By Aditi Saraswat
March 18, 2026
When the day has been hectic, but you still want something satisfying for dinner, red sauce pasta is the safest option to pick. This quick recipe is simple and uses the basic pantry staples to make a comforting dinner in minutes.
200g pasta 2 cups water 1 tbsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic (chopped) 1 cup tomato puree 1 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 tsp chilli flakes 1 tsp dried oregano ½ tsp black pepper 1 tsp sugar Salt to taste 2 tbsp grated cheese
In a pan, boil water with a pinch of salt and add pasta to it. Cook until they turn soft, but not mushy, drain and reserve half a cup of pasta water to use later.
In a pan, heat olive oil and sauté the chopped garlic cloves until they turn fragrant. Keep in mind not to brown them.
To the pan, add tomato puree and ketchup and cook on medium flame until it gets a bit thick consistency.
Season the sauce with chilli flakes, oregano, black pepper, sugar, and salt. Mix everything well and let it simmer so the flavours mix.
Add cooked pasta and a splash of reserved pasta water to the pan. Toss everything nicely so that the pasta is coated evenly with the sauce.
Lastly, top the red sauce pasta with grated cheese, mix gently until it gets slightly melted, and serve hot.