Tomato-Cream Sauce is a ridiculously easy scratch made red sauce. All you need is a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese, a shallot, garlic, half and half and a few cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes. It's ready to serve in about 20 minutes. Spoon it over store-bought tortellini or ravioli and elevate the presentation of a quick meal.
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Ingredients to have on hand
- shallot
- garlic
- fire roasted, diced canned tomatoes
- parmesan cheese
- half and half
The Best Red Sauce
The secret to the flavor and texture with this red sauce is canned tomatoes, but not just any kind. Use fire roasted, canned tomatoes. The fire roasting adds so much rich flavor.
Fire roasted tomatoes are game changers when it comes to creating a delicious base for your red sauce.
Top Tips and FAQ
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.
Yes, San Marzano style canned tomatoes are a good substitute, they are naturally sweet and are a close substitute.
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.
More Ideas
Here are a few additional recipes that go great with tomato-cream sauce and a big plate of pasta:
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Recipe
Ramona says
This is the best tomato cream sauce I have ever made! It is so rich and the flavor is amazing. I would love to make this with lasagna. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thanks Ramona! Let me know how it goes with the lasagna. Yum. Be assured, this pasta sauce is perfectly delicious served on top of tortellini or ravioli. It's a great "go to" sauce even on a busy night. That's my favorite way to serve it.
Jeri says
This sauce was so easy to make and so full of flavor! I used it in my lasagna recipe and it was perfect! Thanks!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Great!!
Marcellina says
Tomato cream sauce is a fav in our house. This recipe using fire roasted canned tomatoes has just stepped this favorite up a notch!
nancy says
this tomato cream sauce is spot on! 100% turn out! my family loves it
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Great to hear! Thank you for letting me know Nancy. 🙂
Lindsay says
YUM! Made this to go with packaged gnocchi and loved how quick and easy it was! Thanks for a great recipe.
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this Lindsay!