Tuscan Pasta Sauce {Quick 20-Minute Dinner}

By lindaauman

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces
• 8-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 2 cups milk
• 6 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste, if needed
• Diced fresh tomatoes, fresh basil for topping (optional)

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from melskitchencafe.com

Preparation

Step 1

Raise your hand if being able to make dinner in 20 minutes fills your heart with joy? Now that the weather is {finally} warming up and we are spending more time outside remembering what fresh air feels like, dinner prep is being cut to a minimum. I love my kids. I want to serve them dinner. But generally, I refuse to be stuck inside slaving over dinner while they are outside romping freely. Granted, I’m usually planted on the porch steps holding the little one and not even coming close to romping, but I still don’t want to be inside cooking, especially since in my neck of the woods, a raging blizzard of snow and ice could still appear any minute and we have to take advantage of the warmth (i.e. above 35 degrees). Enter the season of

Considering the fact that my children weep-in-a-good-way when I make our go-to

, I decided it was high time to change it up with a little variation or two. Tuscan pasta sauce it is! Which is basically a fancy and probably non-authentic way to say basil and sun-dried tomatoes have been thrown in.

This is delicious as is, but toss a few chopped, fresh tomatoes on top and a bit of fresh basil and it is pure pasta heaven. If you are looking for more of a complete meal, we’ve added cooked chicken and it is as good or better than any sun-dried tomato sauce dish I’ve ordered at a restaurant. Admittedly that’s been a while since I live in the land-of-no-restaurants (unless you consider Subway and Pizza Ranch fine dining), but basically what I’m saying is, this pasta sauce is really delicious. And the fact that it is made from scratch and comes together in 20-minutes is like huge bonus of the year.

This would be delicious with grilled or cooked chicken thrown into the mix. Also, you can use lowfat cream cheese and lowfat milk; the sauce is more creamy and smooth the higher fat content you go but I usually stick with 1% milk and less fat cream cheese and we love it. If you have fresh basil, scrap the dried basil and add in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil at the end of cooking (or do a combination of dried and fresh for maximum basil flavor). To maximize how quickly this meal comes together, start the noodles cooking at the same time you start the sauce.

Directions

In a medium pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Stir in the dried basil. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.

Over medium heat, add the milk gradually, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency, 5-10 minutes. Serve over hot, cooked noodles.

This sounds so yummy! I’d love to try to make it tonight. I do have one question, on the Parmesan cheese. When you say grated, is that the kind that is in the green container by Kraft?

Christine, if you have a Costco or similar near you it’s a great place to buy Parmigiano Reggiano (super authentic, out of this world taste, Parmesan cheese) in wedges. I usually grate the whole thing at once, then put the cheese in a zip bag in the freezer and take out what I need.

I think I must make this tonight! Thank you!

Mel, this looks so mouthwatering! Funny you posted this. I added cream cheese to my usual pasta sauce recipe recently, and it took it to a WHOLE other level! So amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for this recipe! I made it today and added braised, shredded short ribs. So tastey!!!!!!

Keeper! I think I like this even more than the pure Alfredo version, and I make that a lot. This was delicious and came together so quickly. I think it would be a nice side for a more-than-20-minute-dinner night with your lemon garlic chicken and some green beans. I’ll just have to make sure to always have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes on hand now . . .

Made this last night. Tossed in some grilled chicken and it was so yummy. Maybe I haven’t eaten out in a while but I thought this sauce was better than anything I have eaten in a restaurant in quite some time! Husband and BIL agreed! Fast and easy to whip up. My kids didn’t make a peep while eating and asked for seconds.

This looks good and easy to make. My only concern is the cream cheese. The cream cheese has to take this meal off the healthy chart big time!!

Winner! And ready to go so very quickly! Thanks Mel – this is a fabulous addition to my weeknight dinners.

Loved this! Another easy, delicious dinner thanks to you! I added some grilled chicken for my “there has to be meat for it to be a meal” husband. Divine! I’m eating the leftovers right now as a matter of fact! You rock as always!

Shannon – I haven’t made that substitution and so I can’t attest for the results. It will likely change the consistency of the sauce (make it much thinner) so you’ll have to experiment and see. I highly recommend using the cream cheese if you can.

I made this last night. It is one of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth. The cream cheese makes it amazing. I added some bacon bits to my sauce and used some petite diced tomatoes instead of sun dried.

Made this dish and it was a success. I added mushroom and broccoli with it and all I can say is YUMMY TO MY TUMMY! Thank you Mel for this A——MAZING recipe. It sure is a keeper in this mama’s kitchen

I have made this twice now and my family loves it! Mine has turned out really, really thick both times. I followed the recipe exactly except for using Neufchatel cheese. I did add grilled chicken at the end as well. I watched the cooking time very closely to make sure that wasn’t the problem with the thickness. It was still delicious, but in your picture it looks much thinner, which I would prefer. What would you suggest to thin it? Less parmesan? More milk?

Hi Andrea – I think if you added just a touch more milk to thin it out at the end, it should work just fine.

Absolutely delicious! Next time I would add sauté chicken pieces & no salt because I think the cheese adds enough salt. Taste the dish before you put it in. Also, I added steamed broccoli to the menu & it was so good mixed in with the pasta.

Heather B.

Heather – usually you can rehydrate the dried tomatoes in hot water (submerge them in hot water for 10-15 minutes). Drain and then chop – then use them in the recipe. Good luck!

This was so good! I used 2% milk and low fat cream cheese and it was still very creamy and delicious. I added Italian sausage right before serving the sauce and it was a great addition, it was so yummy! Thanks for a great pasta sauce!

This sauce is so beautiful! Just made it (subbed cream for half the milk and used roasted bell peppers and peas instead of sundried tomatoes, but I do want to try the tomatoes in the future), and I didn’t have the usual problem of the sauce getting clumpy because of your good directions. It’s so smooth and silky and just delicious! Will definitely make again.

Have you ever added in mushrooms to the sauce? I purchased some thinking it may be a nice add but wasn’t sure how it would work.

Lauren – I haven’t added mushrooms but I think it would be delicious.

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I'm Mel; I make family-friendly food from scratch that speaks to my soul (and that doesn't take all day to make). And then I share it with you!

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