Fresh recipe
Quick Tomato Basil Pasta with Parmesan
A simple vegetarian lunch using pantry pasta, canned tomatoes, onion, basil, and parmesan. It comes together fast with one sauce pan and one pasta pot.
20 min
2 servings
Easy
Ingredients
- 180 g pasta, any shape
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 can canned tomatoes, about 400 g
- 1 small pinch sugar, optional to balance acidity
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for pasta water
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 small handful basil, torn or chopped
- 25 g parmesan, grated, plus extra if you like
Steps
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente, saving 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
- While the pasta cooks, warm olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 4–5 minutes until softened.
- Add the canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, and optional pinch of sugar, then simmer for 8–10 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon.
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce with a splash of reserved pasta water and toss for 1–2 minutes until glossy.
- Turn off the heat, stir in the basil and parmesan, then taste and adjust salt or pepper before serving.
Uses inexpensive pantry staples and a small amount of parmesan for flavor without needing extra ingredients.
Only one pot, one pan, and a grater are needed; reuse the pasta pot to hold the drained pasta if helpful.
Use the full can of tomatoes and any basil stems finely chopped into the sauce, or save extra basil for garnish.
vegetarianno nutsquick luncheasy pastabudget friendlylow waste
