One Pan Dinners · Pasta · Side Dishes · Vegetarian
Creamy Tomato Pasta
This smooth, silky and Creamy Tomato Pasta is a one pot recipe that keeps the mess to a minimum. Toss pasta in a rich double tomato sauce with butter, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and fresh mozzarella and basil. This one will be your…
- Prep10 minutes
- Cook20 minutes
- Total30 minutes
- Serves6
- Calories656 kcal
This smooth, silky and Creamy Tomato Pasta is a one pot recipe that keeps the mess to a minimum. Toss pasta in a rich double tomato sauce with butter, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and fresh mozzarella and basil. This one will be your GO-TO pasta dish!
Even though this recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make, it's longer than I want to wait to dig into a bowl of Creamy Tomato Pasta.
It's one of those COMFORT FOOD recipes that gives you a warm hug when you need it. Just like this Triple Cheese, Sausage and Spinach Lasagna and Super Cheesy and Easy Mac and Cheese. I am excited to share this one pot recipe with you!
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ingredients and substitutions
The ingredients for this easy pasta dish are in most well stocked kitchen pantries. It's similar to my Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe. Fresh mozzarella and basil are the two items you may need to pick up. Scroll to the complete recipe card for full quantities for the ingredients.
- penne ~ Any pasta shape will work in this dish.
- salted butter
- onion ~ Yellow or Vidalia onions are best for this recipe. After sauteing, purple onions tend to add an odd tint to the sauce. They're best eaten raw like in salads.
- garlic ~ Fresh garlic is my first choice. But about 1 ½ teaspoons of granulated garlic can be used as a substitute.
- tomato paste
- crushed tomatoes ~ I used canned tomatoes in this recipe.
- kosher salt
- red pepper flakes
- heavy cream ~ In a pinch, I use light cream or half and half.
- Parmesan cheese ~ Freshly grated is the tastiest. Most grocery stores now carry cheese that was grated right in the store.
- fresh mozzarella ~ Buy the cheese packed in water. But a block of mozzarella or preshredded cheese can be a substitute.
- fresh basil ~ The fresh herb adds the sweet, pungent and peppery bite that is perfect for this dish. If it's not available, use
how to make creamy tomato pasta
Making creamy tomato pasta is super easy.
- After cooking the pasta (save a cupful of the starchy pasta water), the silky smooth tomato sauce comes together 10 minutes.
2. Sauté plenty of chopped onions in a generous amount of butter. You want the onions just translucent and soft. Some chopped garlic is tossed in because every pasta dish needs garlic, right?!
3. Double the tomato goodness with tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Season with kosher salt and red pepper flakes - I love the heat from these crushed peppers.
4. Now's the fun part! Stir in rich and thick heavy cream, grated sharp and salty Parmesan cheese and lots and lots of fresh slivered basil. This sauce is decadent and DELICIOUS! Tuck a few and by a few I mean a lot of fresh mozzarella. More Parmesan and basil too!
Hint: My secret to making the creamy tomato pasta extra silky? Stir in some of the pasta cooking water that you saved.
expert tips
Just a few things to keep in mind so your time in the kitchen goes smoothly.
- Boil LOTS of water for the pasta ~ about 5 to 6 quarts. You want the pasta swimming in the water otherwise it will be mushy and sticky.
- Save about a cup of the pasta cooking water. This is like liquid gold when making pasta sauces. The starchy water makes sauces extra silky. It also can thin a too thick sauce without diluting the flavor.
- Do not rinse the pasta with water after draining it. This will not only cool the pasta, it will remove the starchiness. Rinsing the pasta will prevent the sauce from clinging to it.
- Heavy cream makes for the richest and creamiest sauce. You can substitute light cream or half and half in a pinch.
variations
- Cooked pieces of either sweet or spicy Italian sausage. Roasted chicken. And to make the dish even more decadent, add cooked lobster meat, scallops, crab or shrimp.
- To make it a little more healthy, stir in sautéed spinach, mushrooms, broccoli or zucchini. Drained canned artichoke hearts, olives, tuna and capers are good too.
storage tips
Creamy Tomato Pasta is best enjoyed right when it's made. Any leftovers can be reheated to enjoy anytime.
Put a serving of pasta in a microwave safe bowl. Add a little heavy cream, water or chicken stock. Cover loosely and reheat on 60% power at 30 second intervals. Stir to loosen the pasta and coat with the delicious sauce.
BTW ~ these are the same heating directions I leave for my personal chef clients when I make this dish for them.
just one more thing
Also check out my Facebook and Pinterest pages for lots of fabulous foodie stories and videos, cooking tips, and recipes.
Creamy Tomato Pasta
Freshly cooked pasta is tossed in a sauce with double tomato. There's tomato paste and crushed tomatoes in the rich sauce made with lots of butter, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and fresh mozzarella. A generous amount of sweet and peppery fresh basil. This one will be your GO-TO pasta dish!
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt plus more for salting pasta water
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion
- 4 large garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 14.5 ounces can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil plus more for serving
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella (torn in bite sized pieces)
Instructions
-
1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with kosher salt and add pasta. Cook according to the package directions. Drain (do not rinse with water) and set aside. Save 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
-
2
In the same pot, over medium heat, melt the butter.
-
3
When the butter is melted and begins to foam, add the onion and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. You don't want them to brown.
-
4
Stir in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
-
5
Stir in the tomato paste and sauté for 1 minute.
-
6
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt and the red pepper flakes. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.
-
7
Stir in the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and basil.
-
8
Add the cooked penne and toss with the sauce. Add some of the reserved pasta water (I add about ¾ cup) to make the sauce extra silky.
-
9
Stir in the fresh mozzarella.
-
10
Serve in large bowls with more Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Notes
- Boil LOTS of water for the pasta ~ about 5 to 6 quarts. You want the pasta swimming in the water otherwise it will cook up to be mushy and sticky.
- Save about a cup of the pasta cooking water. This is like liquid gold when making pasta sauces. The starchy water makes sauces extra silky. It also can thin a too thick sauce without diluting the flavor.
- Do not rinse the pasta with water after draining it. This will not only cool the pasta, it will remove the starchiness. The creamy sauce will prevent the sauce from clinging to the pasta.
- Heavy cream makes for the richest and creamiest tomato sauce. You can substitute whipping cream or half and half in a pinch.
- Creamy Tomato Pasta is best enjoyed right when it's made. Any leftovers can be reheated though. Put a serving of pasta in a microwave safe bowl. Add a little heavy cream, water or chicken stock. Cover loosely and reheat on 60% power at 30 second intervals. Stir to loosen the pasta and coat with the delicious sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving1 /6 of recipe
- Calories656 kcal
- Carbohydrates49.8 g
- Protein28.3 g
- Fat34.1 g
- Saturated Fat21.3 g
- Cholesterol186 mg
- Sodium1252 mg
- Fiber1.5 g
- Sugar3.2 g
