Creamy Tomato Pasta
- Recipe review status
- Editorially checked
- Kitchen testing status
- Not documented
Recipe instructions were editorially reviewed for ingredient and method consistency. Hands-on kitchen testing is not documented for this version.
Featured image: custom digital food illustration.
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This pasta sits between bright tomato sauce and rich cream sauce, which is why it works so well on an ordinary weeknight. Tomato paste cooks until brick red before the liquid goes in, taking away its raw edge and adding slow-simmered flavor in minutes.
Pasta water is not optional here: its starch helps the cream and tomato become one glossy sauce. Take the pot off the heat before adding parmesan, then loosen it until the sauce flows rather than sitting heavily on the pasta.
The method behind the meal
Why this recipe works
- •Salt the pasta water well, but season the sauce after adding parmesan.
- •Heavy cream is less likely to split than lower-fat milk.
- •The sauce thickens quickly, so reserve extra pasta water for leftovers.
Recipe
Creamy Tomato Pasta
A silky pantry tomato-cream sauce wrapped around rigatoni, balanced with parmesan and ready in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Boil pasta in well-salted water until one minute shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.
- 2Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a wide pot over medium. Cook garlic for 30 seconds, then tomato paste and pepper flakes for 2 minutes.
- 3Stir in crushed tomatoes and simmer 4 minutes. Lower the heat and stir in cream.
- 4Add pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water. Toss over low heat for 1–2 minutes until the pasta is tender.
- 5Remove from heat, stir in parmesan, and add more pasta water until glossy. Season and finish with basil.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
