One-Pot Creamy Tomato Pasta with Basil
Pasta cooked straight in the tomato sauce, so the starch does the thickening and there's no pot of water to boil separately.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Written
Method
-
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
-
Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
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Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
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Stir in the crushed tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer.
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Add the pasta, pushing it down until mostly submerged, and cover partially.
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Cook, stirring every few minutes to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes.
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Stir in the cream and Parmesan until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the noodles.
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Season with salt and pepper, then scatter with basil and more Parmesan before serving.
Notes
The pasta starch is the whole trick here — it’s what turns a simmered can of tomatoes into a sauce thick enough to coat the noodles, no roux or reduction required. Stir more often than feels necessary toward the end, since that’s when it wants to catch on the bottom.
Swap the cream for a spoonful of mascarpone if that’s what’s on hand, and stir in a couple of handfuls of spinach with the tomatoes if you want a vegetable in the pot too.