4. Budget-Beating Homemade Spaghetti Sauce – The 15-minute Recipe
Now that we’ve covered everything you need to know about shopping for ingredients and their preparation – it’s on to the recipes. We have three different ways for you to prepare an outstanding sauce from scratch, with hardly any effort. These three recipes are done in and ready to serve in 15-minutes!
The first recipe on our list contains only 8-ingredients, and it tastes fantastic – the perfect sauce to put together when you’re in a rush. You may think that we’re going to skimp on the quality of ingredients to save time in the kitchen – but you are mistaken. This recipe includes fresh tomatoes for a sauce that’s full of flavor.
This recipe costs almost nothing to make from scratch, and it’s so easy to put together.
INGREDIENTS
2-lbs. Fresh Serena plum tomatoes – peeled and diced.
½-onion – sliced.
2-cloves minced garlic.
8-oz. Whole-wheat spaghetti pasta.
2-tablespoons light olive oil for frying.
½-teaspoon crushed Himalayan pink salt.
½-teaspoon cracked black pepper.
1-teaspoon chopped basil.
METHOD
Add a saucepan of boiling water to the stove and add the pasta. Reduce the heat to simmer for 12-minutes until spaghetti is al dente. Drain with a colander and let the pasta steam-dry.
While the pasta cooks, place a skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil along with the onions and the garlic. Cook for 4-minutes until the onions turn translucent and the garlic begins to brown. Add the tomatoes and mash them up with a potato masher until smooth. Cook for 4-minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer the pasta for another 4-minutes and add the chopped basil – stir to combine and then add the pasta – toss to combine and let simmer for another two or three minutes until the pasta absorbs the flavor of the sauce. Plate, season with salt and pepper, then serve with chopped basil for garnish.
Cost Breakdown for the budget-beater spaghetti sauce
Serena plum tomatoes; $2
Garlic: $0.20
Onion: $0.13
Whole-wheat pasta: $0.50
Olive oil: $0.26
Crushed Himalayan salt & cracked black pepper; $.10
Total cost for the budget beater recipe; $3.19.