The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
This Creamy Tomato Pasta recipe is an easy 20-minute meal that pairs perfectly with chicken, shrimp, spinach, mushrooms, and more!
Be sure to serve this with my Baked Chicken Parmesan and Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Creamy Tomato Pasta
I’ve been making this recipe for years. It’s one of those that you can pair with almost anything. (I love serving it with my Baked Chicken Parmesan or Chicken Milanese with some Garlic Bread with Cheese.)
I always have the ingredients on hand no matter what, so I can pull this recipe out anytime I’m in a dinner rut. I can’t pass up a recipe that takes 30 minutes or less.
Check out how easy this is!
Ingredients
See bottom of post for the recipe card with ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Diced Tomatoes- undrained
- Dried Oregano
- Dried Basil
- Salt/Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes- optional
- Chicken Broth
- Tomato Paste
- Cream Cheese- softened
- Parmesan Cheese- grate it into a fine powder from a block
- Thin Spaghetti
How to Make It
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the undrained diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low. Cut the cream cheese into smaller squares and whisk it into the sauce.
Whisk in half of the Parmesan cheese.
Let the sauce simmer on low, uncovered, while you boil the pasta according to package instructions. Keep an eye on the sauce, stir it occasionally, and cover it if it reaches your desired level of thickness.
Once the pasta is done, drain it and stir it into the sauce.
Serve alongside the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Pro Tips
- I use slightly less than a 1/2 lb. of pasta because I love extra sauce.
- Feel free to boil 1/2 pound of pasta and add it in gradually until you’ve achieved the sauce/pasta ratio that you prefer. The pasta continues to absorb the sauce as it stands.
- You can also saute a finely diced onion in olive oil for 5 minutes at the beginning, prior to adding the garlic.
- Additional ingredient options include spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers or cooked sausage/chicken.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- This pasta can be frozen, if possible, freeze the sauce separately and boil fresh pasta for serving.
Try These Next
-
- Garlic Parmesan Pasta
-
- Cream of Broccoli Soup
-
- Ground Beef Pasta
-
- Shepherd’s Pie Soup
-
- Slow Cooker Ribs
-
- Baked Potato Soup
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Tried This Recipe?
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Creamy Tomato Pasta
This Creamy Tomato Pasta recipe is an easy 20 minute meal that pairs perfectly with chicken, shrimp, garlic bread, spinach, mushrooms, and more!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 oz. softened cream cheese, equal to 1/4 cup.
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz. thin spaghetti, see notes*
Instructions
- Measure and set out all ingredients prior to cooking. Begin boiling salted pasta water for the spaghetti.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the undrained diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low. Cut the cream cheese into smaller squares and whisk it into the sauce.
- Whisk in half of the Parmesan cheese.
- Let the sauce simmer on low, uncovered, while you boil the pasta according to package instructions. Keep an eye on the sauce, stir it occasionally, and cover it if it reaches your desired level of thickness.
- Once the pasta is done, drain it and stir it into the sauce.
- Serve alongside the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Pro Tips
- I use slightly less than a 1/2 lb. of pasta because I love extra sauce.
- Feel free to boil 1/2 pound of pasta and add it in gradually until you've achieved the sauce/pasta ratio that you prefer. The pasta continues to absorb the sauce as it stands.
- You can also saute a finely diced onion in olive oil for 5 minutes at the beginning, prior to adding the garlic.
- Additional ingredient options include spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers or cooked sausage/chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 375kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 675mg, Potassium: 483mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 541IU, Vitamin C: 16mg, Calcium: 213mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!
This recipe is amazing! My wife and I were licking our pasta bowls when were finished. I made the recipe as published; cream cheese in tomato sauce is my new spirit animal. I have a finicky eater to cook for sometime and would sub crushed tomatoes for the diced tomatoes.
