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Home Quick and Easy

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

By Nagi Maehashi
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Published9 Nov '15 Updated28 Jun '25
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This is kind of like a sun dried tomato pesto pasta…but it’s creamy. 🙂 You will never, ever get a store bought sauce with this much sun dried tomato flavour in my Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta. Or simply by stirring through chopped sun dried tomato!

Oh – and only 400 calories a serving. And you know my portions aren’t teeny tiny!

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta served in bowl

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

I know this is a rather different way to make a sun dried tomato pasta, but bear with me – it works, it’s super simple and there is logic to my madness. And it’s darn tasty!

I’ve made sun dried tomato pasta before by just by stirring chopped up bits of sun dried tomato through a cream based sauce. Still lovely, don’t get me wrong! But I really wanted to try to increase the intensity of sun dried tomato flavour throughout all the sauce, rather than just getting little bursts of flavour.

So I decided to whizz up a sauce in the blender. When you take the lid off the blender, you’re hit with a waft of sun dried tomato fragrance and you just know this pasta is going to be delish!

Plus, by pureeing the sauce, the sun dried tomato thickens it and makes it richer too, which means you don’t actually need to use that much cream and you still get what tastes like rich, creamy sauce. I only use 1/4 cup of cream in this, mixed with milk, and no thickener. But look how thick the sauce is!

Photo sequence showing steps for making Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Sometimes I roast up veggies and toss them through the pasta. But I happened to have some big bunches of English spinach I got on sale for just $0.99 each. So I chopped it up, gave it a good rinse, shook it dry then stirred it right into the pasta.

If you want to add protein into this, chicken is lovely and I certainly wouldn’t say no to bacon either. 🙂

Closeup of Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Some fresh basil is a perfect pairing to add a touch of freshness to an otherwise rather creamy sauce. Whizzing it up in the sauce really brings out the delicate smell of the basil that mingles with the sun dried tomato. Sorry, I know I keep talking about the smell but it’s the best part of cooking this – the moment when you lift the lid off the blender and get the first waft, and you just know you’re in for a real treat!

I don’t know how else to describe this other than to say it’s like a pesto, but it’s creamy and a lot less oily because unlike pesto, this is not whizzed up using oil, the base is milk with a bit of cream.

I like to serve this Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta hot like other creamy pastas but people I’ve given leftovers of this to said that it’s just as nice at room temperature. 🙂

If you’re in the mood for a carb blow out, add Better-Than-Dominos Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread!  – Nagi x


More ways to get your creamy pasta fix!

  • Fettucine Alfredo

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  • One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta

  • Ultra Lazy Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake

  • Seafood Gratin Pasta Bake

  • Baked Mac and Cheese – and try the Shrimp version!

  • Browse all pasta recipes

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta in a bowl

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Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta - it's like a creamy pesto, bursting with sun dried tomato and basil flavours!

Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
Pasta
4.94 from 32 votes
Servings4
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This is like sun dried tomato pesto, but it’s creamy and the flavour of the sun dried tomatoes and basil is a lot more intense! I like to serve it hot, like other creamy pastas I make, but people I’ve given leftovers to tell me that they like it at room temperature too. This version has spinach tossed through it but it’s also lovely with chicken, shrimp/prawns, roasted vegetables and even bacon!

Ingredients

Creamy Sauce

  • 3/4 cup (tightly packed) sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (Note 1) + more for garnish
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves , lightly packed
  • 1/4 cup yoghurt or sour cream (optional) (Note 2)
  • 1/4 cup cream (Note 3)
  • 1 3/4 cups milk (I use low fat)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste (optional) (Note 4)
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Pepper

Pasta

  • 300 g pasta of choice (I like penne/ziti)
  • 1 tbsp oil from sun dried tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 1 small onion , finely diced (brown, white or yellow)
  • 4 cups (tightly packed) finely shredded fresh English spinach

To Serve (optional)

  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh basil , finely shredded
Prevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

