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Tomato Cream Sauce

10 ingredients + 10 minutes = the easiest tomato cream sauce you’ve ever made! It’s loaded with sun dried tomatoes, just the right amount of cream and nutty shaved Parmesan. Make a double batch because your family is going to LOVE this one!

Overhead shot of a pan of sun dried tomato cream sauce linguine


 

Instructions

Add oil packed sun dried tomatoes, garlic and a bit of oil (from the jar of sun dried tomatoes) to a food processor.

Food processor with sun dried tomatoes and fresh garlic to make pesto

Pulse until everything is well minced and combined.

Food processor filled with sun dried tomato pesto

Add sun dried tomato oil a large saute pan over medium heat. Add sun dried tomato and garlic mixture to the pan. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Large white pan with sun dried tomato pesto and oil in it

Add oregano, thyme and sage to the pan.

Large white pan with minced sun dried tomato and dried herbs

Then add veggie stock. Simmer for a few minutes.

Chicken broth being poured into a pan of minced sun dried tomato

Then add a quick splash of heavy cream.

Heavy cream being poured into a pan of sun minced sun dried tomatoes

Stir to combine then add shaved Parmesan cheese.

Parmesan cheese being added to a large pan of tomato cream sauce

Add fresh chopped parsley.

Parsley and sun dried tomato cream sauce in a large white pan

Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.

A pan filled with creamy sun dried tomato sauce

Add cooked linguine to the pan.

Noodles being tossed in a pan of creamy sun dried tomato sauce

Use tongs to toss linguine in the sauce until well coated.

Garnish with sun dried tomato, fresh chopped parsley and shaved Parmesan cheese!

Overhead shot of a pan of sun dried tomato cream sauce linguine

You’ll Love This

  • 10 minutes?! 10 ingredients?! That’s reason enough to love this recipe! It’s quick and easy. The ingredient list is simple and straight forward. And your family is going to thank you for making this delicious meal with every linguine filled twirl of their fork! Okay…maybe that’s a stretch – but they are definitely going to like it!
  • It’s a great date night dinner. When my husband and I get a rare night at home alone, the last thing we want to make is something complicated! This recipe comes together quickly, but you can still enjoy your time in kitchen together. Open a bottle of wine, put on your favorite music and create a delicious meal with your partner!
  • The flavors are simple and subtle, yet extremely rich and luxurious. Sun dried tomatoes have WAY more flavor than raw tomatoes – kind of sweet, yet tart – and they also have a chewier texture. By mincing them in the food processor we are changing their texture and allowing them to combine well with the heavy cream and dried herbs. The cream is going to do a great job at balancing out the strong flavors of the sun dried tomatoes and give the sauce a very silky texture.
Close up shot of a fork twirling sun dried tomato cream sauce linguine

Tips

  • Buy the oil packed, julienne cut sun dried tomatoes. You might find bags of sun dried tomatoes at the grocery store, but keep looking until you find the oil packed ones that come in a jar! Sometimes they come with herbs mixed in and that’s great too! Julienne cut means they are already bite size so they’re the perfect size to garnish this dish without having to do any extra chopping. And that oil that they’re packed in is like liquid gold! Don’t throw it away! You’ll use some of it in this recipe, but it works really well in salad dressings also!
  • If you don’t have a food processor, you can still make this delicious dinner! Just finely mince the sun dried tomatoes and garlic and mix them up with a couple teaspoons of the sun dried tomato oil. The food processor is basically just doing the mincing in this recipe so it’s not completely necessary.
  • If you have picky eaters, pulse (or mince) the sun dried tomato and garlic for an extra minute or so in the food processor. You can also skip the garnishes on top so the pasta is just coated in the smooth and creamy sauce. Serving the sauce on the side is also a great way to let your kids try it before smothering all their noodles in it. My daughter will eat any plate of noodles that I put in front of her, regardless of the sauce, but she eats around the parsley and tomatoes every single time!
  • If you’ll be heating the sauce up later be sure to add a splash of stock or cream to loosen it up a bit. As it sits in the fridge it will thicken up considerably. I’d recommend heating it in a saute pan over medium heat and stirring in a splash of stock or cream as it heats.
Overhead shot of a pan of sun dried tomato cream sauce linguine

Serve With

  • Noodles, obviously. This tomato cream sauce goes best with your favorite pasta. Whether it’s long bucatini, cheese filled tortellini or short penne pasta, this sauce will coat every nook and cranny! But it’s not just for pasta!
  • Chicken! This is a delicious sauce to spoon over grilled chicken breast, chicken kebabs or even leftover rotisserie chicken! Serve with a green salad or your favorite veggie and you’ve got a satisfying lower carb dinner!
  • Salmon! This might seem like an odd choice, but I promise it’s not. It’s AMAZING. If you haven’t tried tomato cream sauce with fresh grilled salmon, you are missing out! Hint: I might have a salmon and tomato cream sauce recipe in the works RIGHT NOW…so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Try these pasta recipes next!

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Tomato Cream Sauce

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

10 ingredients + 10 minutes = the easiest tomato cream sauce you’ve ever made! It’s loaded with sun dried tomatoes, just the right amount of cream and salty shaved Parmesan.

  • Author: Kylie
  • Prep Time: 4 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Main Dish/Pasta
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: Italian/American

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 cup julienne cut, oil packed sun dried tomatoes
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons + 1 tablespoon oil from sun dried tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
  • Kosher salt
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • 16 oz. linguine, cooked according to package directions until al dente

Instructions

  1. Add sun dried tomatoes, garlic and 2 teaspoons of sun dried tomato oil to a food processor. Process until everything is well minced and combined. 
  2. Add 1 tablespoon sun dried tomato oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. 
  3. Add sun dried tomato and garlic mixture to the pan and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently.
  4.  Add oregano, thyme, sage and veggie stock to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5.  Simmer for 5 minutes. 
  6. Remove from heat and stir in cream and Parmesan until the cheese is melted. 
  7. Stir in chopped parsley. 
  8. Then add cooked linguine and toss to coat it evenly in the sauce. 
  9. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley and enjoy!

Notes

Buy the oil packed, julienne cut sun dried tomatoes. You might find bags of sun dried tomatoes at the grocery store, but keep looking until you find the oil packed ones that come in a jar! Sometimes they come with herbs mixed in and that’s great too! Julienne cut means they are already bite size so they’re the perfect size to garnish this dish without having to do any extra chopping. And that oil that they’re packed in is like liquid gold! Don’t throw it away! You’ll use some of it in this recipe, but it works really well in salad dressings also!

If you don’t have a food processor, you can still make this delicious dinner! Just finely mince the sun dried tomatoes and garlic and mix them up with a couple teaspoons of the sun dried tomato oil. The food processor is basically just doing the mincing in this recipe so it’s not completely necessary.

If you have picky eaters, pulse (or mince) the sun dried tomato and garlic for an extra minute or so in the food processor. You can also skip the garnishes on top so the pasta is just coated in the smooth and creamy sauce. Serving the sauce on the side is also a great way to let your kids try it before smothering all their noodles in it. My daughter will eat any plate of noodles that I put in front of her, regardless of the sauce, but she eats around the parsley and tomatoes every single time!

If you’ll be heating the sauce up later be sure to add a splash of stock or cream to loosen it up a bit. As it sits in the fridge it will thicken up considerably. I’d recommend heating it in a saute pan over medium heat and stirring in a splash of stock or cream as it heats.

This post was originally published in September of 2017. It was updated in June of 2019 to include process shots and tips for making the best tomato cream sauce every single time.

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