Quick Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Your go-to easy peasy pasta recipe yet fancy enough for company! So luscious, velvety, creamy + saucy!

why i love this recipe

• Weeknight favorite. Hello, 40 min dinner! The prep time is minimal, and most of the ingredients include pantry staples (no need for that emergency grocery run!).
• So easy but still impressive for company. This can be paired with garlicky bread and a simple salad for a company-worthy dinner. It’s so easy yet so impressive for all your guests.
• Flexible, versatile recipe. This is a great recipe to add in some protein (ex. crumbled ground beef or leftover rotisserie chicken) or sneak in veggies and greens for those picky eaters.
• Freezer-friendly. This pasta and tomato cream sauce freezes like a dream, perfect to make ahead of time, meal prep and freeze for a rainy day (aka those super busy weeknights).

how to make this easy pasta dish

1. Boil and cook the pasta, reserving at least 1/2 cup of pasta water
2. Melt the butter, sweat the onions and caramelize the tomato paste until deep dark red
3. Stir in wine (or stock)
4. Add the tomatoes and sugar, simmering until thickened
5. Stir in the heavy cream, Parmesan, and pasta water until the desired thickness is reached
6. Serve immediately with all the crusty bread

tips and tricks for success

• Use a different pasta shape. Don’t have cavatelli on hand or can’t find it at your local grocery store? Orecchiette and fusilli are both great substitutes that also hold and cling onto sauces very well.
• Caramelize the tomato paste. This recipe uses an entire tube of tomato paste (no leftover tomato paste lingering in the fridge!). The tomato paste will ensure that deep caramelized and browned tomato flavors, which is a key highlight of this dish.
• Choose a wine you will drink. A dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
• Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
• Add a kick of heat (or not). For more of a spicy kick, increase the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. For milder flavors, especially for the little ones, skip the red pepper flakes altogether.
• Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
• Make it lighter. Heavy cream will have a higher fat content than half and half or milk, yielding a thicker, more velvety smooth consistency. Swap out the heavy cream for half and half or whole milk for a lighter pasta sauce.
• Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
• Freeze as needed. Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.