Learn how to make this oil-free tomato pasta recipe (jump to the recipe now) for a healthy and delicious alternative to traditional pasta dishes, using fresh ingredients and a homemade tomato sauce. This quick and easy plant-based meal is perfect for anyone looking to enjoy nutritious, oil-free cooking.
How to Make Oil-Free Tomato Pasta with Fresh Ingredients
If you think cooking without oil means sacrificing flavour, think again! This tomato pasta recipe is free from oil and will change your mind. It’s packed with yummy flavours and a big selection of nutritious ingredients, making it a balanced meal and a perfect addition to your plant-based recipe collection.
Why Is Oil-Free Cooking Good for Your Health?
Cooking without oil is a great way to reduce the overall calorie content of your meals. If you’re new to plant-based cooking and your goal is to lose weight, this approach can be really beneficial and help you shed those pounds. There are many more reasons to try cooking without oil. Read more about this topic in my related post “Why Should I Cook Without Oil? – A Guide to Oil-Free Plant-Based Cooking for Weight Loss and Health”.
Today, I’m going to show you the technique of water sautéeing, which is a really straightforward way to make a healthy homemade pasta sauce without frying in oil. Most importantly, you don’t have to compromise on taste. Trust me, this pasta dish is really tasty, and you’ll feel satisfied knowing that it’s also really healthy for you.
Step-by-Step Guide: Oil-Free Tomato Pasta in 30 Minutes
Check out the recipe video for this dish where I show you step-by-step how to make it. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more inspirational recipes to help you make healthy and tasty plant-based food.
Vegan Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Homemade Tomato Sauce
This recipe is simple and quick, making it ideal to fit into our busy lives. You can make it from scratch within 30 minutes. You’ll start by water sautéing onions, celery, garlic, and red pepper to create the base (the sofrito). Adding mushrooms brings a hearty twist to the dish.
You can make this with any dried pasta you prefer. I’m using whole wheat penne pasta which I find works well with this style of tomato sauce. For a fully vegan meal, check that the pasta you select doesn’t include eggs. Also, opt for whole wheat pasta rather than regular for the healthiest option. Whole wheat pasta is much higher in fibre compared to regular pasta. It’ll also fill you up more, adding a hearty texture and nutty flavour. Choosing whole grains is something I would always recommend in general, especially if you aim to follow a whole food, plant-based diet and get the highest nutritional value from your food.
Easy Plant-Based Pasta Sauce: Oil-Free Recipe
The star of this recipe is the rich homemade tomato sauce. I made it with a simple sofrito base then I added 100% tomato passata, a fresh chopped tomato, parsley stems, nutritional yeast, and whole black olives. The combination of these ingredients creates a quick and satisfying sauce that perfectly complements the dish. Plus, it’s much healthier than storebought sauce as there’s no hidden oil, sugar, salt or other undesirable additives.
I find that whenever I have leftovers of this pasta sauce, it always tastes nicer the next day as the flavours have time to meld overnight. If you have time, you could prepare this sauce in advance and also leave it cooking for longer on a low heat.
The Recipe: Oil-Free Tomato Pasta
Find the written recipe below, or follow along with the video above or on YouTube. Please do let me know if you try it out by leaving a comment below. I’d love to hear about your own experiences with oil-free cooking. Would you like to share any tips for how you cook without oil?
Oil-Free Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ white onion diced
- 2 sticks celery sliced
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs mix or oregano, basil etc.
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Freshly ground black pepper to season
- 1 jar tomato passata or tinned tomatoes 100% tomatoes
- ½ red bell pepper sliced
- 7 – 8 button mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- Handful black olives pitted
- 250 grams wholewheat penne pasta
- Water for sautéeing use some of the water from cooking the pasta
- Fresh curly or flat leaf parsley including stalks
- Sprinkle of nutritional yeast optional
Instructions
- Heat up a large frying pan with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan
- Meanwhile, prepare the chopped vegetables
- Once the water starts steaming, add the onion, celery, garlic and bell peppers to the pan and spread evenly. Let simmer for a few minutes. Stir every now and again to make sure all the veggies cook evenly in the water.
- Add the smoked paprika, dried herbs and black pepper. Mix well and continue simmering for 5 more minutes.
- Put a pot of water on and bring to the boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the time on the packet instructions (usually between 8 and 15 minutes).
- Mix in the mushrooms with the other veggies and continue to simmer. Add more water if the pan is dry. A good trick is to use some of the pasta water which adds starch from the pasta and helps thicken your sauce giving a creamier end result.
- Mix in the tomato passata to the veggies along with the olives and the finely diced stalks of the parsley, and nutritional yeast (if using) and continue to simmer until the pasta is ready.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it then combine it with the veggie tomato sauce. Mix well making sure all pieces of pasta are covered in sauce before serving.
- Serve with the fresh parsley sprinkled on top.
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