AI-generated illustration of two bowls of spaghetti with chunky baby tomato sauce, sliced garlic and torn basil

Main course

Baby Tomato and Basil Spaghetti

Published 03 November 2026 · Updated 03 November 2026

Soft baby tomatoes and sliced garlic make a juicy sauce that clings to spaghetti, with torn basil added at the end. Cook the tomatoes until they slump, then turn the pasta through their juices with a little starchy cooking water for a glossy finish.

Not kitchen tested by The Black Farmer.
Serves 2
Prep 10 min
Cook 34 min
Total 44 min

Timing: Allow about 44 minutes: 10 minutes preparation and 34 minutes cooking and serving. Cook the garlic for 3 minutes, the tomatoes for 18 minutes, the spaghetti for a 10-minute loading/boiling/transfer allowance, then finish in sauce for 2 minutes and add basil and serve for 1 minute. Heat the pasta water during the last 8 minutes of tomato cooking. Do not add spaghetti until the sauce is ready; keep the finished sauce barely warm on the lowest heat during the pasta stage. These parallel tasks are not added twice. Use spaghetti with a packet al-dente time around 10 minutes. Slower boiling, slower tomato reduction or pasta that needs longer extends the estimate: check sauce or water in 2-minute increments before adding pasta, and pasta in 1-minute increments as needed. There is no scheduled cooling or rest.

Ingredients

  • Baby Tomatoes on the Vine - 250g

    Baby tomatoes

    500g as sold, from 2 × 250g packs

    Remove and discard every vine, stalk and calyx, rinse and dry the fruit, then halve through the stalk end; quarter any larger than 3cm. Use all sound fruit and all its cooking juices. The 500g refers to nominal pack weight, not a guaranteed prepared fruit weight; do not top up to 500g after removing stems.

    £4.70

Adds 2 items across 1 products — £9.40 total.

Pantry ingredients such as oil, salt and herbs are not included.

Other Ingredients You'll Need

  • Spaghetti — 180g dried; packet al-dente time about 10 minutes (Ordinary dried wheat spaghetti. Check actual label for egg and other allergens. Baseline drains slightly early and finishes in sauce.)
  • Olive oil — 25ml extra virgin olive oil (All used with garlic; no extra finishing drizzle.)
  • Garlic — 8g peeled weight, thinly sliced (All sliced garlic is used in the sauce.)
  • Basil — 8g leaves, washed, dried and torn (Discard coarse stalks; all leaves folded through off the heat, no extra garnish.)
  • Salt — 9g fine salt, divided: 8g for pasta water and 1g for tomatoes (Most pasta water is discarded; this is not 9g retained salt. No extra finishing salt prescribed.)
  • Black pepper — 0.25g, freshly ground (All added to tomatoes.)
  • Water — 2 litres for boiling pasta; reserve 200ml before draining (Reserved water is part of the 2 litres, not additional liquid: up to 30ml can prevent sauce catching before pasta finishes, then 30ml for the toss and further 15ml additions only as needed, never more than the 200ml reserve. Discard unused reserve and drained water.)

Method

Prepare everything

Allow 10 minutes to assemble the equipment and measure the ingredients. Remove all vines, stalks and calyces from the baby tomatoes; discard mouldy or rotten fruit. Wash the fruit under running water, dry and halve through the stalk end, quartering any larger than about 3cm. Peel and slice the garlic about 1mm thick. Wash and dry the basil, discard coarse stalks and tear the leaves. Weigh the spaghetti and set out both bowls and the heatproof jug. Keep the 8g pasta-water salt separate from the 1g sauce salt. Use clean hands, utensils and surfaces, particularly for the basil added after cooking.

Soften the garlic

Put all 25ml oil and the sliced garlic in the sauté pan over medium-low heat. Allow about 3 minutes, including warming the pan, stirring until the garlic is fragrant and beginning to soften but not brown. Lower the heat if it colours; do not try to disguise burnt garlic in the sauce.

