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This 30-minute pink sauce pasta recipe has an irresistibly silky tomato and cream sauce! Everyday ingredients are elevated in this pasta dish, and it’s a total showstopper.
Try my Best Penne alla Vodka or Tomato Goat Cheese Pasta for more delicious creamy tomato pasta recipes.
Why you’ll love it
Also known as rose sauce, this pink pasta sauce is a delightful blend of tomatoes with heavy cream, resulting in a distinctive pink color and a rich, velvety texture. It has the perfect balance between the tanginess of tomatoes and the smoothness of cream.
This pink sauce for pasta is both comforting and indulgent, so it’s definitely a company-worthy dish with the elegant touch of white wine! It’s also a fast meal with simple ingredients, so treat yourself any old weeknight. It’s similar to my Super Easy Creamy Tomato Pasta yet upgraded.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I prefer a tube-shaped pasta like rigatoni or penne for all the luscious sauce to coat it
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing
- Onion – sweet (Vidalia) are my go-to
- Italian seasoning – it’s a convenient blend of dried herbs that gives so much flavor to sauces and soups. It comes all in a single jar.
- Garlic – for more savory flavor
- White wine – choose one you would actually drink, not cooking wine. A dry white wine like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio is best.
- Tomato paste – use a good-quality tomato paste as it is an important component of the recipe. I like to buy the ones in a tube. Mutti and DeLallo are my personal favorites.
- Heavy cream – for the luxurious quality of the sauce
- Parmesan – a pop of cheese to top it all off
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Store the rest of your aromatics in a garlic keeper and onion saver to keep them fresh.
- Mincing garlic is easy with one squeeze of a garlic press; no peeling of the cloves needed first.
- These are my favorite measuring cups for the liquid measurements.
- I use my enameled cast iron Le Creuset skillet for this recipe.
How to make pink sauce pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, in a skillet, sauté the onion along with the Italian seasoning until lightly browned. Add in the garlic followed by the wine, and let it bubble for about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cream.
Let it bubble gently until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parmesan. Add the drained cooked pasta, and toss well. Give it a taste, season with salt & pepper, and enjoy.
Helpful tips
- Grating parmesan cheese yourself from a block is important since it tastes and melts much better.
- Keep in mind that cream sauces thicken a bit as they cool (like after you dish it up), so you don’t want to cook the sauce down too much.
Substitutions and variations
- Don’t sub the cream! Lower fat alternatives are liable to curdle with the acidity of the tomatoes, and it won’t taste as intended.
- The wine gives this sauce tons of elegant flavor, so I don’t recommend skipping it, but if you have to, subbing for chicken broth or vegetable broth should be ok.
- If you want the sauce to be more herby, double the Italian seasoning. I like it having just a hint of herbaceous flavor.
- Some cooked shrimp, salmon, or chicken could be thrown in (or top your plate with it) at the end if you’re looking to add some protein.
What to serve with pink sauce pasta
- Top it off with a little bit of fresh basil if you happen to have some on hand.
- To make a complete meal, serve with a side salad like my Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad and some Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread.
- This would go great as a side with anything from Chicken Milanese to Pan Seared Salmon.
Leftovers and storage
- This creamy tomato pasta will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in a covered container.
- Reheat slowly in a saucepan over a low heat for best results. I suggest boiling up fresh pasta when you’re ready to eat if you know you’ll have leftover sauce.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers. It will likely change the texture of sauce.
If you made this creamy pink sauce pasta, please leave a star rating and review! Ask me any questions you have. Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram if you made any of my recipes.
Easy Pink Sauce Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta rigatoni or penne preferred
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 small onion chopped finely
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup tomato paste see note
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large, salted pot of water and cook your pasta al dente according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and Italian seasoning. Sauté the onion for 5-7 minutes or until softened and lightly browned.
- Stir in the garlic, then add the wine and let it bubble for about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cream until smooth. Let the sauce bubble for about 5 minutes or until thickened up a bit.
- Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
- If the sauce has become too thick, thin it with a little bit of the hot pasta water prior to draining it. Drain the cooked pasta, add it to the skillet, and toss. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- If you’re feeding four hungry people who will eat more than 2 oz pasta each and no side dishes, I recommend doubling the recipe.
- Use quality tomato paste! For this dish, I use the kind sold in the tubes (DeLallo and Mutti both make great ones).
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for something lower fat as it may curdle due to the acidity of the tomatoes, and you will end up with a thinner and more watery sauce.
- You will have the best results if you buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it yourself.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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So easy and delicious. I used Sacchetti pasta. Which are cheese filled pasta. Will make again and again
Yay!! Thanks, Kay!
This recipe tasted great and was super simple to make. This is going to become a part of my regular menu for meal prepping. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome, Jose! 😀
Love how fast and easy this recipe is!! Thanks so much for sharing. I made it my own by adding spinach to the sauce and lobster. 😍
You’re very welcome!!
I wanted something different as a side dish to serve with garlic shrimp. I remembered I had some leftover (homemade) pizza sauce and a container of heavy cream. I made this recipe with pizza sauce and it came out great. What a nice change. This recipe is a keeper!!
That’s awesome!! Thank you, Margaret!
This was so good! This recipe was very easy to follow and the end result was just amazing! Will have to make again in the future.
That’s great to hear, Kylie!! 😀
A family favorite quick sauce that has so much more depth of flavor than jarred sauce. And made from pantry staples!
Thrilled your family enjoyed it, Carrie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
Could I use chicken broth in place of wine?
Sure! I actually suggest that in the blog post. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I love all of your stuff!!!! ♥️
Aww thank you!! 😀
This was SO delicious. I was expecting it to be like vodka sauce but it was much different in a very good way. So rich and creamy and velvety. I used half of the amount of cream called for (we doubled the recipe and only used 1 cup) and it was perfect. We also topped basil. Will definitely make again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! 😀 Thanks for your review!