  • Place the Creamy Sauce ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust salt to your taste.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds, then add onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until translucent and cooked through.
  • Meanwhile, cook your pasta of choice in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente (just cooked through but still firm). SCOOP out 1 mug of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
  • Add the pasta into the skillet, then pour the Creamy Sauce in, all the spinach and about 1/2 cup of the pasta water (Note 5). Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce and to wilt the spinach. Cook, stirring gently, for about 2 minutes until the sauce is warmed through. Adjust salt to taste.
  • Use the remaining pasta water to get the sauce to the consistency you want.
  • Remove from the stove and serve immediately, with more parmesan cheese and basil if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. You can use sun dried tomatoes that come in oil, or even the ones that do not come in oil. Shake off excess oil if you are using the sun dried tomatoes that come in oil.
2. The yoghurt/sour cream cuts through the richness a bit and is also a thickener. Without it, I find that the sauce is a wee bit too creamy. But this is optional. If you don’t have yoghurt or sour cream on hand, a squeeze of lemon juice would suffice but to keep the balance of creaminess in the sauce, I would add more cream.
3. If you want to indulge, feel free to increase the amount of cream in this and decrease the amount of milk by the same amount.
4. The tomato paste is mainly for colour. It is a bit of a thickener as well, but it’s not critical. So feel free to omit it if you want.
5. The starchy water that the pasta was cooked in reacts with the oil in the Creamy Sauce when cooked over heat to magically transform into a glossy, silky sauce that clings to the pasta. This magic process is called emulsification and it’s the secret to how Italians make simple pastas taste so gourmet!
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming this serves 4.
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 289gCalories: 400cal (20%)Carbohydrates: 57.1g (19%)Protein: 17.9g (36%)Fat: 11.9g (18%)Saturated Fat: 3.5g (22%)Cholesterol: 69mg (23%)Sodium: 526mg (23%)Potassium: 907mg (26%)Fiber: 2.5g (10%)Sugar: 8.3g (9%)Vitamin A: 3650IU (73%)Vitamin C: 44.6mg (54%)Calcium: 290mg (29%)Iron: 4.1mg (23%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
Photo sequence showing steps for making Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Penne

 

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110 Comments

  1. Dorothy Dunton says

    November 10, 2015 at 3:31 am

    Hi Nagi! I’m making your chicken with creamy sun dried tomato sauce for dinner tonight!! I will certainly be trying this soon! Happily, “someone” turned me onto sun dried tomatoes! 🙂 Are you tired of Mexican food yet? HaHa!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      November 11, 2015 at 12:50 am

      How can one get sick of Mexcian food? 😉 I was so sad saying good bye to tacos, but so excited to be here in LA!! Ooh, I have a big soft spot for the chicken. I hope you enjoy it! N x

      Reply
  2. Rochelle Mortensen says

    November 10, 2015 at 3:24 am

    Can’t wait to try this! Love sun dried tomatoes but my family doesn’t like the texture, so this is perfect. I may have to try adding a little spicy Italian sausage I have on hand… Thank you Nagi! We love your recipes in Dallas!

    Reply
  3. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says

    November 10, 2015 at 3:24 am

    Nagi, I’ve never blended up sundried tomatoes – what a great idea – I can imagine how good this smelt when you popped that blender lid off! I tend to make dairy free options as I am lactose intolerant – but I bet, even with cashew cream and coconut milk (instead of cream and milk) this would be one heck of a tasty sauce!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      November 11, 2015 at 12:49 am

      Gosh, this would be beautiful with cashew cream – can you imagine? Actually, even with soy milk instead of dairy would work wonderfully! Certainly can’t taste the milk – it’s all about the sun dried tomato!

      Reply
  4. Marisa Franca @ All Our Wayc says

    November 10, 2015 at 3:15 am

    5 stars
    What a wonderful recipe — I could grab that plate and run with it. In fact, I want a set of those dishes 🙂 They scream settle back and enjoy — this is NO formal meal. If you want to dribble sauce down your chin it’s okay. I think I’d better gear up for dumpster diving!! Or perhaps I’ll try Goodwill first. I will make the sauce once I get some informal dinnerware! Great job on the recipe and photo. I like your story!!

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      November 11, 2015 at 12:48 am

      Thank you Marisa!! I did wonder whether this was a bit odd for most, I’m glad you don’t disapprove! N x

      Reply
  5. Susan says

    November 10, 2015 at 2:49 am

    Guess who never makes creamy pasta sauce? Has never made creamy pasta sauce? This does sound delicious. Just might try it when I get in the mood for a tomato sauce (don’t do that real often).

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      November 11, 2015 at 12:47 am

      I very rarely make creamy sauces 🙂 Very indulgent! This is kinda a compromise because it’s creamy but not actually rich creamy, if that makes sense? Also, not tomatoey in the traditional sense, it’s sun-dried tomatoey!! N x

      Reply
  6. The Hungry Mum says

    November 9, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    to be honest I am not usually a fan of sun-dried tomato but I do like the flavour – if that makes sense! I think it is a texture thing. This would be the perfect sauce for me as it would pack a punch without the texture! Am such a sook 😉

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      November 10, 2015 at 12:11 am

      No – I get it, I get it! I find that sometimes they are really tough and chewy which is so disappointing 🙂

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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