Creamy Rotini Pasta
This 5-ingredient sauce is velvety, rich, and laced with onion, garlic, basil, parmesan, and pine nuts. It’s satiny and coats every twisty turn of the pasta. How can a 5-ingredient sauce deliver so much? You can thank the pesto for that.
Basil pesto is a quick cook’s best friend. There’s so much flavor in one, store-bought ingredient – fresh basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Different brands vary, but that’s the bottom line; and having a jar or container of pesto in your fridge or pantry means you can always catapult dinner in a flash.
Here’s how to make this creamy rotini pasta
- Cook the pasta.
- While the pasta cooks, make the sauce – sauté onion in a little butter.
- Add tomato sauce (yes, like the canned kind), and basil pesto (yes, the store-bought kind) and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat and fold in some cream or half-and-half (you can make this healthy – read below).
- Fold in the pasta.
- Top with parmesan cheese and serve.
I bet you will make this 100 times. I know I will.
Can you switch up the pasta? Indeed! any pasta works! I felt like rotini/spiral pasta for this dish so the sauce with hit every inch of the tender corkscrews. You can use any shape you want, including spaghetti, linguine, penne, shells, rigatoni, and more.
Let’s talk a little more about the pesto. Basil pesto is amazing blend of basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and garlic. You can find pesto in two different places in the grocery store – shelf-stable and refrigerated. The shelf-stable variety is typically found near the other Italian ingredients. Refrigerated pesto is often near the refrigerated ravioli. I’ve used both, and I adore both.
Is this creamy rotini pasta healthy? Yes! We need just 1/2 cup of cream, and you can substitute half-and-half for the cream to slash some fat and calories. I’m pretty sure you can also use whole milk (I didn’t try it this time, but I have before and it works). One caveat — when using half-and-half and/or milk, make sure the sauce is over low heat when you add it so the mixture doesn’t curdle.
Creamy Rotini Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound spiral pasta, rotini, or pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup minced white or yellow onion
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving, optional
- Grated parmesan cheese for serving
Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan or high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft.
- Add the tomato sauce and pesto and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream. Fold in the pasta and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Top with parsley (if using) and serve with parmesan cheese on the side.