Pink pasta! Spaghetti tossed with a creamy tomato sauce that’s totally slurp worthy, this Creamy Tomato Pasta is silky and indulgent tasting but the tomato cream sauce doesn’t actually have that much cream in it!
Serve it as is, or use it as a base for your own add-ins. Try tossing through some shredded leftover Roast Chicken or Poached Chicken, or adding a handful of spinach.
Creamy tomato sauce for pasta
Is it pink? Or orange?
It doesn’t sound nearly as fun to chat to you about an orange pasta sauce.
I’m sticking with pink.
Pink tomato cream sauce!
“This pasta with tomato cream sauce is a less guilty way to get your creamy pasta fix!”
Tomato cream sauce – a healthier creamy pasta!
This is the first recipe I’ve made for my website after being away for almost a month, firstly on the annual RecipeTin Family trip to Japan, followed shortly thereafter by a trip with friends to New Zealand.
You would think that she who sulked so mightily when she found her jeans were just as snug post-trek as they were pre-trek would be inspired to be share some bright, fresh salads, “goddess cleansing bowls”, be converted to zoodles or cauliflower crust pizza.
But alas, no. She craves creamy pasta. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Well, at least this is a less guilty creamy pasta! There’s a generous amount of tomato cream sauce in this pasta (you’ll see in the video) but it’s mostly tomato and milk.
And actually, this can even be made without cream. Cream isn’t a pantry staple for me so I sometimes make the Creamy Tomato Pasta sauce just using milk and adding an extra dollop of butter to add richness.
I’ve provided the recipe plain which is how I usually have it, because it’s so lovely and saucy it deserves to be twirled and slurped just as it is. However, add-ins are entirely possible and I’ve provided some tips in the recipe for how to do so.
Try this with a fresh garden salad with a Balsamic dressing, French or Italian dressing on the side. If you feel like going all out, add a side of Better-Than-Dominos Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread. Enjoy! – Nagi x
More ways to get your creamy pasta fix!
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Fettucine Alfredo – also try this One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
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Baked Mac and Cheese – and try the Shrimp version!
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Browse all pasta recipes
Pasta with tomato cream sauce
Watch how to make it
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Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 300g/10 oz spaghetti
- 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- ½ onion , finely chopped
- 1 cup / 250 ml tomato passata / tomato puree (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup / 185 ml heavy / thickened cream (Note 2 for subs)
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml milk , low fat
- 3/4 cup / 30g parmesan , finely freshly grated (Note 3)
- 1 tsp dried basil, or other herb of choice
- 1 tsp chicken or vegetable stock powder , or 1 bouillon cube, crumbled (Note 4)
- Finely ground pepper + salt
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a big pot of boiling water for time per packet MINUS 2 minutes. Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of pasta cooking water.
- Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until translucent - about 2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients. Stir until parmesan is melted. Turn heat up slightly and simmer for 2 minutes. Adjust salt to taste.
- Add pasta. Toss for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and is clinging to pasta instead of swimming on the base of the skillet (video shows this well). Use reserved pasta cooking water if required to thin the sauce out if it gets too thick.
- Serve immediately, garnished with more parmesan and parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Just like his Mama, he needs a creamy pasta fix every now and then too….
….. though I am happy to say his Mama doesn’t have this problem (Food Catching Chest Hair).
Liana says
Can the sauce be frozen if I don’t want to use all the sauce? Thanks 🙂
Nagi says
I don’t see why not ❤️
Lou says
It’s not often I cook the same recipe twice in one week but oh my! This is just ah-mazing! Always confident using a Nagi recipe…it’s a winner before I even cook it for the first time!!
Nagi says
That’s so nice to hear Lou! I’m so happy you love this one!
Sally says
I love all your recipes! I was craving pasta, but my usual recipes take too long to make. This one really hit the spot!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you loved it Sally!! ❤️
Shellie says
Can I substitute tomato sauce or tomatoe paste for the purée? I want to make this tonight. It’s January 4th 2019 I hope you can get back to me ASAP
Nagi says
Hi Shellie, what country are you in – I have the substitutions in the recipe notes. Love to know if you gave this a go and what you used!!
Kate in Maine says
My family all loved this!! Thank you so much. I live in the US and appreciate you helping out with ingredient suggestions and substitutes. Thank you – we love your recipes so much. For the record – I was making this with what we had on hand – so I used marinara (put it in the blender w/a little tomato paste), whole milk (all I had) and heavy cream, and vegetarian soup base – it was still ah-mazing.
Nagi Maehashi says
I’m so glad to hear that Kate!!! ❤️
Inga says
I made this twice since I discovered your website 2 weeks ago as a quick weeknight supper. First time I did it with Parmigiano Reggiano and it turned out terrific, the second time with a leftover of Parmigiano Reggiano and some regular mixed “pasta cheese”. What a difference these small changes make. Definitely better with the good stuff… 🙂 It was a sure hit with the family, you can never go wrong with pasta and tomato sauce. 🙂
Keep up the good work!
Nagi says
🙌🏻 🙌🏻 LOVE hearing that! Thanks for letting me know Inga! N x
Susan says
Hi Nagi,
Once again, I have to say thank you for an easy recipe for this not so talented cook.
I’m about as elegant as Dozer when it comes to spaggi so I prefer to use shells or spirals to save the mess.
I could only find a 400ml jar of Passata so I used the whole lot and increased all the other ingredients by a goodly third. And a 500gm pack of large shells.
I even bought ‘real’ parmesan cheese to grate instead of the pre-grated stuff, and that’s a first for me!
