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