Tomato Cream Sauce

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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!

How to make sun dried tomato cream sauce:

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

Pulse until everything is well minced and combined.

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.

Add oregano, thyme and sage to the pan.

Then add veggie stock. Simmer for a few minutes.

Then add a quick splash of heavy cream.

Stir to combine then add shaved Parmesan cheese.

Add fresh chopped parsley.

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

Add cooked linguine to the pan.

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

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

Why you’re going to love this recipe:

• 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.

Tips for making the best tomato cream sauce:

• 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.

What you should serve with sun dried tomato cream sauce:

• 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!

Other family style pasta recipes you’re going to love:

• One Pot Mac and Cheese
• One Pot Sausage & Tomato Rigatoni
• Lemon, Garlic & Asparagus One Pot Pasta
• One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff
• Smoked Gouda & Tomato One Pot Pasta

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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.