This tomato and olive pasta is really easy to make and will get you out of a pinch when you are short on time and money. Dig through your pantry, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. Even if you don’t, the ingredients used in this dish are easy to find and very affordable.
This sauce is similar to a puttanesca. Traditionally, a puttanesca sauce includes tomatoes, olive oil, olives, anchovies and capers.
Our sauce omits the anchovies and capers, which have really strong flavors. Instead we add flavor with onions and a ton of garlic and keep the saltiness of the olives.
What type of olives to use for this dish?
Since this is a pantry dish, I say use whatever you have on hand. Green, black, Kalamata, will all have that salty flavor we’re after.
We use green, pitted Spanish olives. We always have them in the pantry because I use them for chicken fricassee and these picadillo recipes: Cuban picadillo and turkey picadillo.
This simple vegetarian tomato sauce will help you turn plain pasta into a satisfying and delicious meal.
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Tomato and olive pasta ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 28 ounce canned Tomatoes (do not drain), if you’re using whole tomatoes break them down using kitchen shears or get in there with your hands.
- ½ cup Pitted Olives, sliced, we used pitted Spanish olives
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper, plus extra for serving, if desired
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, plus 2 tablespoons for the pasta water
- 16 ounces Spaghetti, cooked to package directions for al dente, or use your favorite pasta
- Chopped Parsley, for garnish
Prep Work
Prep is simple in this recipe, but the onions, garlic, spices and tomatoes go in the pan one right after the other. There’s not a lot of time to prep in between. Best to have everything ready to go before you start.
If you’re using pre-diced or crushed tomatoes, then just open the can. If you’re starting with canned whole tomatoes, then you need to break them down.
Add the tomatoes to a large bowl and break them down by using kitchen shears, or get-in-there with your hands. Don’t drain the tomatoes before adding them to the bowl.
We used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes in this recipe. I tried these recently and I think they’re fantastic! I would see them at the market or as ingredients in various recipes and never thought to try them. Then I saw them on sale and picked up a can and Wow, really enjoyed them! Now they’re my go to.
Dice the onions, mince the garlic and slice the olives. They are all going into the pan at different times so keep them in separate bowls.
I like to use glass nesting bowls to keep my ingredients organized. They are perfect for stress free cooking!
That’s it, just measure out the spices and olive oil and you’re ready to start cooking.
Get the pasta water started
I like to get a big pot of water going before starting the sauce. I do this when I make any pasta dish.
A big pot of water can take 15-20 minutes to come to a boil. We don’t want our sauce, meat or other component sitting around getting cold, hard, old, while we wait.
Instead, try this: Place a large pot of water over moderate to moderate-low heat. Cover and let the water start heating up.
That way, the water will only take a couple minutes to come to a full boil when you are ready to drop the pasta.
How to make tomato and olive sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but nowhere near smoking, add the onions.
- Cook them gently for 5-7 minutes until they soften and start to caramelize around the edges. Stir the onions frequently to ensure they don’t burn.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Then carefully add the tomatoes to the pan and give everything a good stir.
- Now, add the olives, oregano and crushed red pepper and stir well to combine the ingredients.
- When the sauce starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-low to low, cover and cook the tomato and olive sauce for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Keep the sauce at a simmer. Lower the heat a little if it starts boiling too vigorously.
- We want to gently cook the tomatoes for a while, so that the sauce can reduce and thicken. The onions will practically dissolve and become part of the sauce.
- The flavors from the garlic and spices will get a chance to integrate with the other ingredients. Cooking the tomato sauce low and slow really makes all the difference, especially when using canned products.
- When the sauce is almost done, raise the heat on the pot of water and bring it to a full boil. Add about 2 tablespoons of salt to the water. Drop the pasta and cook it to package directions for al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
- Taste the tomato sauce and add salt if needed. As a reference we added a little more than ¼ teaspoon to the sauce.
- We want to wait until the end to add salt to the sauce because the tomatoes and the olives both contain a good amount of salt already.
- Combine the pasta and the tomato olive sauce in the pan. Add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce a bit and make it easier to combine.
- Garnish with a little chopped parsley, and serve with parmesan cheese and extra crushed red pepper, if desired.
You may also like:
- Spaghetti aglio e olio
- Spaghetti aglio e olio & Italian sausage
- Spaghetti aglio e olio with fresh tomatoes & basil
Tomato and Olive Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves minced
- 28 ounce canned Tomatoes do not drain if you’re using whole tomatoes break them down using kitchen shears or get in there with your hands.
- ½ cup Pitted Olives sliced, we used pitted Spanish olives
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper plus extra for serving, if desired
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt plus 2 tablespoons for the pasta water
- 16 ounces Spaghetti cooked to package directions for al dente, or use your favorite pasta
- Chopped Parsley for garnish
Instructions
Get the pasta water started
- Place a large pot of water over moderate to moderate-low heat. Cover and let the water start heating up. That way, the water will only take a couple minutes to come to a full boil when you are ready to drop the pasta.
Start the tomato and olive sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, but nowhere near smoking, add the onions.
- Cook them gently for 5-7 minutes until they soften and start to caramelize around the edges, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Carefully add the tomatoes to the pan and give everything a good stir.
- Add the olives, oregano and crushed red pepper and stir well to combine the ingredients.
- When the sauce starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-low to low, cover and cook the tomato and olive sauce for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Keep the sauce at a simmer. Lower the heat a little if it starts boiling too vigorously.
Cook the pasta
- When the sauce is almost done, raise the heat on the pot of water and bring it to a boil.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of salt to the water.
- Drop the pasta and cook it to package directions for al dente.
- Reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
- Taste the tomato sauce and add salt if needed. As a reference we added a little more than ¼ teaspoon to the sauce.
- Combine the pasta and the tomato olive sauce in the pan. Add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce a bit and make it easier to combine.
- Garnish with a little chopped parsley, and serve with parmesan cheese and extra crushed red pepper, if desired.
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