Want an insanely delicious and easy dinner in 10 minutes? This creamy tomato sauce is a staple recipe you need to add to your repertoire. Made with simple ingredients, this luscious and glossy sauce is perfect for busy weeknights or equally to impress friends and family. A creamy parmesan packed sauce with a tomato paste base and a squeeze of lemon for the perfect finishing touch.
Hi! I am updating this creamy tomato pasta recipe as I had never made a video for it and basically that was all the excuse I needed to make it. The sad part of being a food blogger is that I don't get to remake my recipes as much as I would like. This recipe is the exception, I truly do make this probably the most out of all of them.
I have actually simplified the recipe down slightly. It used to have white wine but when I made it at home I always skipped it and the lemon juice adds enough acidity. It also had anchovies which you can definitely still add. But I love how now it has just staple ingredients you might already have.
People either love a tomato or a creamy pasta sauce right? I am in the creamy/butter camp and my husband Dave is tomato sauce all the way so this recipe (known as a pink sauce) brings our two worlds together! It's a great recipe for the whole family, you could throw some fresh spinach in too.
If you want some other tomato based recipes, try:
- Creamy Tomato Pasta with Sausage
- Easy Roast Tomato Pasta Sauce
- Cheesy Baked Gnocchi in a Roast Tomato Sauce
- Tomato and Nduja Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
These are the main simple ingredients but if you want to make it even quicker you could leave out the onion. Sometimes dicing an onion is just too hard basket after a long day, don't you agree?!
Diced onion - As I said above you could leave it out if you wish.
Garlic - Fresh garlic cloves are the best option, finely diced.
Tomato paste - Tomato paste needs to be cooked out for a few mins.
Cream - Lots of recipes use whipping or heavy cream but my preference is single or light cream. I find a creamy pasta sauce can get quite thick, especially once it's off the heat.
Parmesan cheese - It might sound strange but I like to blend up parmesan in a mini smoothie maker/bullet, it grinds it down into a nice powder consistency. Finely grated with a microplane or the star side of your box grater is great too!
Black Pepper - I LOVE pepper so always use it in every pasta sauce I make.
Lemon juice - I use freshly squeezed lemon juice in 99% of my recipes, it adds much needed freshness to a rich dish.
Expert Tips
- Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. This sauce comes together pretty quick so I like to have all my ingredients neatly prepared and my bench cleared down.
- Weigh your pasta portions. It's a 2 second job and ensures the perfect pasta to sauce ratio. I generally allow 100 grams of dried per person or 150 grams fresh pasta.
- Use a large skillet to make sauce that the pasta will fit into at the end.
- Don't have your heat too high. The sauce should just be at a nice gentle simmer the whole time.
- Undercook your pasta! I always undercook dried pasta by a minute so it can finish cooking in the sauce and still be al dente. By letting pasta bubble away in the sauce you allow the pasta to take on flavor and it helps thicken the sauce too.
- I try and time my cooking so that when the pasta is done, the sauce is ready too. That way I can transfer the cooked pasta straight into the sauce from the water. The pasta cooking water is then sitting in the pot for me to use as I need.
- If you need to drain the pasta before the sauce is done make sure you reserve a cup of pasta water first.
How to make this recipe
The full ingredient list, method and a short tutorial video are in the recipe card below.
ONE: In a large pan, fry the onion in olive oil and butter over a medium heat until softened, 4 - 5 minutes. Don't let them colour so turn the heat down if you need to.
TWO: Add the garlic and pepper and mix well, cook for a further minute.
THREE: Add the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute or two, stirring.
FOUR: Add the cream, you don't want a lot of heat here so switch to a low heat. The cream is at a very gentle simmer. Whisk together. Add the lemon juice and whisk in quickly.
FIVE: It will look a bit dodgy at first but it will come together to a nice orange sauce like this. A flat whisk is a great investment!
SIX: Add the grated parmesan cheese in a few separate lots, letting it melt into the sauce between each addition.
SEVEN: Add your cooked pasta of choice straight into the sauce with a splash of pasta water and let it gently bubble away for a minute or two to thicken.
Why starchy pasta water is your best friend!
You'll hear me harp on about the magic that is pasta water in 99% of my recipes. It really is a key ingredient in every sauce I make. The starch left behind in the water acts as a thickening agent and helps sauces cling to the pasta. I couldn't make a sauce without it.
I never EVER drain my pasta in a colander, I always transfer it directly to the sauce using a spider strainer. That way the pasta pot full of water is left there for you to ladle in as you need.
If you have seen my reels on instagram you'll notice my sauces are SAUCY. Pasta soaks up liquid so quickly so I add enough pasta water to make it quite liquidy. By the time I serve into bowls and take to the table it hasn't dried up. You'll get to know what the right consistency is with some practice, you can't go wrong though I promise!
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What pasta shape should I use?
I don't like rules OK? Use whatever you like!! Any long or short pasta will be perfect. This sauce will literally go with any shape, fresh or dried. Feel like making some pasta from scratch? You're in the right place. Use my easy homemade pasta dough to make some homemade pappardelle. It is the easiest shape to make and SO good with a luscious sauce like this one.
If you know me at all, you know I love a hand rolled shape, orecchiette being my one true love. Check out my semolina pasta dough to make it or hand rolled gnocchi sardi, a really great beginner shape.
Topping ideas
I always like to add something to the top of my pastas and there are so many options! You could do some crispy sage as in the photo above or another idea for crunch is the panko topping in my nduja mac and cheese recipe.
Some torn buratta and fresh basil leaves are a wonderful fresh option. I like to finish most plates with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a little sprinkling of red pepper flakes can be divine too.
