Y’all know I love one pot pasta meals, and I know a lot of you do too. They’re quick, easy, and pack a lot of flavor into only one little dish that needs to be cleaned at the end. Creamy one pot pastas, in particular, have become my go-to comfort food. This time I paired the tangy flavor of sun dried tomatoes with garlic and Parmesan for a simple but indulgent One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta.
Changes to the Original Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Recipe:
Many readers were having trouble with the original recipe, so I reformulated it a bit based on my experience creating one pot pastas since this recipe was originally posted (it’s now based on my One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta). In particular, many people were having trouble with their milk curdling or the sauce not coming out smooth. Here is what I changed to create better and more consistent results:
- The milk is now added after the pasta simmers so the high heat and acidity from the tomatoes will not cause curdling.
- A small amount of cream cheese is added to the sauce to help stabilize and emulsify the Parmesan into the sauce.
- I also added a healthy dose of dried basil for a little more flavor!
Can I Substitute the Cream Cheese?
Cream cheese is great and keeping milk based sauces smooth and to help cheese melt smoothly without clumpig. If you just can’t stand cream cheese, you can replace half of the milk with heavy cream. This reduces the water content in the sauce, which will help the Parmesan emulsify properly.
Can I Add Meat?
Yes, this recipe is extremely flexible and can be made with or without meat. If you’d like to add chicken, you can dice up the chicken and sauté it in the skillet with the garlic in the beginning, or simply add sliced grilled chicken to the finished pasta. Italian sausage might also be great with this sun dried tomato pasta. Simply brown it in the skillet in the beginning with the garlic. Bacon would also be quite tasty. Brown the bacon in the skillet before the garlic, and drain off the excess fat before continuing with the recipe.
Tips for Cooking One Pot Pastas:
Getting one pot pastas just right can take some practice, so if you find you’re having trouble, here are a few tips:
- Stir every few minutes to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, or to itself.
- After the pot has been brought to a boil, turn the heat down to low, or just above low, so the liquid is still simmering. If the liquid is not simmering, the pasta will not cook. The temperature setting can vary depending on your stove top and cookware.
- Use heavy cookware. Skillets and pots that are thin on the bottom don’t heat evenly and do not yield good results with the one pot cooking method because some areas of the pot will be simmering, while other areas are not.
- Keep the lid in place at all times when not stirring. This holds in the steam and helps the pasta cook more evenly.
- Watch the pasta. One pot pastas are a little like riding a bike. You have to observe and adjust as you go. If the liquid is almost all absorbed before the pasta is tender, add a little more water. If the pasta is almost tender, but there is still a lot of liquid, allow it to simmer without a lid for the last couple of minutes.
One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes ($1.66)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 8 oz. fettuccine ($0.67)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 2 cups chicken broth* ($0.26)
- 2 oz. cream cheese ($0.30)
- 1 cups whole milk ($0.37)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.44)
Instructions
- Chop the sun dried tomatoes into small bite-sized pieces.
- Add the butter and garlic to a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for about one minute, or until it is very fragrant.
- Add the fettuccine, sun dried tomatoes, dried basil, some freshly cracked pepper, and the chicken broth to the skillet. If needed, break the fettuccine in half to make sure it lays flat in the skillet and is submerged in broth.
- Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and bring the broth to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, give the pasta a good stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to low or the lowest setting that maintains a simmer.
- Let the pasta simmer in the broth for 7-10 minutes, or until most of the broth is absorbed and the pasta is tender, stirring every couple of minutes and always replacing the lid.
- Keeping the heat on low, cut the cream cheese into chunks and stir it into the pasta. Once the cream cheese has melted, add the milk and stir until a smooth sauce forms. Finally, add the grated Parmesan over top and stir until it has melted into the sauce. Serve with extra freshly cracked pepper, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step Photos!
Try These Other Creamy One Pot Pasta Recipes:
- One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
- One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- One Pot Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese
- One Pot Veggie Pasta
- One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta
How to Make Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Chop about ½ cup sun dried tomatoes into small bite-sized pieces. You want a little bit in every bite, instead of a few larger pieces throughout. I used dried, non-oil packed sun dried tomatoes for this recipe because I find them easier to work with and the leftovers easier to store (no refrigeration needed).
Add 2 Tbsp butter and two minced cloves of garlic to a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, or just until the garlic is a little softened and becomes really fragrant.
Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, ½ tsp dried basil, some freshly cracked pepper, 8oz. fettuccine, and 2 cups chicken broth to the skillet. If your skillet or Dutch oven is not wide enough for the pasta to lay flat and submerged in the broth, you’ll want to break the pasta in half so it fits (I ended up breaking mine in half just after this photo).
Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and bring the broth up to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, give the pasta a good stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to low, or the lowest temperature that maintains a simmer. Continue to simmer the pasta for 7-10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes (always replacing the lid), or until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. If the pasta dries out while it cooks, add a little more water. There should be a little bit of thick saucy liquid left in the skillet once the pasta is cooked.
Cut 2 oz. cream cheese into chunks, then stir it into the pasta until it has melted (still over low heat). Adding the cream cheese before the milk helps stabilize the sauce and prevent curdling.
Once the cream cheese has melted into the pasta, add 1 cup milk and stir to combine.
