Tomato and Cream Cheese Pasta
Quick and easy pasta sauce which is deliciously creamy and luxurious. Ready in about 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 225 gms pasta ( I used spaghetti)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves chopped
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes (skip if making for kids)
- 1 cup Tomato passata/ Tomato puree/ Crushed tomato
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ cup cream cheese ( I used philadelphia)
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 10-12 Fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup grated cheddar
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. ( Cook according to package instructions) . Scoop out 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Keep side the drained pasta and the pasta water for later use.
- While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Add garlic, let it sizzle and cook until fragrant.
- Add tomato passata, salt, black pepper, chilli flakes , Italian seasoning and dried basil. Give it a stir and cook on low-medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Add cream cheese, cheddar and 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water. (You can add more pasta water later if the sauce is too thick) . Stir until well combined.
- Add drained pasta and toss gently to combine. Add more pasta water if required.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Turn off the heat and serve immediately garnished with fresh basil leaves, grated cheese, extra chilli flakes and black pepper.
- Enjoy!