You need three ingredients and about an hour to make a rich, creamy, and flavor-packed pasta sauce you’ll make over and over again.

I’m typically not a pasta person, but I’ll always make an exception for this particular pasta sauce recipe.

Don’t be fooled. While there are only 3 ingredients in this cheap pasta sauce recipe – tomatoes, butter, and onion – you would never know it. It’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor. Three ingredients shouldn’t taste this good together, but they do.

That’s why I call it amazing 3-ingredient pasta sauce.

This recipe – which has been making its rounds on the Internet – was originally developed by the Italian cook and writer Marcella Hazan. I discovered it on my friend’s cooking blog, Savoury Table.

The Cost For The Entire Pasta Dish: $3.31

• Large can of tomatoes = $1.68
• Butter (5 tablespoons) = $.55
• Onion (1/2 large onion) = $.20
• Pasta (1 pound) = $.88

Total cost for four people = $3.31

Save Money On Onions

Onions are the main flavoring agent of this pasta sauce – as they are for countless other dishes.

To save money on onions, buy a bag of onions instead of individual ones, which almost always cost less.

The $10 Food Day: Recipes To Save You Money

This recipe is part of the $10 Food Day series, which features 4 recipes (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack) that will feed a family of four for less than $10 – for the entire day. Here are the other $10 Food Day recipes:

• Breakfast: Berry baked oatmeal
• Lunch: Tomato and lentil soup
• Snack: Sea salt popcorn

Start Saving More Money On Food

If you want to start saving more money on food, while still eating delicious meals, check out these articles:

• 23 Ways To Save Money On Groceries
• How To Feed A Family Of 4 For $100 A Week
• What Does $25 Worth Of Groceries At Walmart Look Like?

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Amazing 3-Ingredient Pasta Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Not into pasta? Use this delicious sauce like you would use marinara sauce: On pizza, as a breadstick dipper, or in a casserole.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta, cooked according to package directions
• 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion, cut in half

Instructions

Place tomatoes, butter, and onion half in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 45 minutes, remove from heat and remove and discard the onion.

Use an immersion blender to puree the tomato sauce. If you don't have an immersion blender, allow the sauce to cool, place in a blender, and puree until smooth. Reheat the sauce before serving.

Serve over pasta.

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