With generous glugs of olive oil, this Penne Napoli recipe has a gloriously rich tomato sauce, zinging with the aromatic taste of fresh basil.
- Super quick pasta recipe. This tomato sauce is onion-free, so no onion to chop keeps the vegetable prepping to a minimum.
- Simple ingredients. Canned tomatoes, garlic, pasta and olive oil are my pantry essentials, and you may have these already too. The only other key ingredient is fresh basil leaves (dried basil is no substitute here).
- Perfect hot or cold. Whilst the pasta is delicious as a hot light meal, it is great for making ahead and eating cold. Ideal for that office packed lunch. Make a double batch!
Ingredients
- Garlic cloves.
- Pasta.
- Canned tomatoes.
- Fresh basil leaves.
- Olive oil.
- Salt and Pepper.
See the Recipe Card below for quantities and the full recipe.
How to Make Penne Napoli
This easy version of Penne Napoli closely follows the recipe for Napolitana in the simply brilliant pasta cookbook Pasta Every Way for Every Day by Eric Treuille and Anna del Conte.
- Crush the garlic. Crush 2 cloves of garlic with a garlic press, or chop very finely with a knife.
- Boil the water. Put about 6 to 8 pints (4 to 5 litres) of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add a generous amount of salt. The amount will vary according to the type of salt used but as a guide about 1 ½ tablespoons of coarse grain salt. The saying goes that the water should be as salty as seawater.
- Cook the pasta. Once the water is boiling, add 16oz (500g) of penne pasta to it. Ideally, you want an al dente texture. The pasta still has some bite to it, but no chalkiness in the texture. I like to check the pasta from about 5 minutes before the cooking time shown on the packet. It is better to have undercooked rather than overcooked pasta at this stage. You can adjust the texture later if you find that it is undercooked to your taste. The pasta will continue to cook a little when added to the Napoli sauce. While the pasta is cooking prepare the Napoli sauce.
- Prepare the canned tomatoes. If you have bought finely chopped or pulped canned of tomatoes you may skip this step. Otherwise, put 2x14.5oz (400g) cans of tomatoes (including all the juice) into a bowl and crush the canned tomatoes with a potato masher or a fork.
- Combine the sauce ingredients and cook. Put the crushed garlic and crushed tomatoes into a large wide saucepan and add 7 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar and about 20 torn basil leaves. Heat the sauce, bringing it to a simmer.
- Cook and stir the sauce. Over a medium to high heat, simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Stir rapidly from time to time to encourage the oil to fully mix in and emulsify with the tomato sauce.
- Reserve some pasta water and drain pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, remove about 1 ladleful of pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
- Combine all ingredients. Add the drained pasta to the Napoli sauce and stir in gently. If the pasta needs a little more cooking for your preferred texture, add a little more of the reserved pasta water stirring it in well and cook over a gentle heat.
- Ladle the pasta onto serving dishes. Sprinkle with some chopped basil.
Other ideas
- Chilli flakes. Add a few chilli flakes to the sauce along with the other ingredients to give a little heat. Alternatively, just sprinkle dried chilli flakes on the pasta when serving.
- Grated parmesan. I usually have this tomato pasta dish without parmesan cheese, but grated parmesan is excellent with this dish and my children love to add generous amounts of finely grated parmesan.
More Quick Pasta Recipes
Pasta is always a good fallback when cooking in a hurry. Looking for an ultra quick pasta recipe? This Garlic Butter Pasta is perfect with a deliciously rich butter and garlic sauce.
For something a little more fancy but still super easy, try this Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraiche Pasta dish, with finely sliced smoked salmon and a delicious lemony crème fraiche sauce.
📋 Recipe Card
Penne Napoli (pasta with tomato and basil sauce)
With generous glugs of olive oil, this Penne Napoli recipe has a gloriously rich tomato sauce, zinging with the aromatic taste of fresh basil.
Equipment
- garlic press or sharp cutting knife
- potato masher or fork
- bowl
- 2 large saucepans I like to use a sauté pan, rather than a saucepan, to cook the pasta sauce and combine with the pasta.
- mixing spoon
- ladle
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 to 8 pints water
- 16 oz pasta (penne)
- 2 14.5oz cans of tomatoes (whole, chopped or crushed)
- 7 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 20 basil leaves (plus extra for sprinkling)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Crush the garlic. Crush 2 cloves of garlic with a garlic press, or chop very finely with a knife.
- Boil the water. Put about 6 to 8 pints (4 to 5 litres) of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add a generous amount of salt. The amount will vary according to the type of salt used but as a guide about 1 ½ tablespoons of coarse grain salt. The saying goes that the water should be as salty as seawater.
- Cook the pasta. Once the water is boiling, add 16oz (500g) of penne pasta to it. Ideally, you want an al dente texture. The pasta still has some bite to it, but no chalkiness in the texture. I like to check the pasta from about 5 minutes before the cooking time shown on the packet. It is better to have undercooked rather than overcooked pasta at this stage. You can adjust the texture later if you find that it is undercooked to your taste. The pasta will continue to cook a little when added to the Napoli sauce. While the pasta is cooking prepare the Napoli sauce.
- Prepare the canned tomatoes. If you have bought finely chopped or pulped canned of tomatoes you may skip this step. Otherwise, put 2x14.5oz (400g) cans of tomatoes (including all the juice) into a bowl and crush the canned tomatoes with a potato masher or a fork.
- Combine the sauce ingredients and cook. Put the crushed garlic and crushed tomatoes into a large wide saucepan and add 7 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar and about 20 torn basil leaves. Heat the sauce, bringing it to a simmer.
- Cook and stir the sauce. Over a medium to high heat, simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Stir rapidly from time to time to encourage the oil to fully mix in and emulsify with the tomato sauce.
- Reserve some pasta water and drain pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, remove about 1 ladleful of pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
- Combine all ingredients. Add the drained pasta to the Napoli sauce and stir in gently. If the pasta needs a little more cooking for your preferred texture, add a little more of the pasta water stirring it in well and cook over a gentle heat.
- Ladle the pasta onto serving dishes. Sprinkle with some chopped basil.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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