The Best Spaghetti Ever

The Best Spaghetti Ever and so easy to make! This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe uses garlic, olive oil, canned San Marzano tomatoes, butter and more. This might be my favorite way to eat pasta now.

Going to the grocery store might be very sobering right now. On Saturday morning, I wanted to do a quick grocery store run to pick up some essentials; yes I have been grocery store shopping on my own. I have not done online grocery store shopping. Every time we’ve tried to order groceries online from Wegman’s all the time slots are full. So, I just decided that I, or my husband, would go out and do the grocery shopping for my family. On Saturday, there was a line wrapped around the store and people were standing outside with masks on and standing 6 feet away from each other. It was a very sobering sight but I was thankful to see that.

Our store was limiting the number of people that could enter, finally our local grocery store was making people wear masks. When you get inside, some of the shelves are bare. Flour is gone, yeast is gone, a lot of pasta, jarred tomato sauce, there’s no toilet paper still. My local grocery store, and Target, do limit the number of canned foods that you can buy. It’s limited for all the products that are flying off the shelves so go early if you can. We can also ask our local stores when they are re-stocking etc.

Let’s not lose hope.

The Best Spaghetti Ever.

So, here I am. I have some spaghetti (leftover from two packages that I put together). No jars of spaghetti or tomato sauce (so I will have to make a homemade spaghetti sauce).  One half open bag that was in the back of my pantry and the other leftover from making butter noodles for my kids.), and a 28 oz. can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes. No fresh garlic, but jarred minced garlic. I also had fresh basil that was about to go bad in the back of my fridge. I forgot to stick it in some water so most of it was turning dark but I still used some of it.

As long as you have olive oil, garlic, spaghetti and a can of whole peeled tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of butter, you can make your own, delicious homemade spaghetti sauce. Let me know what you think of this homemade spaghetti recipe.

Print Recipe

Best Spaghetti Ever

Quite possibly the best spaghetti ever. Make this pasta and adjust the ingredients to your taste. Want to salt the pasta water more? Go ahead. Want to add (or less) more olive oil when cooking? Do you!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: italian american

Keyword: creamy pasta, pasta, spaghetti, spaghetti and meatballs

Servings: 4

Author: hipfoodiemom

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• kosher salt
• 1 lb. spaghetti pasta
• 1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes recommend San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic smashed*
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 sprigs fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
• finishing olive oil optional

Instructions

• Make pasta: Heat a large pot of water, seasoned with salt, and bring to a boil. Cook the spaghetti to al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining. Drain and set aside.
• Prep the tomatoes: using a slotted spoon, remove the whole tomatoes from the can and into a bowl. Do not toss the tomato sauce in the can. We will use that later! I used a potato masher to crush the tomatoes; you can also use your fingers. Some people like to also remove the seeds from the tomatoes. I just left them there. Remove the seeds if you prefer. Set aside.
• Using a large skillet with high sides, or a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until garlic is golden all over, for about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the crushed red pepper flakes and then add in the smashed tomatoes and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have darkened in color a bit, for about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Pour in the reserved tomato liquid from the can and stir to combine. Season with a pinch of salt, add in the basil sprigs, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced and sauce is thick like applesauce, for about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add in the cooked spaghetti, and using tongs, start tossing together constantly until the spaghetti is all nicely coated in the sauce. If you need it, add a just a little splash of the pasta cooking water. Add in the butter and toss some more until the butter is melted and incorporated.
• To serve: Divide the pasta into bowls. I have some finishing olive oil with a hint of lemon that I love. If you have a great tasting olive oil, lightly drizzle some over the top. Garnish with more crushed red pepper flakes if you'd like and some basil and enjoy! Obviously, if you have some freshly grated parmesan cheese, that would be amazing here as well.

Notes

*If you do not have fresh garlic, jarred minced garlic also works

adapted from here