Creamy Tomato Pasta
Rich, comforting and quick
You'll Need
- 300g pasta
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp olive oil or butter
- 400g passata or leftover pasta sauce
- 100g cream cheese or crème fraîche
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- Salt & black pepper
Optional Extras
SpinachMushroomsBacon lardonsParmesanFresh basil
Make It Your Own
No cream cheese? A splash of milk stirred into the tomato sauce works too.
Serve With
Garlic bread and cherry tomatoes with cucumber
Let's Cook
- Cook pasta to packet instructions.
- Gently soften the garlic in the oil or butter for 1 minute — don't let it brown, or it turns bitter.
- Add the passata and herbs, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream cheese until smooth, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix through the pasta and serve, with a scattering of fresh basil and black pepper if you have it.
🎯 Family Challenge: Can everyone guess what makes the sauce so creamy?
Little Helpers
3–5: Stir in the cream cheese.
6–9: Measure the pasta.
10+: Help with the sauce, supervised.
Top Tips
💙 Wilt in a handful of spinach for extra veg.💰 One of the quickest and cheapest meals in the book.♻️ Great way to use up half a tub of cream cheese.
Healthy Highlights
- Tomato = vitamin C
- Quick and filling
- Easy to add extra veg