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Creamy Tomato Pasta

Pasta in a quick tomato sauce finished with cream cheese for richness. Cheap, fast, and the most-saved recipe on Budget Bytes for years.

Total Cost $7.22
Per Serving $1.81
Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Servings 4
  • vegetarian
  • pasta
  • fast
  • very-low-cost
  • comfort-food

Ingredients

  • 400 g penne, rigatoni, or any pasta shape $0.88
  • 1 can (796 mL) crushed or diced tomatoes $2.00
  • 60 g cream cheese, cubed $0.96
  • 1 medium onion, diced $1.23
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced $0.32
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste $0.10
  • 1 tsp dried oregano $0.05
  • 0.5 tsp dried basil $0.03
  • 0.5 tsp chili flakes $0.03
  • 2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil $0.13
  • to taste salt and black pepper $0.05
  • 30 g (optional) parmesan, grated $0.90
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder $0.02
  • 0.5 tsp onion powder $0.02
  • 0.25 tsp sugar (to balance acidity, optional) $0.01
  • 1 tsp white or red wine vinegar (optional) $0.01
  • 0.5 tsp smoked paprika (optional) $0.03
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional) $0.08
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper $0.03
  • 0.5 tsp salt $0.01
  • 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) $0.01
  • 1 tbsp butter (optional) $0.19
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (optional) $0.05
  • optional fresh basil or parsley $0.08
  • Recipe total$7.22

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 250 mL pasta water before draining.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Add onion. Cook 5–6 minutes until softened.
  4. Add garlic and chili flakes. Cook 1 minute.
  5. Add tomato paste. Stir and cook 2 minutes.
  6. Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Add oregano, basil, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir and simmer 8–10 minutes until slightly reduced.
  7. Reduce heat to low. Add the cream cheese cubes. Stir until fully melted and incorporated.
  8. Add the drained pasta and toss to coat. Add pasta water a splash at a time to reach a saucy consistency.
  9. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic.
  10. Serve with parmesan if using.

Nutrition per Serving

Estimated values per serving.

498 Calories
16g Protein
80g Carbs
13g Fat
6g Fiber
370mg Sodium
~15% DV Iron~8% DV Calcium

Gluten-Free

This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.

  • Replace pasta with certified GF pasta (adds approximately $1.50–$2.00 to the total)

Cream cheese, tomatoes, and seasonings are naturally gluten-free.

Budget Notes

  • Cream cheese is the key ingredient that makes this different from a plain tomato sauce. A 250 g block costs about $3.99 — you use about a quarter of it here. Use the rest on toast or in another recipe that week.
  • Without the parmesan this costs $4.42 for four servings, which is about $1.10 a plate.
  • This is intentionally flexible — add whatever's in the fridge: a can of tuna, leftover chicken, frozen spinach, a handful of whatever vegetable needs to be used up.