Start the tomatoes and heat the water

Add all the prepared baby tomatoes, their collected cutting juices, the 1g sauce salt and all the pepper to the garlic pan. Raise to medium heat and cook uncovered for about 18 minutes, stirring frequently and pressing some softened halves with the spoon. Leave plenty of pieces rather than making a purée. After 10 minutes, put the 2 litres water and 8g salt in the saucepan, cover and heat on high to a rolling boil, allowing about 8 minutes while the tomatoes finish. The sauce must be juicy and chunky but not have a separate watery puddle before you add any spaghetti. If it is still watery, continue reducing in 2-minute increments; if the water is not boiling, continue heating in 2-minute increments. Lower the sauce heat once ready. Only proceed when both are ready, so cooked spaghetti never has to wait for a watery sauce to reduce.

Cook the spaghetti while the sauce thickens

Turn the tomato pan down to the lowest heat, barely bubbling, and remove the saucepan lid. Add all the spaghetti to the boiling water. Stir as it softens to separate the strands, then keep at a steady uncovered boil. For a packet giving about 10 minutes to al dente, allow about 10 minutes in all here for loading, roughly 8–9 minutes boiling, reserving water and transferring. Check a strand before the packet time: it should bend easily with a small firm centre, ready to finish in the sauce. Meanwhile stir the sauce occasionally so it stays moist and does not catch. If it tightens, draw up to 30ml hot water from the pasta pot into the measuring jug and stir it into the sauce; this counts towards the 200ml total reserve. Do not increase the tomato heat to reduce sauce while pasta waits. Before transferring, scoop enough cooking water into the jug to make the total drawn from the pot no more than 200ml, including any already used. Drain the pasta safely or lift it straight into the ready sauce with tongs. Do not rinse or leave drained spaghetti waiting. If your packet requires longer, check the pasta in 1-minute increments and keep the sauce moist on the lowest heat until transfer.

Finish in the sauce

Add 30ml reserved cooking water to the pasta and tomatoes and turn together over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Keep the pan on the hob and use tongs rather than tossing hot liquid into the air. The strands should become just tender with a little bite and the tomato juices form a glossy coating. Add further reserved water in 15ml additions only if the sauce is tightening or the pasta needs more cooking; do not exceed the total 200ml drawn from the pot or pour it all in automatically. If the pasta remains hard in the centre, continue in 1-minute increments and count the extra time.

Add basil and serve

Take the pan off the heat and allow 1 minute to fold through all the basil and divide the spaghetti, tomatoes and sauce equally between two bowls. Serve immediately, without resting, extra cheese or an oil drizzle. Discard unused cooking water and switch off both rings. Take care with the steam from the drained water and the hot jug.

Serving Suggestion

Serve as two main-course bowls with a sharply dressed rocket and cucumber salad. For a cooked green accompaniment, serve Garlic Butter Kale separately; prepare it before the final pasta stages, as its ingredients, dairy allergen and timing are not included here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to skin or sieve the tomatoes?

No. Halve the fruit with its skins on and press only some of the softened pieces in the pan. The intended sauce is chunky, with visible skins and tomato pieces, not a smooth passata.

Does 500g mean tomatoes weighed after removing the vines?

No. Use the fruit from two nominal 250g packs. Remove and discard all vines, stalks and calyces; the remaining fruit may weigh less. Keep all the tomato juices rather than topping up to an exact prepared weight.

Why finish the spaghetti in the tomato pan?

Turning slightly firm spaghetti through the hot juices lets it finish cooking in the sauce. A little starchy water helps the oil and juices coat the strands; adding the whole reserve at once can make the sauce watery.

Can I replace the fresh tomatoes with a tin?

Not directly in this method. Tinned tomatoes have a different liquid balance and are already heat processed. This recipe is designed around halved fresh baby tomatoes and their own juices.

What if my spaghetti packet gives a different time?

Keep the sauce ready before draining, begin checking the pasta before its stated al-dente time and transfer while it still has a small firm centre. A thicker or slower-cooking pasta extends the estimate; tenderness matters more than the baseline clock.