How to Make a Quick Tomato Sauce (Sugo) from a Can

A 20-minute everyday tomato sauce from a can of tomatoes — the one technique that turns the pantry into dinner.

The five-ingredient sauce worth memorizing

A good tomato sauce needs almost nothing: a can of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic or onion, salt, and a few minutes. Master this and you have a base for pasta, pizza, eggs, beans and braises — no recipe required.

What you need (serves 4)

• 1 can (about 796 mL) whole or crushed tomatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced (or ½ onion, finely chopped)
• Salt, plus a pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• Fresh basil to finish (optional)

The method, step by step

• Warm the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic or onion; cook gently until fragrant and soft, not browned
• Add the tomatoes, crushing whole ones by hand or with a spoon as they go in
• Season with salt, add chili if using, and bring to a gentle simmer
• Simmer 15–20 minutes, stirring now and then, until it thickens and the raw edge is gone
• Tear in basil at the end and toss with hot pasta, loosening with a splash of pasta water

Make it yours

Stir in a spoonful of tomato paste for depth, a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes taste sharp, or a knob of butter at the end for a silky finish. Add olives, capers and anchovies and you're improvising toward puttanesca; lean on chili and garlic and you're at arrabbiata.

Tips

• Don't brown the garlic — it turns bitter
• Whole or crushed tomatoes both work; whole give you more control over texture
• Save a cup of pasta water before draining; the starch helps the sauce cling
• Double the batch and freeze half for a future weeknight

Quick tomato sauce, made simple

Once it's muscle memory, dinner is twenty minutes away whenever there's a can of tomatoes in the cupboard. A can of Unico tomatoes and good olive oil are all the base you need.