Gut Friendly Sugo di Pomodoro
Few things do more for your gut than a simple, slow-simmered tomato sauce built from real, whole ingredients. San Marzano tomatoes are the star here — naturally sweet, low in seeds, and far gentler on digestion than heavily processed canned varieties. The garlic is cooked low and slow in olive oil until pale golden, which mellows its sharpness and makes it much easier on a sensitive stomach than raw alliums. A pinch of red pepper flakes adds just enough warmth without overwhelming the sauce, and the long simmer does the hard work of breaking everything down into something deeply flavorful and easy to digest. Fresh basil stirred in at the end keeps things bright, and the optional butter rounds out the sauce with a silky finish that feels genuinely indulgent. This is the kind of foundational recipe that earns a permanent spot in your weekly rotation — endlessly versatile, made from a short list of clean ingredients, and honestly better than anything that comes from a jar.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and crush them by hand, squeezing each tomato until broken into rough, uneven pieces. Set aside.
- 2
Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is pale golden and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Watch closely — the garlic can color quickly.
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