20-Minute Pomodoro
Tinned tomatoes, garlic, oil and basil cooked hard and fast.
Gia RomanoUpdated 8/28/2026
🍅
20m
Total
5m
Prep
15m
Cook
4
Serves
Easy
Difficulty
Why this recipe works
Four ingredients, so all four have to be good. Cook the sauce harder than feels right — it should thicken visibly.
Ingredients
- •400g spaghetti
- •2 tins whole plum tomatoes
- •4 cloves garlic
- •60ml olive oil
- •Fresh basil
- •Salt
Equipment: Saucepan, Large pot
Allergens: gluten
Method
- 1Warm sliced garlic in olive oil over low heat until it just turns gold.
- 2Crush the tomatoes in by hand and raise the heat.
- 3Simmer hard for 12 minutes until it thickens and darkens.
- 4Boil the spaghetti, then finish it in the sauce for 1 minute with pasta water.
- 5Tear basil over at the end, off the heat.
Chef notes
Chef tips
Golden garlic is the target. Brown garlic makes the sauce bitter.
Substitutions
Fresh tomatoes work in season but need double the cooking time.
Storage
Sauce keeps 4 days and freezes well.
Reheating
Reheat the sauce on the stove; cook fresh pasta.
Nutrition per serving
480
Calories
14g
Protein
78g
Carbs
13g
Fat
6g
Fiber
410mg
Sodium
Values are chef estimates for one serving and will vary with brands and portioning.
Cooked live on Stream Sizzle
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