Aunt Betty’s Comfort Kitchen · Nutritious and Economical

Italian Meatless Spaghetti

Name: Italian Meatless Spaghetti
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 50 g onion; 1 garlic clove; 3 tbsp fresh parsley; 35 g celery; 3 tbsp green bell pepper; 30 ml olive oil; 1 can tomato paste; 120 ml water; 1 tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; 1 large bay leaf; ¼ tsp dried basil; 340 g spaghetti; 28 g butter; Grated Parmesan, to serve

A quick, thrifty meatless tomato sauce — a little soffritto, a can of tomato paste, and dried herbs, simmered thick and tossed with buttered spaghetti. Dinner from the pantry.

30 min total Meatless pantry

Effort ●●○○ Time ●○○○ Anytime

Vegetarian

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Fry the soffritto, then simmer the tomato paste thick. Lightly frying the finely chopped onion, garlic, celery, and pepper builds the base; tomato paste thinned with water keeps the sauce rich and fast. Simmer just until thick, pull the bay leaf, and toss with buttered spaghetti.

Easier, if you like

Jarred marinara stands in for the homemade sauce in a pinch.
Pre-minced garlic and a bag of frozen chopped soffritto cut the knife work.

Method

Cook's notes

Meatless and cheap — a tin of tomato paste and a few vegetables feed the table.

Double the sauce and freeze half; it reheats well.

Fresh parsley brightens it; a pinch of sugar tames the tomato if it's sharp.

Vegan-friendly with a swap or two — see below.

Vegetarian as written; vegan or gluten-free with swaps

Vegan: toss the pasta with olive oil instead of butter and skip the Parmesan (or use a vegan one).

Gluten-free: use gluten-free spaghetti.