Tomato-Cream Sauce

Name: Tomato-Cream Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 shallot (sliced and diced); 4 cloves garlic (crushed); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 3, 14.5 ounce cans (fire roasted, diced tomatoes); 2 teaspoons salt; pepper (to taste); 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup half and half

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Tomato-Cream Sauce is a made from scratch red sauce easy enough to whip up any time, even on a work night. It's seasoned just right, even though you won't need to re-stock your spice rack to make it. Spoon it over store-bought tortellini or ravioli and elevate the presentation of a quick meal.

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Tomato-cream sauce on top of plain and spinach tortellini. — This red sauce is scrumptious on tortellini. Just add a little sprinkle of fresh parmesan and you are good to go.

The Best Red Sauce

The secret to the flavor and texture with this red sauce is canned tomatoes, but not just any kind. You must use fire roasted, canned tomatoes. The fire roasting adds so much rich flavor. If you haven't tried this type of canned tomatoes yet, give 'em a go. They are game changers when it comes to creating a delicous base for your red sauce.

Shallots and garlic in a pan on the stove, simmering in olive oil. — The smell of garlic and shallots in olive oil, this is what kick starts your red sauce and creates a beautiful base for the flavor.

Can I use an onion instead of a shallot?

Yes! Although onions have a slightly more robust taste than shallots, they come pretty close. And the texture is very similar. I recommend using a small yellow onion if you don't have a shallot on hand. Shallots are a bit more mild than onions, so you may notice a slight difference in how the sauce tastes. For the best results, dice the onion into very, very small pieces, just as you would if you were dicing a shallot.

Tomato-cream sauce in a pan on the stove with a wooden spoon. — Once the sauce is blended, it just needs to simmer for a few minutes. That's it! You're done.

My family loves this red sauce and I have a feeling this will become your go-to "marinara" for spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna or any pasta dish that needs a red sauce. It's light on the cream, but big on flavor.

How to Blend the Ingredients

If you don't have an immersion blender yet, this recipe for Tomato-Cream Sauce is a good prompt to get one. You just might be surprised by how often you use it. It's so handy. I went for years without one and I don't know how I got by without it in my kitchen.