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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
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!
Freaking amazing!!! My family ate it all, and sopped up the creamy sauce with bread.
Really great! Modified a bit by using half and half and jalapeno cream cheese(whatever was left over in the fridge lol) and it turned out amazing. Used sun-dried tomatoes in oil and added frozen shrimp and broccoli at the last minute to add some protein and veg.
Delicious! Easy! I made it as written, and it was perfect! And fun to make! It came together perfectly at the end. My family was delighted! And the recipe is very adaptable; many need-to-use-up ingredients can be added. A real treat! Nicely done, Beth!
Love this recipe! My picky 2 and 5 year old even gobbled this up. Very tasty, meat free, and super easy. Your blog is the best!
This was my first time making a one-pot pasta and I loved it! I used bow tie pasta and added bacon. Perfect!
Have made this several times now and it is such a great fast, simple and delicious way to cook pasta! Sometimes I omit the cream cheese and milk to change it up and reduce the calorie count and it is still very flavorful. I dry my own garden tomatoes which really lowers the cost of the dish plus home dried tomatoes are so much better than store bought ones. Great recipe!
Added mushrooms, chicken and red onion because I needed to use them ingredients asap…
Delicious, whole family enjoyed and gobbled the whole pot in no time, including my toddler so BONUS!! :-)
Thank you for such a delicious & easy dish. And only one pot to wash! I used fresh basil from my herb pot Instead of dried basil, and added some cooked, sliced Italian link sausage that I had leftover from another meal. Will be making this one again
Maybe it’s the broth I used but this was super flavorful. I’m addicted!
Super easy and very delicious, the whole family gobbled this up! To amp up the flavor, instead of using butter to sauté the garlic I used the oil from the tomatoes which added HUGE flavor. Also, I doubled the garlic. Used less milk than needed and it was super creamy. This recipe is a keeper!
Have made this many times because it’s always delicious. I like the new addition of cream cheese, and usually, but not always, add chicken and/or fresh spinach, sometimes sauteed mushrooms. Bacon would be brilliant, too, and I think I might add it next time. Those who have trouble with milk curdling could try bringing the milk to a simmer before adding it. I use 2% milk, and have not had any problems at all–I’ve been known to use a bit of cream, too. Although I usually use modest amounts of pepper in my cooking, this recipe, and most other pasta dishes, needs LOTS of freshly ground pepper.
Instant Pot!
Sue
Hi there, this looks lovely. I have just bought an instant cook, and it seems it would be feasible to use for this recipe, up to the ‘adding milk/cream cheese’ stage. What do you think?
Sue
Hi Sue! We haven’t tested this recipe in an instant pot so it’s hard for us to recommend. But you could certainly try it. Although for this recipe stovetop version would be just as quick!
I recently made this dish which I have made several times before. I changed up the sun dried tomatoes and was really happy with the results. I usually use the plain sundried tomatoes in the bag but this time I tried the smoked dried tomatoes in the bag and found that they really added a nice flavor to the dish.
Great quick weeknight recipe that makes very few dishes, but it needed some more flavor for sure! I added some boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces & seasoned with salt & pepper at the very beginning, then 1/2 cup of heavy cream at the end. It also needed some red pepper flakes and lemon juice, and lots more salt & pepper. I added broccoli about 4 minutes before the pasta was done and some spinach at the very end to make it a complete one pot meal. A little indulgent but so so tasty. Thank you!
Delicious meal, which is very easy to prepare! Loved it, and it’s going to be now a parte od my recipe book for sure!