Creamy Tomato Pasta Fresh Basil (Printable)
Luscious pasta with rich tomato cream sauce and fresh basil.
# What You'll Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 12 oz penne or rigatoni pasta
→ Sauce
02 - 2 tbsp olive oil
03 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
04 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
05 - 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
06 - ½ cup heavy cream
07 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
08 - 1 tsp sugar
09 - ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
10 - Salt and black pepper, to taste
→ Finish & Garnish
11 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
12 - ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
# How-To Steps:
01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté for 3–4 minutes until translucent. Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Pour in crushed tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes if using, salt, and black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
04 - Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream. Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce is creamy and heated through.
05 - Add drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat evenly. Add reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce for desired consistency.
06 - Remove from heat. Stir in most of the torn fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese.
07 - Plate immediately, garnishing with remaining basil leaves and additional Parmesan cheese.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The cream transforms canned tomatoes into something that tastes like you've been simmering sauce all day, but it takes less time than your commute.
- Fresh basil at the end feels like a small indulgence that completely changes the mood of the plate.
- It's the rare dish that's both weeknight-easy and impressive enough for actual dinner guests.
02 -
- Never let the cream boil or it'll separate and break, low heat is the whole secret to that velvety texture that makes this dish worth making.
- Reserve pasta water before you drain it because you will need it, the starch in that water is literally what makes the sauce cling to the pasta instead of just sliding off.
- Taste the sauce at every stage and adjust seasoning as you go, canned tomatoes vary wildly in saltiness and acidity so your judgment matters more than any recipe.
03 -
- If your sauce breaks or looks weird after adding cream, remove it from heat immediately and whisk it hard, sometimes a minute of gentle whisking brings everything back into emulsion without any actual trick.
- Leftover sauce freezes beautifully for a month, so you can make a double batch and have a head start on dinner nights when you don't even have time to sauté an onion.