Spaghetti with homemade spicy tomato sauce is an easy meal that requires a little prep time but delivers maximum results!
Spicy tomato spaghetti sauce is one of my favourite pasta dishes! If you’re feeling adventurous, you could also add fresh crab or prawns to this dish. I would say that the flavours of the spicy tomato sauce go better with seafood if you’re looking to add some extra protein instead of using ground beef or chicken.
The spaghetti is cooked in the tomato sauce for the most delicious pasta dish. If you need a satisfying spaghetti dinner, this is the recipe for you. I also love making this recipe for summer outdoor dinners because the pasta has a bright and fresh flavour from the peppers, tomatoes, and ginger.
RECIPE TIPS
- Getting the timing right for the spaghetti can be a little tricky. Only cook the spaghetti in boiling water for 3 minutes because the spaghetti will continue to cook once it’s added to the tomato sauce.
- It’s a good idea to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining the spaghetti. You likely won’t need it, but it’s good to have on hand, just in case!
- Pick fresh tomatoes that are really ripe and bright red. If you soak the fresh tomatoes in warm water for 5-10 minutes, they’ll be easier to peel with a paring knife since the skin will be softer.
- Allowing the tomato sauce to simmer for at least an hour will bring out the most amazing flavours and reduce the sauce a little bit. But, the tomato sauce will not be very thick because the spaghetti needs liquid to cook in the sauce.
- The tomato sauce will be more liquidy – is that a word? haha, but that’s ok since we’ll be cooking the pasta in the sauce to absorb all the liquid and flavours!
- Boiling the spaghetti separately for 3 minutes before adding it to the tomato sauce will remove some of the starch from the pasta.
- You could also add fresh crab or prawns to the tomato sauce just before adding the spaghetti to elevate the flavour of the spicy tomato sauce even more!
INGREDIENT NOTES
Italian canned plum tomatoes: I find that Italian peeled plum tomatoes are the best type for this recipe because they have a lot of flavour and work really well as the foundation for this spicy sauce! Pour the whole can of plum tomatoes and juice into a separate bowl.
Use your hands or a fork to crush the tomatoes before adding the crushed tomatoes to your tomato sauce. A tip is to add a teaspoon of sugar to the canned tomatoes and stir them together. Adding sugar will reduce the acidity of the tomatoes.
Fresh tomatoes: Try to pick tomatoes on the vine that are bright red and softer from the grocery store. Peel the skin of the tomatoes and chop them into smaller pieces before adding the fresh tomatoes to the sauce.
Fresh basil and Italian parsley: Pull the leaves off of the stems and discard the stems. It’s a good idea to add fresh herbs near the end of the cooking time to get the most flavour. I add in the fresh basil and Italian parsley just before adding the spaghetti to the tomato sauce.
Spaghetti: An essential ingredient for spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce! I haven’t tried this recipe with any other type of pasta. You could probably use fettuccine or linguine, but the cooking time for the pasta may vary slightly.
Sugar: Adding sugar to the tomato sauce will reduce some of the acidity from the tomatoes and result in a slightly sweeter flavour for the sauce.
Red and orange peppers: Red and orange peppers are sweeter, so they balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. I’d recommend chopping the peppers into about 1″ pieces so that they hold their shape while cooking in the tomato sauce.
Ginger: You can grate the ginger, finely dice it or leave it as a bigger piece and then remove the piece of ginger before adding in the spaghetti.
Better Than Boullion Roasted Chicken Base: This chicken base is so good! It’s easy to find in most grocery stores, but if you need to substitute it for another type of broth, you can check out the conversion calculator on their website. It’s really helpful!
HOW TO MAKE SPICY SPAGHETTI SAUCE: STEP BY STEP
STEP 1: Sauté the white onions, garlic, ginger, and chilli flakes. Peel and dice two white onions. In a large pot, pour in the olive oil. Allow the oil to heat up over medium-low heat, then add in the diced white onions and sauté the onions until translucent – about 10 minutes.
Stir frequently and keep the heat on the medium-low so that the onions don’t burn. After 10 minutes or once the onions are translucent, add in the diced garlic, ginger and red chilli flakes. Sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
STEP 2: Clean and chop the peppers. Rinse the red and orange pepper, cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds. Cut the peppers into about 1″ pieces. Add the peppers to the pot and cook for a few minutes with the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes.
STEP 3: Prepare the tomatoes. Place the fresh tomatoes in a bowl of warm water. Allow the tomatoes to sit in the water for 5-10 minutes to help soften the tomatoes and the skin. Peel the skin with a paring knife and cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces. In a separate large bowl, pour the can of plum tomatoes (including the juice) into the bowl and also add the fresh tomatoes. Use your hands or a fork to crush the tomatoes, and then pour all of the tomatoes (and the juice) into the pot.
STEP 4: Add the seasonings and other ingredients: Add in the hot water, sugar, salted butter, tomato paste, and anchovy paste. Allow the sauce to cook uncovered for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes or so, add in the chicken base, white wine and salt.
STEP 5: Simmer the sauce. Allow the spicy tomato sauce to simmer for at least an hour on medium-low heat, and cover the pot with a lid. Stir occasionally and keep the heat on the lower side so that the sauce doesn’t burn. Just before adding the spaghetti, add the chopped fresh basil and Italian parsley to the tomato sauce.
