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    Home » Recipes

    Pink Sauce Pasta

    Published: Jun 1, 2022 · Modified: Jan 8, 2023 by Marni Katz · This post may contain affiliate links

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    This simple pink sauce pasta is a super alternative to red sauce from a jar. It's beautiful pink color is sure to satisfy your pickiest eater. Served with a green veggie, garlic bread or a simple salad, it's the perfect busy weeknight dinner!

    pink sauce pasta on a plate with salad and broccoli

    What's so great about this recipe?

    While you can buy rose pasta sauce in a jar at Trader Joes, this pink sauce recipe is homemade, made from simple ingredients and super easy to put together in just a few minutes. This recipe is one of my kiddos favorite things to eat!

    Another bonus of this recipe is that by making the sauce yourself, you are cutting out some of the sugar that can hide in jarred marinara sauce (which normally doesn’t bother me, but it’s nice to do once in a while).

    And the best part is that you are making a creamy tomato sauce (that's pink) in minutes at home with just a handful of ingredients!

    “This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link.”

    Ingredients

    • Tomato Paste: You can find it in either a can or a squeeze tube. I highly recommend the tube so you can reseal it easily and use the rest another time.
    • Tomato Sauce: You are looking for the regular tomato sauce in a can here, not tomato puree or pizza sauce
    • Dairy: Use heavy cream, or lighten things up with 2% milk or even a plant based milk
    • Penne Pasta: This is my preferred pasta shape but if you only have rigatoni or mostaccioli on hand, those will work too
    • Garlic: I like to use frozen garlic cubes in place of fresh garlic cloves, but you can use either. Just be sure to crush your garlic well before adding to the recipe

    Step by Step Directions for Pink Pasta Sauce

    Start by boiling water for the pasta in a large pot on the stove. Once it comes to a boil, generously salt the water and then cook the pasta according to the package directions.

    While the pasta cooks, you’ll want to make the pink sauce. Start by adding the tomato paste and garlic to a saute pan with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the tomato paste with the garlic for a minute or two.

    <span style='background-color:none;'>tomato paste</span><span style='background-color:none;'> </span>and garlic cube in a pan

    Then add the two cans of tomato sauce. Let that cook for 2-3 minutes while you stir the tomato paste and garlic mixture into it, before adding the heavy cream to the pan.  

    heavy cream swirled into a pasta sauce in a pan

    Bring the mixture to a low boil and then turn off the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until full melted into the sauce, then return the pan to the stove. Add salt to taste. Return the pan to the stove over low heat, add in the butter and let melt, then stir until fully incorporated into a creamy sauce.  

    Now you can either add the cooked pasta into the sauce and toss it all together or serve the pink sauce and pasta separately for people to serve themselves. If you plan on mixing the sauce and pasta together before serving, be sure to leave your pasta al dente so it doesn't get mushy as it soaks up the sauce.

    penne pasta in a measuring cup

    FAQ's

    Can I make pink sauce pasta in one pot?

    I have a few one pot pastas that I turn to time and time again and I thought about making this a one pot pasta dish as well.  However, I don't suggest it. This sauce is quite versatile and can go on so many different pasta types and they don’t all hold up to the one pot method.

    You can make it work thought if you really want by adding more liquid to the sauce so that the pasta has something to absorb. I would add either an additional 15 oz can of tomato sauce or an additional 1 cup of milk.

    Check out these posts (here and here) on how I make one pot pasta for other tips and tricks to make it work.

    What kind of pasta is best to use in this pink sauce pasta recipe?

    While you can always use whatever pasta shape you have in your pantry (we have no fewer than 7 shapes of pasta in our pantry at all times), I highly suggest a tubular pasta in this recipe. There is something about the inside of the tube being able to hold lots of delicious sauce that just works really well. The following pasta shapes are my favorites for this recipe:
    u003e Penne Rigate
    u003e Rigatoni
    u003e Gemelli
    u003e Bucatini
    u003e Elbow Macaroni (large size)

    Can you substitute something in place of the heavy cream?

    Yes! You can easily substitute the heavy cream in this recipe. In place of heavy cream, try using whole milk, 2% milk or even a plant based milk (coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc).

    How to store leftover pink sauce

    If you think you are going to have leftover sauce, I would store it in an airtight container, separately from the cooked pasta. You can then refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze it and then simply defrost it in a pot on the stove when you are ready to use it.

    One more simple tip

    Want to add a little something extra to the pink sauce? Try adding fresh spinach, roasted broccoli or frozen peas for a pop of green and some extra nutrients. Looking to make a spicy pasta? Try adding red pepper flakes at the end. You can even garnish this dish with fresh basil to make it extra fancy 🙂

    pink sauce pasta plated for dinner

    Looking for other simple pasta recipes? Check these out!

    • one pan fettuccine alfredo
    • pasta pangratatto
    • one pan tomato basil pasta
    pink sauce pasta in a bowl

    Pink Sauce Pasta

    Marni Katz
    Pink sauce pasta is the perfect way to get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.
    4.60 from 5 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Dinner
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories 358 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 16 oz dried penne pasta
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 1 teaspoon grated garlic or one frozen garlic cube
    • 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
    • 1 cup heavy cream (or alternative milk)
    • ½ teaspoon sugar
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more for topping if desired)
    • 1 tablespoon butter

    Instructions
     

    • bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta as the directions state on the package
    • to a large straight sided saute pan, add the tomato paste and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat
    • add the tomato sauce and stir for another 2-3 minutes
    • add the sugar and mix in
    • add the heavy cream and stir together, let come just to a boil
    • add the salt, then take off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese
    • return to the stove over low heat and add the butter, stirring until melted
    • once melted, turn off the heat and serve over the pasta!

    Notes

    I suggest using penne pasta, but you can also use any other tubular pasta.  Stay away from flat pastas like farfalle or tiny pastas like elbows, because the pasta sauce will just fall off.
    If you want to make this sauce in advance, you can.  Store just the sauce in a glass jar, then warm through when ready to serve.  I don't suggest mixing the pasta and the sauce until you are ready to serve.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 358kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 10gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 568mgPotassium: 389mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 830IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 75mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword easy pasta recipe, easy weeknight dinner, homemade pasta sauce, pink sauce
    Tried this recipe?Let me know what you think!
    pin for pinterest

    Want to make these now?  Are you missing some ingredients? Amazon Now can get them to you in a few hours,  Instacart can get them to you today.  Or add them to your Peapod grocery list and don't be stuck without them again!  

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    About Marni Katz

    Marni Katz is the recipe developer, photographer and writer behind Simple Gray T-Shirt. She wants to help people keep things simple in the kitchen. With simple recipes, easy menu ideas and plenty of tips and tricks along the way, she wants getting a meal on the table to be as simple as putting on your favorite gray tee!
    "I want to inspire you to get back in the kitchen and do this, because you can!"

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. CJ Gaudette

      September 18, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      Oh this sauce was so good! I added chicken to the recipe, by adding olive oil and cooking chicken breast strips and seasoned them with Italian seasoning. Then I deglazed the pan with a half cup of red wine before continuing with the recipe. When the sauce was done I cut up the chicken and added back into the sauce and then added cooked rigatoni. It was absolutely scrumptious! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Marni Katz

        September 21, 2020 at 10:17 am

        I'm so glad you liked it AND added what worked for your family! I love when people adapt simple recipes to work even better for them!

        Reply
    2. Hossain hridoy

      July 24, 2020 at 7:15 pm

      Wow good recepi

      Reply

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