Pink Sauce Pasta
This easy pink sauce pasta recipe will bring a fun twist to your regular pasta night. It's creamy, tangy, slightly sweet, and a little bit spicy too! The best part? This pink pasta dish is made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, and it's ready in just 20 minutes - perfect for a busy weeknight!
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 432kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup tomato puree or marinara sauce
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ⅛ tsp dried red pepper flakes
- ½ cup sour cream or vegan sour cream
- fresh basil leaves
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan, optional
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the pasta, and cook as directed on the packaging.
- In a separate pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion until soft, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
- Next, stir through the diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, oregano, dried red pepper flakes, torn basil leaves, salt, and pepper.
- Reduce heat and gently simmer while stirring. Adjust seasoning to taste. Add sour cream and stir through. (Optional: for a smoother sauce, puree with an immersion blender).
- When the pasta is just cooked, strain it and mix through the sauce. Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes while stirring.
- Stir through ½ of the grated parmesan cheese if using.
- Serve hot with remaining grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- This sauce is slightly chunky due to the diced tomatoes, if you prefer a smoother sauce, you can either eliminate the diced tomatoes and use 2½ cup marinara sauce or crushed tomatoes or you can use an immersion blender to pureé the sauce before adding it to the pasta.
- Sour cream can be substituted with heavy cream or half and half.
- Gently simmer the sauce on low heat, as boiling may cause the sauce to split.
- To make this vegan-friendly substitute the sour cream and parmesan cheese with vegan-friendly options.
- Use gluten-free pasta for a delicious gluten-free meal.
- More red pepper flakes can be added for a spicer meal.
- Don’t overcook the pasta; otherwise, it will start to fall apart when mixed with the sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 432kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 698mg | Potassium: 360mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 7g