Everything turned out wonderfully well. I had a huge bowl for lunch, there’s another in the fridge for tomorrow and 2 to put in the freezer. I can’t think of any way I would change this, but next time I may add some cooked bacon
Thanks again, Nagi
Hugs to you, your Mum and Dozer.
Susan
Nagi says
No putting yourself down Susan! You must cook just fine if you handled this 🙂 PS Shells make great couch food. ie food you can eat with a spoon on the couch without taking your eyes off the TV!!
Susan Andrews says
Oh dear, I’ve been sprung…..I was watching a movie while I ate this!!
Jocelyn says
So delicious! My family loved this easy dish. Thank you.
Nagi says
That’s terrific to hear Jocelyn! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Andi says
Nagi, I made this last night and I’m still smiling right now. This recipe was absolutely D-LISH-SHUSH, and I think the vegetable bouillon cube I used gave the dish flavor. One bouillon cube was somewhere around 840 ml of sodium so I shaved off a teaspoon and it still gave the dish lots of flavor.
I had homemade sauce in the freezer, so my sauce was just a tad soupy. I could have added more cheese while cooking but I didn’t want to until plated, and, I normally cook just a handful of pasta since I’m the only one eating it. So at the end………….I put the noodles and the sauce in a beautiful, deep-dish bowl (practically had my face in the bowl as if I were getting a facial), slurped, and ate all that I could! Had a slight bellyache but it was worth it, so good.
Nagi says
WHOOT!!! I absolutely LOVE HEARING THAT ANDI!!! N xx
Barb says
My hand is up….I totally stuffed this recipe last week, the simplest of simplest recipes and it’s my fault. Thinking what a great recipe to go without meat, yea, this one is too easy; I can do this with my eyes closed. With most dinners I like to cook extra so MOTH & myself have scrummy leftovers for lunch.
Thinking there won’t be enough slurpy sauce for the pasta, I used an 800g bottle of passata + tomato paste. Talk about a rich tomato overload….mine was definitely orange getting closer to red.
Anyway, I made it again last night sticking to your measurements and yep, it was perfect. I’ve eaten today’s lunch already and delighted to advise there was still plenty of creamy goodness for the pasta. I did add jalapeno chillies for a kick. Also, I swapped the cream for greek yoghurt. Yummy scrummy indeed!
Nagi says
YES!!! PS Barb, I am sure I stuff up many more recipes than you do…. and it’s my JOB! 😂
Batool says
Hi Nagi.. do i need to melt the bouillon cube in boiled water as I usually do ? and is it ok to use canned tomatoes as I don’t have the tomato passata..Thanks for the amazing recipe 😀
Jana says
Oh my goodness this is the BEST! My 2 and 4 yr old LOVED this so much I think I have to make a double batch next time.
suja Md says
Our dinner nights are becoming pasta nights recently. Making many verities of pasta to make my family happy, and this one of course very tempting. The tomato would do all the wonders here I guess.
Sam says
Used this as a base for a “fridge clean out” dinner. Added zucchini, bell peppers and chopped tomato to the sauce while it was cooking. Had no cream, but didn’t miss it. Absolutely delicous!
Nagi says
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Sam! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Peter says
Hi Nagi,
I discovered your website looking for a baked chicken and rice recipe (it was great!) The color of the sauce was my mom’s favorite color (colour), coral. How about calling it Coral Pink Pasta?
Leanne says
Nagi, this is absolutely delicious! I didn’t change a thing in your recipe just added some prawns for our dinner. Can’t fault it. Personally, i think this calls for the distinct flavour of dried basil. Love, love, love it. Please give Dozer a smooch.
Catherine Heras says
I made this pasta this evening and is was AMAAAAAZING! My son kept saying “WOW……WOW….” 🙂 Thank you for posting this easy and delicious recipe xo
Nagi says
I love hearing that! Tell your son he has GREAT TASTE! 😜 N xx
Fiona Jones says
This recipe was perfectly timed. I had everything on hand except the passata, so it was quick & easy to put together. The simplicity is deceptive ~ the flavors are rich & delicious. Fresh herbs (I used parsley) sent it over the top. YUM! My husband & our cat Comet loved it as much as Dozer. 😉
We’re such fans. “Thank you, Nagi!” is a regular blessing at our pad. 😀
Cheers!
Nagi says
You just made my day. THANK YOU FIONA! N xx
Khola from Pakistan says
Hey you
Why didn’t you emulsify the sauce in this recipe by adding the pasta cooking water??khol
Nagi says
Hi Khola! GREAT QUESTION!!! The reason is because for this one, we start with loads of sauce then toss the pasta for a whole 2 minutes and during this phase, the sauce emulsifies with the starch that comes off the pasta 🙂 My other pasta recipes don’t usually have that much liquid when the pasta is added. 🙂 N xx
Meghan says
This looks amazing, Nagi! My husband and I just went back on Atkins Diet and are in induction so this will have to wait. I will save this for later and serve it with zucchini spirals in place of the pasta. Love the Dozer pics! I bet he was wondering where in the heck his snack landed! LOL.
Nagi says
I would love to know what you think of this with zoodles!!! You should have seen him trying to get that pasta of his chest 😂
Meghan says
Poor Dozer! LOL! (I really don’t feel very sorry for your boy! HeeHee!) I promise, once I get out of induction, I will let you know how it goes. (No tomatoes right now. Sigh) I really don’t have much experience with zoodles but because I much prefer PASTA! Enjoy your day, Nagi!
Wynn says
How about a splash of vodka as an add-in? It’s somewhat similar to a simple Vodka sauce. I’d actually prefer it as written, but a drunken pasta may appeal to some.
Nagi says
AHHH YES! How could I have forgotten, thanks Wynn! 🙂 N xx