Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce | Simple & Delicious

The humble tomato – don’t you just love it? We do! And this tomato basil pasta sauce shows it off in all its glory! In fact, our mouths water just thinking about it – we never get tired of this recipe!

Made in the Americas

Humans have a looong history with tomatoes. Now, you might associate them with southern European cuisine. However, did you know tomatoes were first cultivated by the Aztecs? In fact, the Spanish only discovered tomatoes when they colonized Mexico.

After this precious cargo went back to Europe, it started spreading around the world. In fact, the Spanish planted tomatoes all the way from the Carribean to Southeast Asia.

Tomato Trivia

You’ve surely heard the debate – is tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Well, if you’re a stickler for botany, it’s a fruit. However, common sense tells us it’s a ‘culinary vegetable‘.

Even so, we’ll probably never put the argument to bed. In fact, even the US Government has weighed in. In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled that the tomato is a vegetable … for tax purposes!

One last thing – an old name for tomato was the ‘Wolf’s Peach’. We won’t get into the reasons why, but ‘Wolf’s Peach Pasta’ sounds kind of badass, right?

Can Somebody Pass-da sauce?

We think quick preparation is important for this recipe, so we’ve used canned tomatoes. However, be sure to check the ingredients when you buy them. If they are good quality, there shouldn’t be anything in there apart from tomatoes, salt, and (maybe) citric acid.

If you decide you prefer fresh tomatoes, no problem! You can start by dunking them in boiling water for a minute. This will loosen the skin and make them easy to peel. Once you’ve removed the skin, chop them up and cook them until they soften and break down (up to 20 minutes). After this, you’re ready to continue!

Note: You’ll need about 4 cups of chopped fresh tomato to replace a 28-ounce can.

Your Tomato Basil Pasta Awaits!

The rest is so easy! Put some oil in a pan and fry some garlic until you can smell it. Then, add the can of tomatoes and remaining ingredients, and let the tomato sauce bubble for around 10 minutes. When the tomato sauce is thick enough to stick to the pasta, add fresh basil and simmer for another 5 minutes. We just roughly chop or tear the basil up and stir it in. Chunky basil is so tasty!

When you’re done, just toss the sauce through the pasta so that it’s lightly coated. Garnish with a little extra fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese, and dig in!

We hope you had fun whipping up this easy tomato basil pasta. If you tried it, please let us know what you think with a comment and a rating. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better!

If you’re on a pasta kick, why not try mixing your noodles with Spring Greens and Spicy Lentils, Butternut Squash, or Lentil Bolognese?

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