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!
Mad this and added some Trader Joe’s Red Pepper Spread for color, flavor, and a little extra creaminess. Was delicious!
Thank you for this recipe! I have a 9 year old and 6 year old twins. My 9 year old is very picky. She even ate it! :) I put chicken on top of it. I bought jarred sundried tomatoes that were in oil and seasonings. After I took out the tomatoes, chopped them and put them in the pot with the pasta, I put the oils and seasonings from the jarred tomatoes and sauteed my chicken in it. The kids loved it. Thank you again!
So the first time I made this I let my boyfriend be in charge of watching the pot while i went to the bathroom and he let it boil to long and the sauce curdled. I was able to save it by adding in some heavy cream to help it thicken but that’s not normally something I have on hand. Today I made it again and thanks to my own impatience, cooked it on too high of heat and curdled it. I didn’t have any heavy cream so I added some half and half and it helped a little but not nearly as much. If I cook this again and make the same mistake (I really hope not, I love the flavor here and don’t want to mess it up again) what would you say is the best way to recover? Should I just keep heavy cream around for emergencies?
Yeah, I think the cream might be the only fix, although mine had some “micro curdles” and I didn’t even notice them after the sauce thickened and the Parmesan kind of melted in. :)
This has almost definitely been answered on the site before, although I cannot find it right now. I was curious, when you say shredded Parmesan, do you mean the pre-shredded strands? Or do you mean fresh shredded? Or perhaps the grated powder? Some clarification would be greatly appreciated, love this site!
I almost always use grated (the kind that is almost like a powder) because it’s more affordable and usually specify “grated” rather than “shredded” (I didn’t see where I used “shredded” on this recipe?). Shredded definitely tastes better, but I rarely have room for that in my budget. :) I used grated Parmesan for this recipe, but if you can afford shredded, that would work as well.
I’ve made this dish multiple times and it always comes out EXCELLENT. It’s really important to remember not to put the heat too high or else your sauce will curdle. Also, for those that are getting “soupy” pasta, you can try simmering it on low for an additional 5-10 minutes, or adding a little more cheese. If that doesn’t work, sometimes I’ll whisk in 1/2 tablespoon of flour until the sauce thickens up to a consistency I like.
No salt addition necessary?
My broth (made with Better Than Bouillon) has a decent amount of salt, so I find that when I make recipes with it I never have to add any extra.
Made this last night, tastes great! Used half and half instead of milk because that’s what I had in the fridge. It curdled (pretty sure because I cranked the heat too high while waiting for it to boil) and stayed a bit soupy, but all the “soupy” part stays in the skillet and the sauce thickens well in a bowl. The curdling didn’t bother me at all! If someone complains just pretend it’s ricotta :)
HUGE fan of your website Beth. Do you think this recipe would freeze well?
I don’t think this one would freeze very well. I think the pasta will absorb most of the sauce and it will probably be pretty dry upon thawing and reheating.
This is my GO TO site for recipes. This week alone I’ve got 3 of your dishes ready to prepare. I tried this one out tonight, and I gotta say, at first I was a bit skeptical. I didn’t turn the heat down low enough and the milk curdled, then after cooking it for 10-12 min it was still so soupy. But it definitely thickened up after transferring it from the pan to a bowl, and after stirring it a bit the milk curdles just settled right back in.
This is definitely a keeper for a quick and easy dinner.
How does one mess this easy recipe up so that it turns out to be pasta soup? I followed the directions exactly. I am so disappointed.
You said 2 cups of broth so I bought two jars of 8oz that Better Than Bouillon. Unless you can tell me you survived that salt bomb, I’m guessing you meant as substitute for the 2 cups of broth, you actually used (1) 8oz Better Than Bouillon. If that’s the case I’d highly encourage you to clarify that because my dish just tastes ridiculously awful. I can’t even rate this recipe out of me not wanting to give it 1-star for your sake. Overall it was a waste of money, time and food which sucks because I’m on a tight budget and this just blew the purpose of me being here looking for cheap recipes in the first place.
Better Than Bouillon is a concentrate that you reconstitute with water to make broth. The instructions are on the jar, but I’ll also clarify in the note.
Lol are you serious Jasmin?
Unbelievable! I am laughing so hard… it’s incredible!
This is a great recipe, by the way… but your comment really made it that much better!
This made me giggle. But Jasmin just because you didn’t understand how bouillon is used, does not mean you should stop coming to this website to find your recipes! Budget Bytes recipes are amazing and cost-friendly!! It can take time and patience to get it right, especially if you’re new to cooking.
This was amazing!!! It tasted restaurant quality, for about an 10th of the price! I used 2% partly skim milk instead, but other than that made it exactly as stated. I didn’t get curdled milk, nor was it too soupy. I think bacon would be a great addition, or perhaps peas or broccoli.
Overall this is a great basic recipe. You could either snaz it up with more ingredients, or make it exactly as is. Either way will be fantastic!
this is an odd question but do you think whole milk could be substituted for evaporated in some way? thanks
Hmm, maybe if you mixed some of the evaporated milk with water? I’m not sure about ratios, though.
Pasta soup :(
Yum! Just made this tonight and it was a big hit. My husband and I love this. We are mostly vegan so I used earth balance buttery spread and almond milk and skipped my cashew parmesan because it can get kinda spendy and it turned out great! We added some leftover frozen broccoli toward the end for more veggies. And thank you for introducing me to better than bullion. Really good! I love your site.
Thank you! I was wondering what it would taste like with almond milk and such. I will try it! :)