This roasted tomato pasta is the perfect 30minute pasta. Fancy enough for date night in, but quick and easy enough for even the busiest night of the week. Add in some grilled chicken or prawns or make it vegetarian. This pasta recipe is so easy and so adaptable. A new family classic!
Roasted Tomato Pasta
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Ingredients needed
Oven-roasted tomatoes- For this recipe, I've used the oven-roasted tomatoes that we made yesterday, but you can absolutely use a tin of chopped tomatoes for this creamy tomato sauce.
Single cream- You don't need much cream just enough to make the sauce rich and indulgent but still keep it healthy.
Spinach- The perfect pairing with tomatoes.
Onion & garlic- The foundation of any really good tomato sauce.
Smoked pancetta- Also completely optional. You can skip the pancetta if you want to keep the sauce vegetarian, but I think tomato and bacon is such a worthwhile classic combination. And it really helps bring out the sweetness in the tomatoes.
Step by step directions
Step 1 & 2
- If you're using the pancetta then heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat and add in some vegetable or olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add in the pancetta and cook until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crispy. *If you're keeping this sauce vegetarian, then just use some extra olive oil.
- Add in the onions and garlic and continue to cook until the pancetta is a deep golden and the onions and garlic are soft and fragrant. There's no need to drain the fat off the pancetta. It adds so much flavour. And don't worry about the fat. It's not much when it's throughout the whole sauce.
Step 3 & 4
- Add in 6 of the roasted tomatoes and let them simmer until they have broken down and have turned saucy. This should only take about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the single cream and some water until the sauce is your desired consistency. *We're looking for saucy, but still thick enough to cling to noodles.
Step 5 & 6
- Add in the spinach and stir it into the sauce until it wilts. Let it simmer for a second or two until the spinach is well coated in the sauce and everything is silky. Season with some salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss in the cooked pasta noodles. I prefer long noodles such as tagliatelle or spaghetti. But a short noodle like penne works well here too because the sauce clings into the ridges in the noodle.
Variations
If you want to make this dish vegetarian, then skip the pancetta and use some extra olive oil. Or you can add in some extra protein. Great choices are...
- Chicken
- Prawns
- Turkey meatballs
- Flaky white fish
Storage
You can make this as a sauce and keep it in the fridge without noodles for up to 4 days. Because of the cream in the sauce, it will thicken as it sits. When reheating it, add some water to get it back to the consistency that you love.
This sauce can also be frozen. Just skip the spinach in the initial cooking and add it in when you're reheating it to serve. Spinach does not do well when cooked and then frozen!
More Easy Pasta
Tools used
- Non-stick skillet
- Pasta pot
- Plastic storage containers
Roasted Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 (6) roasted tomato halves or 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 75 g (2 ⅔ oz) smoked pancetta
- 1 (1) onion, diced
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic
- 115 ml (3 ⅞ floz) single cream
- 115-200 ml (3 ⅞ floz) water
- 150 g (4 ¾ cups) spinach
- 300 g (2 ⅖ cups) cooked pasta
Instructions
- Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat and add in some vegetable or olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add in the pancetta and cook until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crispy. *To keep this pasta vegetarian see recipe notes
- Add in the onions and garlic and continue to cook until the pancetta is a deep golden and the onions and garlic are soft and fragrant. There's no need to drain the fat off the pancetta. It adds so much flavour. And don't worry about the fat. It's not much when it's throughout the whole sauce.
- Add in 6 of the roasted tomato halves and let them simmer until they have broken down and have turned saucy. This should only take about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the single cream and some water until the sauce is your desired consistency.
- Add in the spinach and stir it into the sauce until it wilts. Let it simmer for a second or two until the spinach is well coated in the sauce and everything is silky. Season with some salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss in the cooked pasta noodles. I prefer long noodles such as tagliatelle or spaghetti. But a short noodle like penne works well here too because the sauce clings into the ridges in the noodle.
Notes
- *If you're keeping this sauce vegetarian, then just use some extra olive oil.
- To serve this with prawns, add them into the sauce when you add in the spinach and let it simmer for a few minutes until prawns are cooked and the spinach is wilted.
Nutrition
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