Finally, sprinkle ¼ cup grated Parmesan over the pasta, and stir until it has melted into the sauce (the pasta is still over low heat).
And now you have a deliciously creamy and slightly tangy sun dried tomato pasta in cream sauce!
Season the pasta with more freshly cracked pepper, if desired, and serve!
Wow, this turned out so yummy, and it was so fast and easy! I will definitely be adding this to one of our regular vegetarian meals. Also, I found the sun dried tomatoes with the canned tomato aisle after searching in the Italian goods aisle for about 15 minutes!
I’m a pretty subpar cook, as in I barely cook because I suck, and I attempted to make this recipe tonight and it came out tasting alright, but I felt a little queasy after eating it. Did I undercook or overcook the pasta or? And I didn’t really like the taste of the sun-dried tomatoes.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know why you felt queasy, but under/over cooking pasta won’t cause any food safety issues (if that’s what you were afraid of). :)
I just made this recipe tonight and it was great! I added a single pre-cooked chicken breast and used about 1 cup of milk with a splash of half&half which was perfect. Thank you for the recipe :)
Sounds really good and so simple. Perfect for quick weeknight dinner.
I just looked in my cupboard to see if I have sundried tomatos and I do, so yay!! Looking forward to suppertime!
This was terrific. I used spaghetti and 1% milk and salted a bit in the last phase of cooking down and it was delicious. I don’t know about the curdling effect others have mentioned, I did not have that problem. Maybe because I was always on really low heat??
Yep, the higher the heat the faster it curdles.
I mentioned in another thread that I am super boring since I eat the same things over and over again. This is now my Monday supper. It is terrific.
Looks so super lovely!
One point: you spelled “about” wrong under the picture where you’ve added in the pasta.
Two questions: Which step would you add in the fresh spinach? Once the sauce is thickening? And second question, would it work with 2% milk?
Oh thank you! I’ll fix that right now. :) As for your questions, I think I would add fresh spinach at the end after the sauce is thickened, but before the Parmesan. You can just stir it into the pasta and sauce and let the residual heat wilt the spinach, then follow it up with the Parmesan. 2% milk will work, but it won’t be quite as tasty as whole milk. I wouldn’t suggest using anything less than 2%. :)
I think this pasta would be great with some spinach and chicken to make a complete meal. I also really like that everything cooks in one pot.
I tried making your wonder pot recipe a long time ago and messed it up — noodles came out mushy. This post reminded me that I need to try it again, and the noodles came out great this time. (Note to others making this for the first time: prep all of your ingredients *first* so that you can focus your attention on the pot once you start cooking.)
However, you said if the milk curdles, don’t worry because it will smooth out. In my case, it did not smooth out. The flavored were good but the curdled milk was kind of like having chunks of cheese and didn’t result in a very creamy sauce. Any idea what I did wrong? I added shallots along with the garlic, and also some basil with the broth. I used skim milk instead of whole, and I also worry that maybe I boiled it a bit too hard as I was trying to get it up to temperature. Would any of those cause problems with curdling?
Yes, the high heat was probably the main culprit and the skim milk may have been the other factor. The higher fat milks aren’t quite as quick to curdle.
I use skim milk in these types of recipes regularly. The key is to simmer and not boil…
When you use the chicken base (as opposed to the chicken stock) do you still use 2 cups?
I use two cups of the prepared base, which is broth. So, on the label of the base it says to use one teaspoon of base per cup of water to make one cup broth. :)
mmmm. My one year and I loved it. I used jarred sun dried tomatoes and added asparagus.
I usually find sundried tomatoes by the produce.
Another must try recipe! Just not sure I can find sun dried tomato here.
And you should totally be a paid sponsor. I had to try better than bouillon, and it is soooo much better than any powdered stuff I’ve used. I’m glad I could find it locally.
Mine stayed soupy and curdled. Still tasty, but not pretty. It might do to start with less broth and keep an eye on it?
Try using a slightly lower heat and I’d reduce the milk a little, maybe to just one cup.
I just made this for a late lunch – but instead of the milk, I added an additional cup of broth and about a quarter cup of greek yogurt after letting the pasta cool down for about 3 minutes. It was a pretty good substitute.
Practical question – where in a store are the sun-dred tomatoes usually located? I don’t believe I’ve spotted them on my local shelves before.
I’m located in Pennsylvania. Ours are either on the antipasto bar, near the tomatoes, near the garlic and onions, or near the raisins. Happy hunting.
I can usually find them at Kroger in the produce aisle by the croutons!
I found them in the produce section. They were hiding on a low self.
In Quebec anyways, the ones packed in oil are found near the pickled cucumbers, artichokes, and other vegetables, and the dried ones are either near salad items (bacon bits, dressings…) or near the nuts/dried fruit section. :)
I usually find them in the produce section. I find them near the jarred minced garlic.
Everyone else has already give great answers, but I’ll throw my two cents in, too. :) In my store they have them in two different places: in the produce section by the jarred minced garlic and other misc. salad toppings, and then in the tomato aisle by the canned tomatoes, tomato paste tubes, and jarred pesto.
I found the sun dried tomatoes near the fresh tomatoes at my market.
Yum! That looks great for a quick lunch.