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!
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 alfredo, nor is it marinara–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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
Yes. Whole peeled tomatoes are preferable (better flavor and texture), but crushed will work if it’s all you can find or all you have on hand.
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, sourdough bread, or breadsticks on the side 😋
- Lighten things up with a side salad. A light garden salad, Italian salad, with a vinaigrette or homemade ranch dressing makes this a complete meal. Caprese salad would be another great choice!
Enjoy!
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Pink Sauce Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons (28 g) butter salted or unsalted
- 1 (140 g) 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 (80 ml) dry white wine or chicken broth
- 28 oz (793 g) whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) heavy cream
- 16 oz (453 g) uncooked rigatoni pasta
- ⅓ cup (27 g) 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
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or pot over medium heat, heat oil and butter until the butter has melted.2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 Tablespoons (28 g) butter
- Add onion and saute, stirring frequently, until softened (about 3-5 minutes).1 (140 g) medium yellow onion
- Add garlic and stir, cooking until fragrant (about 30 seconds).1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- Add tomato paste, salt, thyme, and pepper and stir well.2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Slowly pour in wine (or broth), scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula to loosen any browned bits. Cook until liquid is reduced by about half.⅓ cup (80 ml) dry white wine or chicken broth
- Add whole tomatoes, breaking up the tomatoes with your spatula as you cook.28 oz (793 g) whole peeled tomatoes
- Slowly drizzle in cream, stirring until well combined.1 ¼ cups (300 ml) heavy cream
- Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer sauce to a blender and puree in batches, then return to the pot.
- Reduce heat and simmer sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After about 15 minutes, begin to prepare pasta (this will give you about 30 minutes of simmering total, which is ideal for this dish).
- Prepare pasta. Cook pasta in well-salted water according to package instructions. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of pasta water (you likely will not need all of it, just save extra in case, it's also nice to store and add a splash if reheating leftovers the next day).16 oz (453 g) uncooked rigatoni pasta
- Add drained pasta, cheese, and basil along with ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir well and cook over low heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce has thickened and coats the noodles. If needed, add more pasta water, a splash at a time.⅓ cup (27 g) grated parmesan cheese, ¼ cup freshly sliced basil
- Serve immediately, garnished with additional grated parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil leaves, if desired.Additional parmesan and fresh basil for topping
Notes
Tomato acidity
Canned tomatoes can vary in degrees of acidity. Always taste-test your sauce as it simmers, if yours seems acidic, add a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity.Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I like to save some of the reserved pasta water on the side, then reheat the pasta on the stovetop with a splash of the pasta water to rehydrate it and keep the sauce creamy and smooth.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Chava Tepper
Thank you so much for this recipe.
My house smelled like a restaurant while it was cooking!
I made it for dinner the other night, and I got so many compliments. And when the compliments come from the picky eaters, that’s when you know it’s REALLY GOOD!
Sam
You are very welcome, Chava! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Janet Long
I made this recipe and shared it with my daughter’s family and everyone thought it was delicious. I used chicken broth in place of the white wine but followed the recipe exactly. I plan to make this again in the near future and would recommend this recipe to anyone who likes pasta.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Janet! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and for letting me now how it turned out for you!