a quick & fresh homemade pasta sauce, this roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce is made with 5-ingredients in less than 10 minutes!
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“…pomodoro is our freshest pasta sauce – it’s a quick saute of garlic, crushed tomatoes & fresh basil…pomodoro is our freshest pasta sauce – it’s a quick saute of garlic, crushed tomatoes & fresh basil…pomodoro is our freshest pasta sauce – it’s a quick saute of garlic, crushed tomatoes & fresh basil…”
i remember it like it was yesterday. the summer after my senior year of college i landed my dream gig a job working as a server in a fine dining italian restaurant in the coziest corner of downtown milwaukee.
on this particular day, i was walking to work & mentally prepping for my server test at the beginning of my shift – aka taking the training wheels off, aka taking tables all by myself after a week of training, aka finally starting to make some (desperately needed) monayyyy. ??
i spent the entire week trailing behind the head server, kurt, trying to absorb every tiny detail of his impecable service. i memorized the menu front to back, including the description for what would grow to be my favorite lunchtime pasta, pomodoro: “pomodoro is our freshest pasta sauce – it’s a quick saute of garlic, crushed tomatoes & fresh basil…”
the couple of years i spent serving tables at zarletti was one of the best experiences of my life. the staff grew to feel a lot like family, & i fell totally, completely, head-over-heels in love with italian food & wine.
& to this day, italian food is my absolute favorite. the beauty of italian cooking is its simplicity – simple, but high-quality, ingredients cooked with love – which makes it theeeeeeee absolute best for taking on in your own kitchen. not only is it cost-effective, it’s so, so easy to pull together an italian feast that feels so gourmet & special.
if you’re new to cooking scratch-made italian food at home, pomodoro is the perfect place to start!
what is pomodoro sauce? 
“…it’s a quick saute of garlic, crushed tomatoes & fresh basil…” ??
jokes aside, pomodoro is one of the easiest, freshest pasta sauces you can make. unlike a hearty bolognese or marinara, which simmer for hours, pomodoro sauce comes together in a matter of minutes.
i like to fancy my pomodoro sauce up, just a teeny bit, by adding roasted red bell peppers to the mix. not only do they add an extra layer of smoky, sweet flavor, they give the pomodoro sauce the most velvety texture. it’s seriously to die for! 
just like anything in italian cooking, because the ingredients are so, so simple & straight-forward, it’s so, so important to use the best quality you can find when you make roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce. go ahead & splurge on beautiful basil & garlic & high-quality crushed tomatoes (like san marzano – the best!) & roasted red bell pepper. they’re all star ingredients in this easy pomodoro sauce recipe & deserve to shine!
how to make 5-ingredient roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce.
making homemade 5-ingredient roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce honestly couldn’t be easier:
- quickly saute fresh minced garlic in some olive oil. we’re talking 30-seconds quick, here! you want the olive oil to be perfumed with the garlic, but you don’t want it to burn. add in the garlic, stir it around quickly, & as soon as you smell it (…you seriously can’t miss that smell – so, so good!), you’re ready to add in the tomatoes…
- add crushed tomatoes! they like to sputter once they hit the hot skillet, so again, working quickly is key. stir them in quickly. once the mixture starts to bubble, it’s ready to transfer to a food processor…
- carefully transfer the crushed tomato mixture to a food processor or blender with some roasted red bell pepper & oodles of basil. if you like things a little spicy, you can also add in some crushed red pepper flakes – i highly recommend! blend it up & voila: roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce.
the beauty of making a quick, fresh, simple homemade pasta sauce at home (aside from it being delicious, obv), is the fact that you get total control over what goes in your pasta sauce. store-bought jarred pasta sauces are deceptively full of added sugars & preservatives. why not make it at home when it only takes 5 simple ingredients & 10 minutes?!
honestly, does it get better than that?! (no!!!) 
& just like that, you have yourself the easiest, tastiest homemade roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce, ready to use in date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese, or whatever pasta dishes you love most! 
if you liked this 5-ingredient roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce recipe, here are a few other recipes you’ll love:
- date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese
- lightened-up pasta bolognese
- healthy weeknight eggplant lasagna
- marsala pasta with spicy italian sausage & mushrooms
- springtime kale pesto pasta with perfectly seared scallops
5-ingredient roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: pasta
Description
a quick & fresh homemade pasta sauce, this roasted red pepper pomodoro is made with 5-ingredients in less than 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 14-ounce can roasted red bell peppers, drained
- 1 large bunch fresh basil (about 2 cups)
- Kosher salt, to season
- optional: crushed red chili flakes (see Recipe Notes)
Instructions
- Cook the aromatics: Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the garlic, stirring quickly to spread it out into the oil. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds, until fragrant – you should be able to smell the garlic perfuming the olive oil. Reduce the heat to low and add in the crushed tomatoes. Working quickly, stir the garlic into the tomatoes, until evenly distributed. Taste and season with Kosher salt – about a teaspoon or so! If you’d like your pomodoro to be a little spicy, you can also add in some crushed red chili flake. Continue to cook for a minute or two, until the tomatoes begin to bubble.
- Blend the roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce: Carefully transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Add in the roasted red bell peppers and the basil. Blend the mixture until pureed. Set aside to use in your favorite pasta dish (like date night pasta pomodoro with chicken & goat cheese!), or transfer to a jar or airtight container for later use. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Notes
- Want to add a little spice? Add some crushed red pepper to your roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce! We like things with a bit of a kick, so I add 1 full teaspoon. If you want your pomodoro sauce moderately spicy, try 1/2 teaspoon.
- Food processors! This is the one I use (almost on a daily basis!) in my house & love. It’s the best!
I used a full tablespoon of red pepper and man ALIVE is this sauce good. But I made only a half portion because I have a small food processor… can’t wait to make this again & again.
Hi Bridget! Thanks so much – it truly is so easy to make! It also freezes well too in cases you want to make a few small batches at a time & save some for thawing & reheating. Thank you so much for leaving a comment, it means so much!
What do I do with the basil?
Totally over looked it in the recipe.
I roasted and blended 4 red peppers which gave me 1-3/4 cups of puree. How much of this do you suggest I use in one can of tomatoes that would replace the 14oz. jar of peppers? your recipe calls for?
hey janet! i think you could use about a cup. 1 jar typically has 3-4 peppers in it, but i’m guessing your peppers were a bit bigger given the yield of puree you got. if i were in your shoes, i’d start with 1 cup, taste & see if i’d like more pronounced red pepper flavor, then add more puree as desired. hope this helps! jess