It!
It has delicious Italian-y tomatoey vibes, and we can rustle it up from store cupboard bits and bobs to make this comfort food dish in less than 20 minutes.
A perfect low-effort, maximum satisfaction dish that’s speedy and budget friendly!
Why you’ll love this simple Tomato Pasta recipe
⭐️ So easy, so quick
⭐️ All made in one pan
⭐️ Comfort with zero fuss
How we came up with this recipe
I know there are naysayers out there, but I LOVE to make a one pot pasta by cooking the pasta actually IN the sauce (as you will know if you’ve tried any of my other one pot pasta recipes!)
The starch in the pasta helps to thicken the liquid and gives the sauce a silky texture that gets better as it cooks. Plus, it means using one less pan and minimal effort levels!
This quick Tomato Pasta recipe is so delicious and hearty, but I wanted it to be versatile too.
After plenty of testing and adding a little pesto kick and plenty of tomatoey flavour, it is fine to eat as it comes – BUT feel free to throw in any ingredients you have that either elevate the dish for you or just needs using up.
Perhaps you want meat in it too – go forth and make it your own!
tomato Pasta Ingredients notes
- Spaghetti – We’re using the average dried spaghetti here, not fresh. Feel free to use wholewheat or gluten free too
- Stock, tinned tomatoes & tomato puree – These are the base for our sauce and important ingredients, so the better quality you use, the tastier the dish will be. I recommend Marigold for stock. You can also use homemade stock if you like
- Parmesan – Grana Padano is a good, slightly cheaper alternative to Parmesan if you prefer
How to make Tomato Pasta
- Put the spaghetti, tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, pesto, salt and pepper, and stock in a large saucepan.
- With the lid on, put it over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is almost cooked.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes and cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes until the pasta is cooked and the cherry tomatoes are softened.
- Top with the Parmesan cheese to serve.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days.
NB If you don’t serve this as soon as it’s cooked, you’ll find that the sauce absorbs into the pasta and there’s not a lot left. It won’t affect the taste, you may just want to add a splash more stock when you warm it through.
In the freezer I’m not a big fan of freezing pasta as it can go quite mushy when defrosted and reheated.
All that said, there’s nothing wrong with freezing for lunch if you have leftovers, it’s just not quite as good as fresh or reheated from the fridge.
Top tip
This meal is so versatile. You can use it on its own or as a base.
Mix it up by adding what you have available in your fridge. For example, this recipe is great with mushrooms and chorizo – just fry them up in the pan for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
There are so many options, feel free to use your imagination!
FAQs
Try and use a big lidded pan for this recipe. I have tried-and-tested some one-pan pans recently and there were some good ones in that list. Hope this pan review helps.
I sure do! Try out my Slow Cooker Feta & Tomato, my Baked Tomato & Basil Pasta, my Tomato Spaghetti with Meatballs or my Chorizo Pasta.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Tomato Pasta {Easiest Ever One Pan Spaghetti}
Ingredients
- 350 g Spaghetti
- 400 g Tinned tomatoes
- 1 Large onion, Sliced
- 4 Cloves Garlic, Peeled and sliced
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 4 tbsp Pesto
- 3 tbsp Tomato puree
- 1 litre Vegetable stock, I use Marigold powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 200 g Cherry tomatoes
- 75 g Grated parmesan
Instructions
- Put the spaghetti, tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, pesto, salt and pepper, and stock in a large saucepan.
- With the lid on, put it over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is almost cooked.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes and cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes until the pasta is cooked and the cherry tomatoes are softened.
- Top with the parmesan cheese to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my goodness I may be late to the party but WOW who’d of thought such an easy recipe could taste sooooooooo tasty! Loved it!
I’ve recently come upon your Instagram page and have made some of your recipes. I made this pasta dish and just wanted to let you know how much my son and I enjoyed it. It’s absolutely delicious and very easy to make. The recipe amount made 4 dinners (2 x 2 days) and enough left over for me to bring to work for lunch also, so very economical too! This will definitely be going on my weekly menu.
Just made this recipe for the first time tonight, my family absolutely loved it. So simple to do in one pot. Thank you
Fabulous recipe, I’ve been making this for years now after spotting on here. Delicious and so easy. Highly recommend and hugely adaptable depending on what you fancy or have left in the fridge.
Delicious, and so so easy! I cheated even further with tinned tomatoes (and just 800ml stock) and still a winner.
This looks lovely. I’ve often wondered if one pot pasta would taste a bit odd because the starchy water doesn’t get thrown away as normal, but your version looks great. I will have to try it.
I thought that too and yes it is a bit starchy, but I think the Italians keep some starchy water in the sauce normally anyway, it’s kind of starchy comforting if that makes sense?!
So up my street, simple, tasty and totally beautiful to boot, love this. Thanks so much for linking up to #tastytuesdays x
Thanks for the fantastic one pot meal! I never thought of cooking pasta in just enough water. I will have to try this soon.
Fab, fab, fab! Quick and easy with yummy carbs, what more could you ask for? Especially when ill! Pinning this one to come back to and cook very soon.
#TastyTuesdays
Hope you enjoy Sophie 🙂
I made this yesterday for me, the kids and the babies, it went down a real treat 🙂 But next time I’ll use pasta shapes so the babies can pick them up a bit more easily 😉
This looks really good! Got to love a good one pot meal 🙂 #tastytuesdays x
One pot meals always a winner for us multi-tasking twin Mummas Kirsty!