

PASTA WI TH 5 INGREDIENT
BUT TER TOMATO SAUCE
$4.23 RECIPE / $1.06 SERVING

BUDGET BYTES » RECIPES » PASTA RECIPES » PASTA WITH 5 INGREDIENT BUTTER TOMATO SAUCE

JUMP TO RECIPE  GROCERY LIST  FAVORITES

I hate to sound hyperbolic, but this 5 Ingredient Butter Tomato Sauce is probably the last
red sauce recipe I’ll ever need. It’s ridiculously easy and still “lick the spoon” good. No, more
like “scoop spoonfuls into your mouth sans pasta” good. Or, “I might have to make this into a
soup” good.
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IT ’ S ALL ABOUT THE BUT TER

How is it so good? If you’re a fan of plain buttered pasta with salt and pepper, you already
know that it’s all about the butter. Butter gives this sauce a delicate creaminess,
compliments the sweetness of the tomatoes, and provides a little bit of body to keep the
sauce from feeling too thin or light. It’s just perfect, really. So yes, real butter is mandatory
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for this recipe.

THE SECRET IS IN THE SALTING

Also, I’m a huge advocate of salting food properly. Salt doesn’t just make food salty, it
pronounces individual flavors and helps your tongue differentiate subtleties in flavors that
would otherwise be lost. 

Too much salt is bad, obviously, for both flavor and health. But, if you salt your food at the
very end you’ll get that much needed punch of flavor and still a lot less salt than you’d be
getting from pre-packaged or restaurant foods.

This sauce is the perfect example of this concept. When I added the final salt to this sauce
after it had simmered for a half hour, the flavor went from “Yeah, that’s tomato sauce.” to
“WHOA. Super rich, slightly sweet, and utterly divine.” So don’t judge the sauce until you add
your final salt. It changes everything.

ADD TOASTED BREADCRUMBS TO YOUR 5 INGREDIENT

BUT TER TOMATO SAUCE

What about those deliciously toasty breadcrumbs? They’re an easy, inexpensive, and
vegetarian alternative to Parmesan. It’s best to make them out of old stale bread because A)
you get better texture and B) you’re saving that bread from being thrown out. See my
tutorial on How to Make Breadcrumbs.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any old bread today so I used the store bought bread crumbs
that I had in my pantry. They’re still pleasantly flavorful and give the pasta a wonderful
texture. The next time you’re about to chuck a piece of stale bread, toss it into the freezer
instead (properly wrapped and sealed, of course) and save it for the next time you want to
make some super awesome toasted bread crumbs! :)

Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce.

PASTA WITH 5 INGREDIENT BUTTER 

TOMATO SAUCE
Pasta with 5 Ingredient Butter Tomato Sauce uses five
simple pantry ingredients to make an incredibly rich and
delicious sauce, perfect for any weeknight.
TOTAL COST: $4.23 recipe / $1.06 serving
AUTHOR: Adapted from Marcella Hazan
PREP TIME: 5 mins
PRINT RECIPE 
COOK TIME: 45 mins
GROCERY LIST 
TOTAL TIME: 50 mins
SERVINGS: 4 FAVORITES

INGREDIENTS 4.82 from 43 votes

TOASTED BREAD CRUMBS (OPTIONAL)

2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs ($0.24)
1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
Freshly cracked Pepper ($0.05)

PASTA WITH BUTTER TOMATO SAUCE

8 oz. pasta ($0.50)

4 Tbsp salted butter ($0.31)
3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes* ($2.43)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.02)
Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make the toasted bread crumbs, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium
heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the bread crumbs, salt, oregano, and some
freshly cracked pepper. Cook and stir the bread crumbs continuously until they
achieve a deep golden color. Remove them from the skillet and let cool until ready
to use.
 2. To make the sauce, mince the garlic and add it to a large deep skillet with the
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butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat for about a minute, or just
until it becomes fragrant. Add the can of tomatoes, along with all the juices, and
some freshly cracked pepper. Break the tomatoes up into a few chunks with your
spoon (they should be soft and easily crushed).
3. Stir the ingredients in the skillet, then let it come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a
simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it continue to simmer, without a lid,
for about 30 minutes. Stir the sauce occasionally as it simmers, breaking the
tomatoes into smaller pieces as you stir.
4. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Save
about 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water before draining the pasta in a colander.
5. After simmering for 30 minutes, the sauce should have thickened and become
slightly less acidic and slightly more sweet. Season the sauce with a final 1/2 tsp of
salt (or to your liking). Add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and toss to
coat. Use some of the reserved starchy cooking water to loosen the pasta if it
becomes too dry. Top the pasta and sauce with a generous sprinkle of toasted
bread crumbs, then serve.

