Simple Tomato Sauce With Olive Oil (Canned Tomatoes, 30 Minutes)

By the ProstateFoods editorial team · Last updated October 13, 2026 Short answer: Warm olive oil and garlic, stir in tomato paste, add canned crushed tomatoes and simmer 20 to 25 minutes. It makes about 4 cups, enough for a pound of pasta.

This recipe was developed by the ProstateFoods team from standard techniques and measurements. It has not been kitchen-tested. Prep time: 5 min Cook time: 30 min Total time: 35 min

Ingredients (makes about 4 cups)

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, "no salt added" if you can find it
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or a few fresh basil leaves
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Steps

1. Warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, if using, and cook 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant. Don't let it brown.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes, until it darkens slightly.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano and pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer uncovered 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in basil at the end.

Storage: Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Lycopene in the ingredients

Using USDA FoodData Central values [1], the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste contain about 9 mg of lycopene and the 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes about 40 mg. Cooking and the olive oil may make it easier to absorb: in one study, lycopene from tomato paste eaten with oil produced a much larger blood response than the same amount from fresh tomatoes [2]. That's a fact about absorption, not a health benefit. The FDA has found little scientific evidence that tomatoes lower prostate cancer risk [3]. See Lycopene: What the Research Says.

Ways to use it

• Over whole-wheat pasta with white beans and spinach.
• As a base for shakshuka.
• Spooned over roasted cauliflower or fish.

A heavy-bottomed saucepan helps the sauce simmer without scorching: a 3-quart saucier like this HexClad one works well.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2018). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/
2. Gärtner C, Stahl W, Sies H. Lycopene is more bioavailable from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997;66(1):116-22. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9209178/
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Qualified Health Claims: Letters of Enforcement Discretion (includes tomatoes and prostate cancer, 2005). https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-food-labeling-and-critical-foods/qualified-health-claims-letters-enforcement-discretion

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ProstateFoods writes about food, not treatment. Nothing here is medical advice or a claim that any food treats, cures or prevents a disease. Talk to your doctor before changing how you eat, especially if you take medication or have a health condition. See our medical disclaimer. Photo: Tomato paste can by Jon Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.