Easy tomato cream rigatoni
Need easy dinner inspiration for tonight? This easy but totally delicious tomato cream rigatoni recipe is weeknight dinner perfection.
Ingredients
- Rigatoni pasta.
- Olive oil.
- Butter.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Chopped tomatoes.
- Cream. Coconut milk or cashew cream can be used as a vegan substitute.
- Sugar.
- Salt and pepper. Red pepper flakes/chilli flakes are a great addition if you want some heat.
- Basil.
- Parmesan cheese. Use a vegetarian alternative, if preferred.
What can I add to this rigatoni recipe?
If you want to add a protein, cooked chicken, cooked ground beef, Italian seafood, shrimp (prawns) or bacon would all be fantastic. You can also add wilted spinach, kale or cooked mushrooms to add more vegetables.
How to make tomato cream rigatoni
Melt the butter and olive oil together in a medium pot/Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften then pour in the tomatoes and a splash of water. Season to taste then reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes. Pour in the cream then blend with an immersion blender until smooth (this step is optional). Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil then cook pasta until al dente then drain and toss with the tomato sauce. Reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water and add a few tablespoons to the pasta while tossing with the sauce. Serve in bowls, grate over Parmesan cheese and garnish with fresh basil.
Serving suggestion
Easy tomato pasta recipes:
- Spicy tomato bacon pasta
- Easy cheese and tomato pasta bake
- Baked gnocchi with bacon, tomatoes and mozzarella
- Cheese and tomato baked ravioli
Easy tomato cream rigatoni
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 x 400g 14oz can chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- pinch of sugar optional
- ½ cup whipping/heavy cream
- salt & pepper to taste
- 500 g 1lb rigatoni, cooked (reserve 1 cup of cooking water)
- Parmesan and basil to serve
Instructions
- Melt together the olive oil and butter and saute the onions until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds before adding the chopped tomatoes.
- Pour ½ cup water into the tomato can and pour into the pot.
- Season with sugar, salt and pepper then allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the cream and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes before blending until smooth (optional).
- Add the cooked rigatoni to the pasta sauce and stir to coat. Add some of the reserved cooking water to thin out the sauce and make it even silkier.
- Serve topped with grated Parmesan and fresh basil leaves.
Hello, your recipe sounds delicious! Can this be made a day ahead of time. How would you reheat it?
Yes it can. Make the sauce the day ahead. Reheat the sauce on the stovetop with a splash of water then add cooked pasta. If you want to cook the pasta the day ahead too, I would keep the pasta and sauce separate then reheat together in a large saucepan with a splash of water.
I found the sauce to be a bit thin ?
Other than that I loved the flavour
Allow the sauce to simmer down a little more if the consistency is too thin.