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This creamy tomato pasta recipe comes together quickly and uses everyday ingredients. You’ll love the silky tomato sauce!
You may also like my Easy Pink Sauce Pasta or Best Penne alla Vodka Recipe.
Why you’ll love it
Making a creamy tomato pasta sauce from scratch with canned tomatoes is simple! The best part is that it can be ready by the time your pasta has cooked. It’s perfect for those on-the-go weeknights.
This sauce uses a can of tomato sauce for liquid, and I also add in some tomato paste to punch up that tomato flavor. Garlic, Italian seasoning, butter, and cream complete it. Add some freshly grated parmesan cheese to take it over the top!
What you’ll need
- Pasta – you can use whatever pasta you’ve got on hand. I love penne for this sauce because those little tubes are so nicely coated.
- Butter – for sautéing
- Garlic – adds savory goodness
- Tomato paste – for concentrated tomato flavor
- Tomato sauce – I’ve been asked by a few UK readers what to use instead of tomato sauce, and passata would be a good equivalent
- Heavy cream – to make the sauce luxuriously creamy
- Italian seasoning – it’s a great all-purpose herb blend
Pro tip
Canned tomato brands can vary, and some tomatoes are more acidic than others. My favorite brands are Mutti and DeLallo. If you find the sauce is a little bit too tart, you can add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavors/enhance the sweetness of the tomatoes.
How to make creamy tomato pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet. Sauté the garlic for a minute. Stir in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, cream, and Italian seasoning until smooth.
Let the sauce gently bubble until thickened to your liking. Season generously with salt & pepper. Add a pinch of sugar if desired. Toss with the drained pasta, and top with parmesan cheese if using.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is the skillet I use for this pasta.
- Easy mince garlic with one squeeze of a garlic press, and store the rest of the cloves in a garlic saver.
- I love this butter dish because it has measurement markings right on it for ease.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for half-and-half or something with less fat. The sauce is likely to curdle due to the acidity of the tomatoes.
- You could definitely change the herbs up a bit… some dried oregano or basil would work great. You could even add fresh herbs if you happen to have some.
- You could stir in some spinach or other veggies towards the end of cooking if you want to dress it up a bit.
What to serve with creamy tomato pasta
- Pair it with a salad to round out the meal. Try my 10 Minute Caesar Dressing or this homemade Italian Dressing.
- Go all out and make some Cheesy Garlic Bread to go with it.
- This sauce will actually work for other things (like over chicken or shrimp, for example), so you could skip the pasta altogether if you want! Or you could add a bit of cooked chicken/shrimp/your protein of choice to the sauce for a more filling meal.
Leftovers and storage
- You can keep this sauce in the fridge for a few days, or freeze it for up to 3 months if you’ve got some left over.
- I’d re-warm it over a low heat in a saucepan.
Will you give this creamy tomato pasta a try? Questions? Let me know in the comments below! Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram if you’ve made one of my recipes.
Creamy Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large, salted pot of water for your pasta and cook it al dente according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile (once the pasta starts to cook), add the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it melts, add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, stirring constantly.
- Add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, cream, and Italian seasoning. Stir until it's nice and smooth. Let the sauce cook for about 5 minutes or until it's thickened to your liking (it should be very gently bubbling, so you may need to turn down the heat).
- Season the sauce with salt & pepper as needed (I'm pretty generous with both). If the sauce is a little too acidic/tangy for your liking, add in a pinch of sugar.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce (add a splash of hot pasta water if the sauce gets too thick). Serve immediately with plenty of parmesan cheese over top.
Notes
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream with something that has a lower fat content as it’s likely to curdle due to the acid in the tomatoes.
- This recipe can also be found in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My Nana and I delightfully devoured this fine meal. We did add in basil and spinach to give it that extra kick. 10/10 highly recommended.
Thank you bestie Natasha!
So happy you both enjoyed it, Rachel! Thank you so much.
Score! This was a hit with my son who so enjoys his pasta.
That’s great!! 😀 Thanks, Linda!
Absolutely delish! I added fresh basil to mine 🫶😍 thanks for the recipe
You’re very welcome!
roughly how many grams per serving to make it 447kcal?
Hi Bren! I have no idea. The nutrition info is an automatic calculation included as a courtesy to give readers a rough idea. It’s for 1/4 of the recipe. I am not a trained nutritionist nor good at math so I can’t provide more info beyond that – sorry!
I really enjoyed this recipe. Unfortunately the grocery store’s heavy cream was all expired so I had to improvise by using whole milk and extra butter. It came out really good and have plenty leftovers for my lunch breaks. Thank you!
I’m so glad it worked out!
Just so you know, most food products (including dairy, especially organic) are good well past their “expiration” (actually, best by) dates. It will be obvious through smell and texture if they’ve turned; little risk of consuming bad product.
I added sundried tomatoes and baby spinach. Next level amazing!!!
Wonderful! Thank you, Kara!
Thanks
You’re very welcome!
I made this tonight – this recipe lacks something though – meat!
The next time I make it I’m either going to add a couple of links of sliced Italian sausage in the pan just before adding the garlic, or maybe some ground Italian sausage.
Hey Joe! You will enjoy this one, then – it’s essentially the same recipe but with sausage: https://bit.ly/3wr83z1
I have tons of sausage and beef pasta recipes on here, so you can always do a quick search using the search bar or browse the recipe index.
I knew you’d come through for me thanks. I’ll try your suggestions.
We love loved it so much and will be adding it to our recipe book! Definitely super saucy and could have added even more noodles which is always a plus!
So happy it was a hit, Sabine!
Awesome recipe. I’ve been looking for a recipe loke this for a very long time, so thank you! It reminds me of a similar dish I had back in 1995 from the vegetarian restaurant in Neal’s Yard in Covent Gardon, London. I just added Cremini mushrooms to mix and it’s perfect!
Oooh I love that!! 😀 That’s so great!!