Creamy Tomato Pasta Basil (Printable)

Tender pasta dressed in a creamy tomato sauce enhanced by fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

# Ingredient List:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne or fettuccine

→ Sauce

02 - 2 tbsp olive oil
03 - 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
04 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
05 - 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
06 - ½ cup heavy cream
07 - ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water
08 - 1 tsp sugar
09 - ½ tsp salt
10 - ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
11 - ½ tsp dried oregano

→ Finishing

12 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
13 - ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

# Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of cooking water, then drain pasta.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
03 - Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, and oregano to the skillet. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
04 - Reduce heat to low, stir in heavy cream, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is creamy.
05 - Add drained pasta and reserved cooking water to the sauce. Toss thoroughly to coat pasta evenly.
06 - Remove skillet from heat. Stir in torn basil leaves and grated Parmesan cheese.
07 - Serve immediately, garnished with additional Parmesan and basil as desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in less than half an hour, making it perfect for those evenings when you're hungry now, not in an hour.
  • The cream transforms the tomatoes into something silky and luxurious without tasting heavy or overdone.
  • Fresh basil stirred in at the very end tastes like you actually know what you're doing in the kitchen.
02 -
  • Never, ever add cream to a sauce that's boiling hard or it can break and separate into greasy puddles, so turn that heat down first.
  • That starchy pasta water is genuinely magical for bringing sauce and pasta together into something cohesive, not just noodles drowning in liquid.
  • Fresh basil added at the end tastes completely different from basil cooked into the sauce, so this timing detail actually matters.
03 -
  • Buy whole nutmeg and grate a tiny bit over the cream before stirring it in, a detail that sounds fancy but tastes like you know exactly what you're doing.
  • If your tomatoes taste too acidic, an extra ½ teaspoon of sugar balances it out better than anything else, so taste and adjust as you go.

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