STEP 6: Boil the spaghetti. After the sauce has been simmering for an hour (it’s great if you can cook the sauce for longer, but at least an hour is good!), boil a separate pot of water and cook the spaghetti for just 3 minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil to the boiling water with the spaghetti.
Before draining the spaghetti, reserve 1/2 a cup of pasta water. You likely won’t need to add it to the pasta sauce but just in case! Since the type of spaghetti you use may change the cooking time.
STEP 7: Transfer the spaghetti to the tomato sauce. Drain the spaghetti and transfer it to the pot with the tomato sauce. At this point, the spaghetti will still be firm. The spaghetti will finish cooking in the tomato sauce (about 8-10 minutes or until spaghetti is al dente). Leave the pot uncovered while the spaghetti cooks. Try a little bit of the pasta on a separate plate to see if it’s done.
The pasta will cook more as it sits, so you don’t want to overcook it. If the pasta needs a little more liquid to finish cooking, you can add 1/4 cup of pasta water. Keep adding water (if needed) until the spaghetti is cooked. But try not to add too much water at once since you don’t want the pasta to get mushy.
STORING & REHEATING
Allow the pasta to fully cool, and store any leftover spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce in the fridge in an airtight container or covered with saran wrap for up to three days.
You can reheat the pasta in a non-stick frying pan until it’s warmed through. Option to add in some freshly grated parmesan cheese. So good!
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Homemade Spicy Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon oil for pasta water
- 2 white onions peeled and diced
- 1 whole garlic bulb 8-10 cloves peeled and finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely diced or grated
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 orange pepper chopped
- 1 can Italian plum tomatoes 796 ml. / 28 oz
- 3 fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 2 1/4 cups of hot water for tomato sauce + water to boil pasta
- 1 ½ teaspoons white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter 1 oz.
- 1 ½ tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
- 1-2 teaspoons chilli flakes you can add more if you like it spicier
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken base
- 1/2 cup dry white wine pinot grigio, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc
- 2 teaspoons salt + 1 teaspoon salt for pasta water
- 1 package of spaghetti 500 grams
- Grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top optional
Instructions
- Sauté the white onions, garlic, ginger, and chilli flakes. Peel and dice two white onions. In a large pot, pour in the olive oil. Allow the oil to heat up over medium-low heat, then add in the diced white onions and sauté the onions until translucent - about 10 minutes. Stir frequently and keep the heat on medium-low so that the onions don't burn. After 10 minutes or once the onions are translucent, add in the diced garlic, ginger and red chilli flakes. Sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Clean and chop the peppers. Rinse the red and orange pepper, cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds. Cut the peppers into about 1" pieces. Add the peppers to the pot and cook for a few minutes with the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes.
- Prepare the tomatoes. Place the fresh tomatoes in a bowl of warm water. Allow the tomatoes to sit in the water for 5-10 minutes to help soften the tomatoes and the skin. Peel the skin with a paring knife and cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces. In a separate large bowl, pour the can of plum tomatoes (including the juice) into the bowl and also add the fresh tomatoes. Use your hands or a fork to crush the tomatoes, and then pour all of the tomatoes (and the juice) into the pot.
- Add the seasonings and other ingredients. Add in the hot water, sugar, salted butter, tomato paste, and anchovy paste. Allow the sauce to cook uncovered for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes or so, add in the chicken base, white wine and salt.
- Simmer the sauce. Allow the spicy tomato sauce to simmer for at least an hour on medium-low heat, and cover the pot with a lid. Stir occasionally and keep the heat on the lower side so that the sauce doesn't burn. Just before adding the spaghetti, add the chopped fresh basil and Italian parsley to the tomato sauce.
- Boil the spaghetti. After the sauce has been simmering for an hour (it's great if you can cook the sauce for longer, but at least an hour is good!), boil a separate pot of water and cook the spaghetti for just 3 minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil to the boiling water with the spaghetti. Before draining the spaghetti, reserve 1/2 a cup of pasta water. You likely won't need to add it to the pasta sauce, but it's good to have on hand, just in case. Since the type of spaghetti you use may change the cooking time.
- Transfer the spaghetti to the tomato sauce. Drain the spaghetti and transfer it to the pot with the tomato sauce. At this point, the spaghetti will still be firm. The spaghetti will finish cooking in the tomato sauce (about 8-10 minutes or until the spaghetti is al dente). Leave the pot uncovered while the spaghetti cooks. Try a little bit of the pasta on a separate plate to see if it's done.
Notes
- Getting the timing right for the spaghetti can be a little tricky. Only cook the spaghetti in boiling water for 3 minutes because the spaghetti will continue to cook once it's added to the tomato sauce. The spaghetti will be firm when it's added to the tomato sauce - that's ok, it's what we want!
- It's a good idea to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining the spaghetti. You likely won't need it, but it's good to have on hand, just in case.
- The pasta will cook more as it sits, so you don't want to overcook it. If the pasta needs a little more liquid to finish cooking, you can add 1/4 cup of pasta water. Keep adding water (if needed) until the spaghetti is al dente. But try not to add too much water at once since you don't want the pasta to get mushy.
Nutrition
Date Published: September 14, 2022
Homemade Spicy Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
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