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This recipe is incredibly simple, quick and delicious, especially this time of year when locally grown and homegrown tomatoes are available. I used to think making tomato sauce from scratch was a difficult or time-consuming task until I actually tried it. Once you briefly boil the tomatoes the skin peels right off, and then the rest of this delicious meal is a cinch.
Even my girls, who normally don’t go for tomatoes or prosciutto, scarf this dinner down as fast as they can. And in case you haven’t heard, tomatoes are technically a fruit so we like to serve this dish with a side of veggies such as lightly sautéed summer squash.
Simple Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1/4 lb prosciutto (or pancetta)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper
- 10 tomatoes (ripe)
- 1/2 lb whole-wheat spaghetti ((or penne, rigatoni, macaroni, etc.))
- parmesan cheese (grated (for topping, optional))
- basil ((for topping, optional))
Instructions
- Set a large pot of water over high heat.
- Dice the onion and proscuitto.
- Once the water starts boiling add the tomatoes, 2 or 3 at a time, for about 1 minute each. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and let them cool on a large cutting board. Add your dry pasta to the same pot of boiling water to cook following directions on package for timing.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high and add the olive oil.
- Once the oil heats up, add the diced proscuitto, onion, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile peel, seed and chop the tomatoes. With a dull knife score the skin on each tomato and then peel it right off. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and gently squeeze each one over a bowl to get the seeds out. It is okay if there are still a few seeds left in there. Cut out top of core/stem. Roughly chop into pieces and add to the onion/proscuitto mixture.
- Cook and mash tomato mixture with the back of a wooden spoon (or potato masher) until slightly thickened, about 8 – 10 minutes.
- Pour sauce over well-drained pasta, garnish with Parmesan and/or fresh basil, and voila! A delicious and very quick “real food” meal.
Do you have a recipe for over night crockpot spaghetti sauce using fresh ingredients?
Hello Sarah. These are Lisa’s other spaghetti recipes but none for the crock pot: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/10/19/recipe-whole-wheat-spaghetti-and-meatballs/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2014/08/11/recipe-spaghetti-casserole-makeover/.
I grow my own tomatoes in summer and freeze them whole right from the garden (I do clean them first to remove any dirt). I use the tomatoes right out of the freezer. make a small x in the skin with a knife and drop in hot water 30 seconds or so, remove and peel. Even frozen, they are easy enough to dice. They do add water to the sauce though so I recommended soft boiling the sauce a little longer to evaporate the extra water. A bit messy but totally worth it!
I see that the recipe calls for 8-10 tomatoes. I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes. Will these work? If so, what is the amount of them should I use? Thanks
Hi Anne. The cherry tomatoes won’t produce as much “juice” but you could try them. My guess is you would need about 6-8 for the equivalent of one tomato, but, that’s just a guess. Jill
I read that you plan to freeze this sauce. I am just curious, what containers do you use? I am worried about freezing in plastic because of the chemicals.
Hi Erin. You can use glass containers if you like. Check out some that we like here…https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/#other. Jill
I just tried this recipe because I am seeing tomatoes everywhere! It was PERFECT. Really flavorful and I added some fresh basil to cook in as well as some to garnish. Delicious!
I have to make some sauce now after this! Yummy!
I have an immigrate Italian cookbook with a carrot sauce and corn sauce recipe.
Apparently carrot sauce came before tomato.
Is there a vegan version of this recipe? I really don’t want to use pork products in my healthy way of living.
Hi Cindy. You could always just make a marinara sauce that will have no meat. Jill
Dehydrated Zucchini slices are wonderful – kids will love them
Making this today with fresh tomatoes from my garden. It looks, smells and tastes wonderful. Can’t wait to try it over pasta.
How many calories is this? thinking of making it, but I also need to record it in myfitnesspal lol
Hi Thelma. I’m sorry but we don’t calculate nutritional information for our recipes. Jill
TB, if you put in the ingredients in your fitness pal, it will calculate the calories for you.
TIP: If you freeze your tomatoes and then soak in cold water the skins come right off, no boiling and they are easier to chop up when still slightly frozen. Simply slice an “x” in the bottom of the tomatoe so the skin is split before freezing, just like when you blanch them.
This was amazing! Yesterday was the first day on this journey to a new lifestyle and today I made this recipe my husband hates tomatoes with a passion, but he ate two plates down before I could finish one. the only thing I did different was I added two garlic cloves but that is because we are all garlic lovers. Thank you for all the awesome information to make everything easier.
I can curious as to your thoughts on making your own pasta? Is it necessary?
