Easy, Good-For-The-Soul Butter Sauce

This recipe is one of my childhood favorites. It was created by my great-grandfather, and I learned it from my dad. I remember watching him make this when I was a little kid, and it was one of those things that I was always hella excited to eat.

This is one of my go-to's for when I really need a treat. It’s also something that’s super easy to throw together, because who feels like making something complicated when they’re already tired and stressed out?

During these crazy times, while we’re all under a lot of stress, most of us have been looking to food for some comfort. So if you love pasta with a good rich sauce, and you’re looking for something a little different that’s surprisingly easy, then you'll definitely want to try this sauce!

I will warn you all though, this is definitely not something that should be eaten all the time. It’s very rich, very heavy, and very fattening. So much so that my family always jokes that you can feel it clogging your arteries.

What’s funny is that this is a recipe that most people outside of my dad’s family find really odd. A lot of people are just so perplexed by it, particularly by the fact that it’s called butter sauce even though it’s bright red (which I bet you’re probably wondering right now as you’re reading this).

Simply put, it’s called that because it has a lot of butter in it.

But every now and again, it’s a good, easy meal that’s more than worth enjoying! It may not be great for your body, but it’s good for the soul!

One of the biggest perks of this sauce is that it’s super easy! Like, ridiculously easy. It’s just 3 ingredients: tomato paste, butter, and garlic.

And it only takes about 5 minutes to make, with practically zero prep involved!

Here’s the full recipe:

Sauce Ingredients:

- 1 can of tomato paste

- ½ - 1 stick of butter (depending on how big the can of tomato paste is)

- As much garlic as your heart desires! (cloves or minced)

Cooking directions:

- Heat stove burner to medium heat.

- Add butter to pan and melt.

- Add garlic and brown.

- Add tomato paste and stir together, making sure that everything's mixed well.

- Once the sauce is hot and thoroughly mixed, lower or remove from heat.

When the sauce is cooked, it’ll look like this:

And while making the sauce, cook the pasta as you normally would, then drain and combine with the sauce.

Some important tips:

- If you’re vegan or dairy-free, vegan butter works for this sauce too!

- When choosing pasta to pair with this sauce, it’s best to use one that’s thick and sturdy. Definitely don’t use fettuccini or angel hair! It’ll never hold up. I’d recommend using penne, ziti, rigatoni, or any kind of thick spaghetti. In my case, I use gluten-free pasta. And since gluten-free pasta tends to fall apart more easily than regular pasta, it’s even more important to choose a thick, sturdy one.

- It’s also important to not overcook the pasta, especially if it’s gluten-free, in order to make sure that it holds up to the sauce and doesn’t fall apart.

- One of the upsides of pasta dishes is that a lot of them give you the freedom to load on as much garlic as you want. And if you’re a garlic-lover like me, you’ll have fun with this one for sure! My philosophy is: never let anyone tell you how much garlic to use in a recipe! You measure that sh*t with your heart!

- Finally, this dish is best eaten fresh. Normally I like to make extra of whatever I'm cooking so I can have leftovers, but this is the only thing that I won’t make extra of because it’s not as good left over. This sauce will lose its zing and creaminess after a while, especially after being put in the fridge. But if you’re cooking this for your whole family, eating it all shouldn’t be a problem!

So treat yourself to a little simple, artery-clogging goodness! Your soul needs it once in a while (enjoyed responsibly, of course!) , and now is as good a time as any for it!

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