5 from 9 votes

Pink Sauce Pasta

Name: Pink Sauce Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons olive oil; 2 Tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted); 1 medium yellow onion (diced (about 1 cup)); 1 Tablespoon minced garlic; 2 Tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon table salt; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; ⅓ cup dry white wine or chicken broth; 28 oz whole peeled tomatoes; 1 ¼ cups heavy cream; 16 oz uncooked rigatoni pasta; ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese (+ more for serving); ¼ cup freshly sliced basil (or 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil); Additional parmesan and fresh basil for topping (optional)

By Sam MerrittPublished Jan 23, 2024

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8 Comments

Servings: 6 servings

55 mins

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A close cousin to to penne alla vodka, pink sauce pasta is made with a velvety smooth tomato cream sauce. Just a few minutes of hands-on time for restaurant-quality flavor!

Overhead view of pink sauce pasta in a blue cast iron skillet.

The BEST Pink Sauce Pasta

Another satisfying (and meatless) pasta dish, this is a cousin (sister?) to my vodka sauce. It’s made with tomato sauce blended with cream, and makes a satisfying, velvety sauce. The flavor is a perfect blend of tangy tomato sauce and rich cream, plus some parmesan and fresh basil too!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Only 15 minutes of prep work, and the rest of the time is hands-off. This makes an excellent weeknight dinner!
Pairs well with any protein; meatballs, seared chicken, or shrimp would all work. It’s also great as a standalone meatless option, too though!
Incredible flavor and smooth texture. It’s a unique dish that truly tastes restaurant-quality!
Not quite fettuccine alfredo, nor is it marinara sauce–this is the best of both worlds!

What You Need

Most of these ingredients will look familiar if you’ve made my penne alla vodka, though there are a few differences. Let’s go over the important ones before we get cooking.

Overhead view of ingredients including pasta, cream, canned tomatoes, and more.

Canned tomatoes. I recommend whole peeled tomatoes. Use a good quality tomato for the best flavor; San Marzano tomatoes are an excellent choice (also my preference when making tomato soup and arrabiata sauce)!
Cream. Heavy cream, whipping cream, or double cream will all work. This doesn’t win you any diet points, but what it does do is balance the flavor of the tomatoes and make the sauce luxuriously creamy (without being cloyingly so).
Basil. I use and recommend fresh basil, but if you can only find dried, you can use that instead. This won’t be a direct substitution; you will only need 1 ½ teaspoons if you use dried.
White wine. I recommend a dry white wine like pinot grigio. For an alcohol-free version, you could try using chicken stock instead, but wine is one of the ingredients that makes this a classic pink sauce pasta.
Pasta. Rigatoni is usually the pasta noodle of choice for this dish, but feel free to substitute your favorite. Penne is another great option. I like a tube-shaped noodle, the better for holding all that sauce!

SAM’S TIP: Not a wine drinker? Me neither. I like to buy a 4-pack of mini wine bottles to use for cooking, that way I don’t feel guilty about opening a whole bottle of wine for a recipe!

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Pink Sauce Pasta

4 photo collage of pink pasta sauce being made, garlic, paste, wine and tomatoes added

Saute the onion in olive oil and butter until softened, then stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Stir in the tomato paste, salt, and spices and cook until the tomato paste caramelizes a bit. It will darken in color slightly when you’re ready for the next step (this is great for developing the flavor of the tomato paste!).
Drizzle in the wine while scraping the bottom of the pan. We want all of those browned bits to get worked into the sauce, as they’re loaded with flavor (plus, catching them now will make cleanup easier)! Keep cooking until the wine/broth reduces by about half. Most, if not all, of the alcohol cooks off during this step.
Add the tomatoes and use your spatula to break them up so they have a crushed consistency, then drizzle in the cream. Stir until everything is well combined.

Two photos showing the sauce being blended and pasta being added

Blend the sauce with an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. Once smooth, pour the sauce back into your pot and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the cooked pasta, cheese, basil, and a splash of pasta water you’ve reserved from cooking your noodles (a key secret ingredient for sauce that beautifully coats your noodles). Cook over low heat and stir until the cheese melts and the sauce coats the noodles, then serve!

SAM’S TIP: Canned tomatoes with a lot of citric acid can make your pink sauce acidic. Always taste-test, and if yours is acidic, a pinch of sugar will help balance things out.

Spoon serving pink sauce pasta from a skillet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called pink sauce?

While truthfully it’s a bit more orange than pink, this sauce gets its name from the color combination that results from blending tomato sauce with cream.

What’s the difference between pink sauce and vodka sauce?

They are very similar actually. Rather than vodka, we’ll use white wine (or chicken broth) here for depth of flavor and a velvety texture. I also use some different spices in my vodka sauce recipe, but other than that, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two.

Can I substitute crushed tomatoes?

Yes. Whole peeled tomatoes are preferable (better flavor and texture, why I also opt for them in my meat sauce and MD crab soup), but crushed will work if it’s all you can find or all you have on hand.

Rigatoni pasta tossed in a tomato cream sauce and served in a blue cast iron skillet.

What can I serve with pink sauce pasta?

Add some protein. Chicken, shrimp, Italian sausage, etc. Any of these would be a great addition. You could also cook the protein of your choice in the pan first in some olive oil then remove it to a plate while you cook the rest of your sauce, keeping this a one-dish dinner.
Up the nutritional ante. Wilt some spinach in the sauce immediately adding the pasta, a great way to sneak in more veggies!
Bread. Pink sauce pasta practically begs for crusty artisan bread, a slice from my sourdough bread recipe, garlic knots, or breadsticks on the side 😋
Lighten things up with a side salad. A light garden salad, Italian salad, with a vinaigrette or homemade ranch or Caesar salad complete with my Caesar dressing makes this a complete meal. Caprese salad would be another great choice!