Want to take this sauce up a notch?
I recently used this sauce as a base and added some broken up pork and fennel sausage into it. The resulting creamy tomato and sausage pasta is like a cheats ragu as it is so flavoursome but really quick. Sausage adds such a dreamy savoury kick to this creamy sauce so you absolutely HAVE to try it!
Creamy tomato pasta sauce FAQ
This is all about personal preference. For big eaters (I include myself in that!) around 100g - 120g of dried pasta or 150g of fresh is about what I aim for per person.
I usually opt for a simple and fresh iceberg wedge salad. It's a rich meal so something crisp and fresh cuts through it perfectly. For something really easy just serve some wedges of iceberg lettuce on a platter, drizzle with a nice olive oil and sprinkle with finely grated parmesan.
Creams are all called slightly different things in different countries. Here in New Zealand, for cooking I use single cream. In America that is light cream, 18% - 30% fat. Anything heavier will be too thick. You can obviously thin down the consistency with starchy pasta water though so feel free to use what you prefer.
The most common reason for this is your temperature being too high. You just want a really gentle simmer. Lower heat is best for control. When you add the cream in, give it a really good whisk to emulsify. Add the parm in a few lots, letting it gently melt in between each addition.
I'm secretly judging if you have leftovers and truth be told I don't love reheating pasta from the fridge. It will keep in an airtight container for 2 days if you must!
Want some other dishes to try?
Check out my recipe section for all sorts of easy pasta dishes, from homemade shapes to more quick sauces. My Guide to the Best Butter Sauce for Pasta is well worth a read with a few different buttery options. For something else tomato based you should make my Cheesy Baked Gnocchi in a Tomato Sauce. My simple Tomato and Nduja Sauce is such a fantastic staple.
Made this pasta sauce and loved it?
I would love it so much if you could leave me a review below! Also, if you take a photo make sure you tag me on instagram so I can see it!
Recipe
Easy and Delicious Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 30 grams butter 2 tablespoons
- ½ onion finely chopped, see notes
- 3 garlic cloves finely diced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 70 grams tomato paste ¼ cup
- ¾ cup cream
- 40 grams parmesan finely grated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 200 grams dried pasta or 300 grams fresh
Instructions
- Get a pot of heavily salted water boiling for your pasta and cook pasta, timing it to add straight into the sauce at the end. (see note below) If you drain the pasta before sauce is ready make sure to reserve a mug of the pasta water first.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a big frying pan over medium - high heat and add onions.
- When sizzling, lower the heat to medium - low and cook for 4 - 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and pepper and cook for a further minute or two. Nothing should be browning so turn the heat to low if you need.
- Add the tomato paste and whisk to combine, cooking for a minute or two.
- With the heat still low - medium add the cream and whisk to combine evenly. The cream should only ever be at a VERY gentle simmer so adjust heat to low if you need.
- Add the lemon juice and whisk in quickly.
- Add the finely grated parmesan in three seperate lots, whisking in between to make sure it has melted.
- Add your pasta straight into the sauce with a splash of pasta water (about ¼ cup). Let the pasta bubble away in the sauce gently for a minute or two to thicken the sauce. Loosen with more pasta water if you need to.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste.
- Serve and enjoy. I love to add some extra parmesan and black pepper plus some fresh basil leaves never go astray.
- Check out video below to see it come together.
Video
Notes
- Onion - If you live in the USA you might not be aware your onions are HUGE! My half onion was about 70 grams.
- Timing of cooking the pasta is something you will get used to the more you make the recipe. If your dried pasta is going to take 11 - 12 minutes to boil then start the sauce about 3 - 4 minutes into the pasta cooking.
- Pasta water is a pasta sauce's best friend, this one only needs a splash but make sure you always reserve some before draining. That is why I add my pasta straight from the pot into the sauce, no draining, so there is a full pot of pasta water sitting there.
- I try to make my pasta sauces quite 'saucy' so you might think you have far too much sauce but as it sits the pasta will soak it up quickly. By the time you spoon it into bowls and get it to the table you'll see a lot has been reduced. I would always rather have too much than too little!
- Serve it with my easy iceberg wedge salad!
Claudia Edwards says
Great sauce! I did add a little bit of salt because of personal preference, but my family loveeeed it!
Anne says
I made this sauce last night and it was delicious. Somehow I did not have a can of tomato paste in the pantry, so I used some jarred pasta sauce that I cooked down a bit. It turned out perfectly, and was an excellent sauce with sausage-filled tortellini.
Emilie Pullar says
Such a great idea to do that! Thanks so much for making 🙂
So says
Didn’t have any expectations and wowie it’s crazy how good this is while also being so simple. Love it.
Jared says
I am a novice and the kitchen and love quick, delicious recipes. This was perfect, thank you for sharing!
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much for making it Jared! 🙂
Michelle says
So simple and delicious! I cooked this for spinach and ricotta ravioli, and it was the perfect mix of flavours. My husband threw table manners out the window and used his fingers to wipe the bowl clean!
Ash says
So easy, delicious & sticks to the pasta so well. It’ll be on high rotation now. Thank you for sharing
Emilie Pullar says
So glad you enjoyed!! 🙂
Matt says
Love this recipe
Lisa says
Amazing and so simple
Tiffanie says
This was so good and such a refreshing change from regular spaghetti. I added ground beef and some stewed tomatoes. Next time I will add a little fresh parsley. My son is allergic to meat so on his portion he had vegan meat balls. Overall this was a total win, my sons cleared their plates.