Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

It all started with the pasta. Unusual shaped pasta caught my attention during a recent shopping trip. Any unique shape or color does it for me. This time it was long fusilli. I’ve only seen short ones until that moment. The bag went into my shopping cart in a split second. Then it sat in my pantry while I figured out what dish to make with it. Another short on time day provided the inspiration. It is so quick and easy to make pasta with tomato cream sauce.

Convenience and speed are keys with this dish. I used store-bought marinara in a jar. You could use homemade tomato sauce if you have it on hand or want to make it. It takes more time to get the water boiling and cook the pasta than to make the tomato-cream sauce. Warm up the marinara, add cream, and then parmesan at the last minute. Toss with cooked pasta and garnish with more parmesan and basil.

Which pasta to use with this sauce? Just about any shape or size will do. Use ravioli or tortellini if you want it to be a heartier dish. Lobster or crab ravioli would be awesome. The sauce is a little decadent. Some heavy cream every now and then is okay. All is good in moderation. Besides, the lovely red-orange color of the sauce is enough to make you want to dig in right away.

Do you enjoy unique shaped or colored pasta? It seems to add a little extra special something to an ordinary dish. It has a fun adventurous factor too. I also have another bag of pasta in my pantry waiting to be used. Stay tuned to see what happens with it.

5 from 1 vote

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Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

A recipe for pasta with tomato cream sauce. The sauce is made with marinara or tomato sauce, cream, and parmesan cheese. It is a quick and easy meal.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Renee

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
• Fresh basil or parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
2. Heat marinara sauce in a large pan or skillet over medium heat until sauce is hot.
3. Stir in cream and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese.
4. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat pasta with sauce. Use reserved pasta water, a little at a time, to thin sauce if too thick.
5. Transfer to a serving bowl, platter, or individual plates. Garnish with parmesan and chopped basil or parsley if desired.

Recipe Notes

A recipe for pasta with tomato cream sauce. The sauce is made with marinara or tomato sauce, cream, and parmesan cheese. It is a quick and easy meal.