This penne pasta rosa, or pink pasta, is a quick and easy dinner recipe featuring a cheesy, creamy tomato sauce and sun-dried tomatoes!
This pink pasta dish is such an easy recipe, yet so creamy and delicious! The secret is the rosa sauce, sometimes called "rose sauce" or "pink sauce." This sauce is often made using cream along with marinara sauce or tomato paste, but I say fresh is always better, so we're making it from scratch!
My favorite thing about this creamy pink sauce pasta is the cheese! I like to experiment with different red wine-infused cheeses and even used a raspberry ale-infused cheese once. If that's not your thing, asiago, parmesan, and mozzarella all work well to really enhance the flavor of this creamy rosa sauce.
You can make pasta rosa with any pasta you prefer. I used penne pasta, but angel hair, spaghetti, fettuccini, ravioli, or your favorite homemade pasta will work just as well!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes!
- My pink pasta recipe is vegetarian, but you can add protein such as chicken or shrimp.
- This pink sauce pasta recipe can easily be made with gluten-free pasta if desired.
- Anyone can make this incredibly easy pasta dish!
- It's an excellent dish for Valentine’s Day, date night, or a regular night with family or friends.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pasta: I recommend penne, but you can use spaghetti, ravioli, or any pasta you prefer.
- Tomatoes: Roma, or any variety you prefer.
- Heavy whipping cream: This recipe calls for heavy cream but you can substitute half & half instead.
- Shallot: You can also use half an onion if you prefer.
- Garlic: Fresh is always best, but minced will work as well.
- Dried Oregano: Choose from oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning.
- Fresh parsley: Fresh basil works great too!
- Sundried tomatoes: You can omit these or substitute them with spinach, mushrooms, or your favorite veggies.
- Asiago cheese: Parmesan cheese or even mozzarella cheese are just as good!
*See recipe card for full list of ingredients
🍝 How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Heat oil in a large pot or large skillet, then add the tomatoes, sliced in half (and peeled, if you prefer). Cover and cook on low heat for about 5-10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to collapse.
Pro Tip: If you'd rather blanch the tomatoes to make peeling them easier, check out this post on how to peel tomatoes!
Step 2: Once the tomatoes are soft enough to give under pressure, sprinkle them with sugar and add chopped shallot and garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Step 3: Add heavy cream, salt, cayenne, and oregano, then stir and let it simmer over low heat.
Step 4: Meanwhile, boil the pasta over high heat according to package instructions until they are al dente or your desired consistency. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
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Step 5: Add ½ cup of the pasta water to the pasta sauce, then use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender you can pour the sauce into a regular blender.
Step 6: Once sauce is smooth, add the cooked pasta, along with fresh parsley and asiago cheese, then give it a good stir.
Step 7: Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes to complete your pasta rosa! Top with additional shredded cheese and parsley before serving, if desired!
Looking for other pasta recipes? Be sure to check out this delicious Penne Pasta Bake!
🥗 Serving Suggestions
Serve this delicious pink pasta with this yummy cream cheese garlic bread. For lighter salad options, choose from any of the following: Middle Eastern salad, Lebanese fattoush salad, or a healthy broccoli salad.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
While these two sauces are very similar, rosa sauce is not made with vodka.
Pink sauce gets its color from the combination of tomatoes and cream. It usually also includes parmesan cheese and seasonings such as oregano and parsley.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a food processor or Ninja blender. Make sure the sauce is not too hot when you blend it because it will splatter when you unscrew the blade from the cup.
- For a dish with a spicier flavor, chop up a fresh serrano pepper and add it to the pasta or sprinkle with crushed red pepper.
- If you want to add some protein to your pink pasta, consider adding chicken or shrimp scampi.
- This sauce would also be great over homemade potato pasta (gnocchi).
🍅 More Pasta Recipes
If you're looking for other pasta recipes ideas, you may first want to try your hand at makeing homemade pasta from scratch! Once you've mastered that, try this buffalo chicken pasta bake and this super simple bucatini cacio e pepe!
🍽 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Easy Pink Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1¼ lbs Roma tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 2 oz shallot
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups penne pasta (uncooked)
- ½ cup shredded asiago cheese
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot or large skillet, then add the tomatoes, sliced in half (and peeled, if you prefer). Cover and cook on low heat for about 5-10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to collapse.
- Once the tomatoes are soft enough to give under pressure, sprinkle them with sugar and add chopped shallot and garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes.
- Add heavy cream, salt, cayenne, and oregano, then stir and simmer over low heat.
- Meanwhile, boil the pasta over high heat according to package instructions until they are al dente or your desired consistency. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
- Add ½ cup of the pasta water to the pasta sauce, then use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender you can pour the sauce into a regular blender.
- Once sauce is smooth, add the cooked pasta, along with fresh parsley and asiago cheese, then give it a good stir.
- Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes to complete your pasta rosa! Top with additional shredded cheese and parsley before serving, if desired!
Notes
- If you'd rather blanch the tomatoes to make peeling them easier, check out this post on how to peel tomatoes!
- If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a food processor or Ninja blender. Make sure the sauce is not too hot when you blend it because it will splatter when you unscrew the blade from the cup.
- For a dish with a spicier flavor, chop up a fresh serrano pepper and add it to the pasta.
- If you want to add some protein to your pink pasta, consider adding chicken or shrimp scampi.
Pat L says
Thanks Hilda and Nena! Another great recipe that turned out amazing!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks Pat! We're so glad to hear you enjoyed it!