Calamari In Tomato Garlic Sauce

This easy dinner recipe for calamari in tomato garlic sauce will become one of your favorite, effortless meal ideas you can make with squid/calamari. Serve this simple calamari recipe with bread, rice and some salad for a full, nutritious, balanced dinner that is gluten free and dairy free.

Calamari In Tomato Garlic Sauce ingredients

Calamari. I used frozen calamari and they had this pineapple cut for decoration, but any type of cleaned calamari will work. If you do use frozen squid, make sure to let it thaw first. I always do this by filling a bowl with some warm water and leaving the calamari in there for about 20 minutes.

Fresh Tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes make a great, sweeter tomato sauce than store-bought or canned varieties. So I highly recommend you use fresh tomatoes to make the sauce for this calamari recipe. If tomatoes aren’t in season yet, then you can of course use canned tomato sauce.

Tomato Paste. This will help thicken the sauce from the fresh tomatoes quicker.

Garlic. It’s just a must in these types of dishes! And goes so well with fresh tomatoes!

Dill. Fresh dill goes very well with tomatoes and seafood, and calamari is no exception. It adds a unique fresh note to the dish. If you do not like dill, other great options would be cilantro, basil or parsley.

Olive Oil and Salt. Use a good amount of olive oil and add salt to taste to amplify the simple flavors in this recipe.

How To Make Calamari In Red Sauce

Start by washing your tomatoes and depending on how big they are, cut them in pieces. Add those pieces to a blender to turn the tomatoes into tomato sauce.

Add the tomato sauce with olive oil and a little bit of salt to a cooking pan and cook at medium heat. Pat dry the calamari and add them to the pan.

Let simmer to allow the sauce to thicken for about 25 minutes. This time is needed because the calamari will release some water too.

After that period of time, the sauce should have thickened and you will stir in the tomato paste. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Then add in the garlic, cook for 2 more minutes and stir in the dill. Turn the heat off and serve immediately with bread or rice if you choose to.

How To Store

You can store this calamari dish in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days and reheat on the stove for dinner or lunch.

More Easy Seafood Recipes

• 15-Minute Easy Shrimp and Vegetable Stir-Fry
• Easy Spicy Shrimp and Quinoa
• Comforting Salmon and Shrimp Risotto

Calamari in Garlic Tomato Sauce

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

This easy dinner recipe for calamari in tomato garlic sauce will become one of your favorite, easy meal ideas you can make with squid/calamari. Serve this calamari recipe with bread, rice and some salad for a full, nutritious dinner that is dairy free and gluten free.

Print

Ingredients

• 14oz / 400g calamari, cleaned
• 1 cup tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• bunch dill, thinly chopped

Instructions

1. Wash tomatoes and cut them in pieces. Add those pieces to a blender to turn the tomatoes into tomato sauce.
2. Defrost, wash and cut the calamari into bite-sized pieces (they will shrink a lot when cooked).
3. Add the tomato sauce with olive oil and a little bit of salt to a skillet and cook at medium heat. Pat dry the calamari and add them to the pan.
4. Let simmer to allow the sauce to thicken for about 25 minutes. This time is needed because the calamari will release some water too.
5. After that period of time, the sauce should have thickened and you will stir in the tomato paste. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
6. Add in the garlic, and cook for 2 more minutes.
7. Then stir in the dill. Turn the heat off and serve immediately with bread or rice if you choose to.

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 336Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 134mgSodium 471mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 2gSugar 4gProtein 14g