I am so happy that you loved it as much as we do Tim!!! I agree, there is something magical about that cream cheese in that tomato sauce!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it!! -Stephanie
This tasted like an entree I would order from a reputable Italian restaurant. It was spot on with flavor and came together easily. I like to skip meat on occasion for dinner meals & this is the perfect meal to accommodate that. Very filling and husband approved!
That’s the ultimate compliment Sonja, thanks so much!💗 I’m addicted to this sauce. I’ve been known to lose half a loaf of bread when “taste testing” this one lol. Thanks again for the great comments!
Love this!! Made it for my parents and believe it or not, my Dad went back for THIRDS!!
Question though, what is a serving size?
Thanks for the great recipes!
Hey Pamela! I am sooo happy to hear that you enjoyed it and that your dad went back for multiple servings! SCORE! So there are four servings in this recipe, I don’t have the measurements in number of cups unfortunately.
I may have reviewed this recipe in the past already. But, I have to say.(again).. This recipe is so easy and fast. And delicious!! My picky eater loves it! I have made this 3 times now. My daughter goes back for seconds. The most recent time I made this (last week) I sautéed chicken and cut it up and served it with the pasta. I just place the chicken on top of the serving.
so easy and if the sauce gets too thick, I thin it out with a little pasta water.
This is a super easy and fast weeknight, after work, recipe! Thank you Stephanie for doing what you do for all of us to have an easier dinner prep time! 🙂
Hey Michelle!! I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying this recipe, and I REALLY appreciate the wonderful review and the tips that you shared as well. I love the idea of serving this with chicken to add some protein for a full meal! 🙂 SO glad it’s a win with your daughter too. Thank you sooo much! I’ll keep the recipes coming! ❤️ -Stephanie
Delicious! Needed something easy and using ingredients I had. Saw this on Instagram and decided to try it. I threw in some leftover grilled chicken. My kids had seconds and “gave” me an A😉
lol, that’s so funny your kids gave you a grade 😂, glad they’re holding you accountable lol. I’m so happy this was a hit, thank so much for the great comments and review!
This is beyond delicious! And so easy to make. Bonus is that on the WW plan I’m on, this is very low in points and makes a low point filling meal. My grown kids love it as well. When they see if posted on my menu board, they are happy!
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it Tracie!! 🙂 I love that you have a menu board, so fun!! Thank you for leaving this review, I really appreciate it. -Stephanie
Delicious and so easy to make! This will be a repeat recipe for me. Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that Pam!😃 We make this one a lot and it’s always a hit! Thanks so much for the review!
This was delicious!! My family loved it, even my picky eater!
I followed the tip and did onion first (because I had some already diced in fridge). I also added sautéed and then cubed chicken to it.
Very easy recipe. And, again, delicious!
That is SO great to hear Michelle! I love adding thicken to this too! 🙂 Thank you SO much for taking the time to come back and let me know how it came out! You’re the best. -Stephanie
Such a great, easy recipe! I made it with spinach and chicken and everyone went back for seconds, even my picky kids. Next time I’d like to try it with mushrooms. Can’t wait to check out some more of your recipes!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with everyone! I’ve made this with chicken before and it’s delicious, I highly recommend it! Thanks so much for the great review!😍
This recipe was delicious! I followed the directions except I used cheese tortellini instead, because that’s what I had on hand. I also tossed in 3 oven baked chicken breasts in the last step with the spinach, because my hubby loves meat :). Everything else was the same and I, and my family, loved it! Will definitely make again. Flavorful, easy and simple ingredients….perfection!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with the family! My husband makes me add meat all the time lol!😆 Thanks so much for the review!
This was absolutely delicious! I made it last night for supper. I doubled the recipe and I am glad I did. The only change was that I pan fried some chicken breast in butter and sprinkled the breast with garlic salt, pepper and paprika. Before serving I chopped a bunch of fresh basil up and placed it on the serving of pasta and topped that with the chicken breast cut in strips.
That sounds delicious Jayme! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and were able to tweak it to your liking!😃 Thanks so much for the review!