Cream Cheese Tomato Pasta Sauce
A simple yet incredibly flavorful cream cheese tomato pasta sauce made with roasted cherry tomatoes for maximum sweetness and depth. The perfect weeknight comfort food!
Servings 2 people
Calories 424kcal
Ingredients
- 500 grams cherry tomatoes any tomatoes will work
- 2 garlic cloves sliced thinly
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice plus an extra for serving
- 1 tablespoon tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ - ½ teaspoons pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 100 grams cream cheese
- Pasta - I recommend using spaghetti for this recipe, but any shape will work.
- parmesan and basil to serve optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (390f).
- Place the tomatoes in a baking dish big enough to fit them all in one layer.
- Mix the garlic with the olive oil and drizzle over the tomatoes.
- Drizzle the lemon juice over the top.
- Sprinkle the pepper flakes, salt and pepper over them. I have put a range on the pepper flakes. If you don't want much spice go for the quarter teaspoon, it doesn't bring much.
- Roast in the oven for 25 - 30 mins until they have collapsed and have released a lot of juice.
- Let them cool slightly then blend with hand mixer straight in the oven dish (see notes) doesn't need to be too smooth.
- Make sure the mixture is mixed well and set aside.
- Put your pasta on to boil and when it almost ready continue on with making the sauce if you haven't started already.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the vegetable broth and let it reduce for 2 minutes
- Add the tomato mixture and let it bubble gently for a minute.
- Add the cubed cream cheese and gently stir until it has melted into the tomato mixture, 2 – 3 mins. Lower the heat if you need.
- Add your cooked pasta, a big ladle of pasta water and let it bubble away gently for 2 minutes.
- It should have a nice gentle bubble the entire time, never too vigorous. If the heat is too high, lower it.
- Serve with a good squeeze of lemon (an optional but lovely finishing touch I think), some fresh basil and a really big dousing of parmesan.
Notes
- Use any kind of cream cheese, full fat or not.
- I blitz the tomatoes straight in their oven dish so I don't lose any of those precious juices!
- If you want to use canned tomatoes instead you could follow this process. Cook one onion really gently on a medium heat for 15 – 20 mins (or until soft), add the garlic for another 10 mins, add two tins of tomatoes and cook for 45 mins. Then blend and make the sauce as normal. That length of cooking the onion just helps add a sweetness which you will lose not having the fresh tomatoes.
- Using a good heavy bottomed pan is always a good idea for sauces, it helps bubble things evenly and gently.