NOTES

*I used whole peeled tomatoes "in heavy juice"

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

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NUTRITION

Serving: 1 Serving・ Calories: 468.2 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 61.73 g ・ Protein: 10.88 g

・ Fat: 19.13 g ・ Sodium: 1023.58 mg ・ Fiber: 4.08 g
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclaimer here.

The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love. As an
Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Want a version of this 5 Ingredient Butter Tomato Sauce, but with meat? Check out The Best
Weeknight Pasta Sauce. 

STEP BY STEP PHOTO S 

To make the toasted bread crumbs, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once
the oil is hot and shimmering, add 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp oregano, and
some freshly cracked pepper. Stir and cook the bread crumbs until they become a deep
golden color (this happens quickly), then remove from the heat. They should look like damp
sand or brown sugar. Let the bread crumbs cool until you’re ready to use them.
 

For reference, here is a spoonful of the untoasted bread crumbs next to the toasted bread
crumbs. (sorry about the blur).
 

On to the amazing sauce… Start with 4 Tbsp butter and 3 cloves of minced garlic in a large,
deep skillet. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat for about a minute, or just until
the garlic becomes really fragrant (you don’t want it to brown).
 

Then add one 28oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes to the skillet. I didn’t realize I bought
tomatoes “in heavy juice with basil”, but I didn’t find the basil made much difference in the
end flavor. The heavy juice was nice, though. It created an instant sauce that didn’t need
much thickening.
 

Break the tomatoes up into smaller pieces as you stir the tomatoes into the butter and
garlic. The tomatoes will be soft and easily crushed with a spoon. Finally, add some freshly
cracked pepper. Let the sauce come up to a simmer without a lid. Once it reaches a simmer,
turn the heat down to medium-low and let it gently simmer for 30 minutes.
 

Stir occasionally as it simmers and continue to break the tomatoes up into smaller pieces.
The sauce will slowly sweeten as it simmers and become less acidic, but the real flavor
comes when you add a final 1/2 tsp of salt (more or less depending on your taste buds).
Taste and season accordingly.
 

While the sauce is simmering away, cook 8oz. pasta according to the directions. Before
draining it in a colander, save some of the starchy pasta cooking water because it’s great for
loosening up the sauce if it gets too dry when you add the pasta. Stir the drained pasta into
the sauce.
 

Finally, top it with some of those delicious toasted bread crumbs! (I added some chopped
parsley just to give the photos some color.)
 

Then DIG IN.

POSTED ON JULY 21, 2016 IN MAIN DISH RECIPES, PASTA 93 COMMENTS »

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93 COMMENTS ON “PASTA WITH 5 INGREDIENT B UT T ER
TOMATO SAUCE” 

« Older Comments

STACEY —
05.27.21 @ 5:58 PM REPLY

Absolutely delicious. I used tomato sauce instead of whole tomatoes (because that’s
all I had). It was so good!

CELESTE —
04.22.21 @ 5:08 PM REPLY

Wow so finally someone picked up on my “secret ingredient” I always added to my

famous spaghetti sauces, BUTTER! Yes it gives the sauce a velvety rich flavor. Use the
butter every time and your guests will always ask for your spaghetti sauce recipe!
Warmest regards XOXO

BARBARA —
02.08.21 @ 11:54 PM REPLY

How could a recipe this simple and with such plain ingredients turn out so good?!
Friends, it’s the question I asked myself after my second bite of this spaghetti. It was
so flavorful and miles better than jar sauce and spaghetti tossed together. In making
this recipe I realized that Beth is an amazing cook for being budget and flavor
conscious. Brava!

KAT —
10.05.20 @ 6:38 PM REPLY

This is the best pasta I’ve ever made. After making it the first time, I’ve made it nearly
every other week. I do make a couple of changes. I use gf pasta and panko due to my
allergy to wheat and I use at least 5 cloves of garlic due to my affinity for bad breath. 
 The last time I made this pasta, my oven mitt caught on fire while stirring my the

boiling pasta and I sliced my finger on the lid of the tomato can. Even after all that,
the pasta turned out wonderful and I was very glad to have its warm tomatoey
buttery comfort. 

JODY W —
07.30.20 @ 10:01 AM REPLY

This so reminds me of a dish my late mother used to make, it had elbow macaroni
and canned whole tomatoes and butter, and just salt and lots of pepper. Wow, I
loved this growing up but don’t seem to make it now, I will have to fix that! Adding
garlic and breadcrumbs sounds delicious, I will definitely try that, and cooking the
sauce longer, my Mom’s version just heated them through and then you were done.

« Older Comments

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