No, it is not necessary. You can find lots of 1-ingredient whole-grain pastas (even organic ones) at the grocery store BUT I do think homemade pasta tastes a lot better and if you like to cook it is fun to make! Just my personal preference though :)
Just made this for dinner tonight…all I can say is FANTASTIC! My family and I loved it…even my picky 12 year old :o)
May I substitute canned tomatoes for fresh tomatoes in the spaghetti sauce? If so, how many ounces?
Thanks so much!
Ashley
Ashley – I am sure that would work just fine…I would try using 2 1/2 cups of canned roma tomatoes.
If you’re in a pinch or it’s the dead of winter and you can’t find quality tomatoes, can you use Muir Glen Organic whole tomatoes instead? Also – I didn’t know cheese was a “real” food! Always thought it was processed (Thanks Kraft! LOL)
We just put those tomatoes directly into the Vitamix blender after cooking and they puree beautifully, skin, seeds and all. I will also add Kale, squash, okra, or whatever other veggies are growing in my garden to the mix and you can’t even taste the addition. I love my Vitamix for real food cooking. We also puree spinach and carrots (cooked or raw) and add them to nearly every recipe we make to sneak a few more veggies into our kids diet.
I love your blog–thanks for sharing.
Congratulations on your sponsorship ~ and while I have been loving your downloadable meal plans, I’ve gotta say the Fresh 20 is exactly what I have been needing to enjoy increased success in our transition to more “real food!” Thanks for always connecting your readers to trusted resources.
I am so glad you like The Fresh 20…I agree it is a great concept!!
Made this tonight. I’m quoting my 20-year-old…”mom, this may be the best pasta I’ve ever had in my life”. Thanks Lisa for another great recipe!
Well that might just be the best recipe review I’ve ever had! :)
Can’t wait to give this one a try. Was told long ago to plant the basil with the tomato plants and it’s always worked like a charm.
Congratulations on your sponsorship!
p.s. Since the bee population is alarmingly low I was told by “an old-timer” to very gently “tickle” the flowers with a q-tip to pollinate. Since I haven’t seen many bees in the garden this year, I’ll be giving this a try.
Best health always.
What brand of spaghetti noodle do you use and where do you find it?
Looking for something with a simple list of real food ingredients.
I just buy the store brand whole-wheat organic pasta. Whole-grain noodles are fortunately one of the easier things to find in the store. I’ve even seen whole-wheat noodles at Target (although they aren’t organic). Either way they should only have one ingredient!
I love the fresh20! I have been using their menus for about 3 months now, and it is well worth it. I really can feed my family of four great dinners, and almost alway organic & local, for $75/wk. My only grocery shopping downfall is with the other meals… but now I’m using your site for some inspiration with that.
I just signed up for 3 months of the Fresh 20. It looks amazing so far! I’m hoping that this will provide some inspiration as well as simplify the menu-planning process a bit. Between this and the menu-plans and recipes that you provide, I feel a little less stressed about coming up with a weekly plan. Why is that part of homemaking so hard for some of us!? :) I live in High Point, so I love that when you have seasonal items in your recipes, they’re also always in season for me. :) Thanks again for all your hard work, helpful tools, and wonderful ideas!
Spaghetti is an ultimate comfort food for me. I ate it sooooo much growing up, and I still love it.
That looks delicious, and your new sponsor looks fantastic!! What a great company to be able to support ~ and I bet it would make my life a LOT easier!
Make spaghetti squash. Delicious!!!!
Where do you buy local prociutto in CLT? I have given up on all of my favorite italian recipes!
We get it from Grateful Grower’s Farm at the Matthew’s Farmers Market on Saturday. They sell at a couple of other markets as well. They’ve had plenty of prosciutto these last two weekends, but sometimes they run out so it never hurts to email them in advance and “reserve” what you need! http://www.ggfarm.com/
I always wanted to know how to make “real” spaghetti sauce! Thanks!
Can’t wait to try this one. My tomatoes are starting to ripen up. May head to the farm market this weekend to supplement though, so I can start now! Thanks Lisa for another great idea.
I have local tomatos in the freezer waiting and will have fresh ones when we get home!! Should also have Zuchinni, how do you prepare it? My boys have never had it, so need to make it kid friendly. I am def going to chack out the sponser site too :)
Maggie – I am working on a zucchini recipe that would be a great “first impression” for kids. It is breaded then sauteed. Hope to post it later this week or next!
Oh my!! I’m going to HAVE to try this one!!
Yummy! Did you know that squash is technically a fruit too? Anything that’s a reproductive part of the plant is a fruit :)
Apparently not! Wow, learn something new every day.
We just learned this in homeschool. Fruit is anything that holds seeds – many “vegetables” in that category!