Description
Homemade creamy tomato pasta delivers rich Mediterranean flavors with minimal ingredients. Pasta lovers will savor each silky bite of this simple, comforting classic that makes dinners quick and delicious.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 oz (226 g) pasta, uncooked
- 1 (14 oz/397 g) can tomato sauce
- ¾ cup (177 mL) heavy cream
- 2 tbsps (30 mL) tomato paste
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsps (28 g) butter
- ¼ tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Boiling Preparation: Salt water generously in a large pot and bring to a vigorous boil, ready to cook pasta until achieving an ideal al dente consistency.
- Sauce Foundation: Melt butter in a spacious skillet over medium-high heat, introducing minced garlic to create an aromatic flavor base, allowing it to become golden and fragrant.
- Sauce Development: Incorporate tomato paste and tomato sauce into the skillet, stirring thoroughly to blend with the garlic-butter mixture, creating a robust and rich sauce foundation.
- Cream Integration: Pour heavy cream and sprinkle Italian seasoning, allowing ingredients to harmonize while gently simmering for approximately 5 minutes until the sauce reaches a luxurious, thickened texture.
- Flavor Refinement: Carefully taste the sauce, fine-tuning seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Balance any sharp notes by adding a subtle pinch of sugar to moderate acidity.
- Pasta Combination: Drain perfectly cooked pasta, reserving a small amount of pasta water for potential sauce consistency adjustment. Fold pasta into the creamy tomato sauce, ensuring each strand becomes thoroughly coated with the velvety mixture.
- Presentation Finale: Transfer to serving plates and generously garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese, adding a final layer of indulgent flavor and visual appeal.
Notes
- Pasta Water Rescue: Save a cup of starchy pasta water before draining to help create silky, clingy sauce if needed.
- Garlic Caution: Watch butter carefully to prevent burning; golden color indicates perfect sautéing moment.
- Seasoning Strategy: Taste sauce progressively and adjust flavors gradually with small increments of salt, pepper, or sugar.
- Cheese Finale: Freshly grated parmesan melts better and delivers more intense flavor compared to pre-packaged alternatives.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 600
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 500 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg