Shortcut Spaghetti Sauce using Canned Tomatoes

Here’s an idea for using your pantry staples to make a last minute spaghetti sauce to serve over pasta. If you don’t have a jar of the ready-made sauce around, but you do have a can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste and a few spices, then you can turn those canned diced tomatoes into a shortcut spaghetti sauce!

To make this handy sauce, begin by putting the tomato sauce into a small sauce pan and then add a tomato paste can of water and stir to combine. Next add in the can of diced tomatoes. Then just add a few spices to your liking (I do a one teaspoon each of dried basil, dried oregano, and minced garlic) and heat everything up on the stove. Letting it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes lets the flavors mingle together too.

Once the sauce has simmered and is nice and warm and bubbly, simply pour some over your prepared pasta. This sauce has some thickness, but has a few chunky tomato pieces in there too thanks to the can of diced tomatoes.

This might not be the way you choose to eat your spaghetti all the time, but it’s definitely a frugal substitute that can come in handy and you can be as creative as you wish with the spices and flavorings that you add. When it’s time to serve it up you can sprinkle on some red pepper flakes, or some parmesan, mix it all up and your shortcut spaghetti is ready to go!

More homemade sauces to try:

• Shortcut tartar sauce
• Shortcut sweet & sauce dipping sauce
• Homemade pizza sauce