Easy Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

November 10, 2008

This is an easy tomato basil cream sauce recipe is great if you’re looking for a change from basic tomato sauces for your pasta. It sounds pretty fancy too, so you could probably impress some people with it.

All you need is a 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, half an onion, a 1/4 cup of heavy cream, 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, salt, and pepper.

I first cut my half onion into thin slices and made a chiffonade of the basil (roll it up and cut thin slices along the rolled edge). I put a small saucepan over medium-ish heat and added the butter to let it melt. Once hot, I added the onion and sautéed it until it was soft and translucent.

Next, unsurprisingly, I added the crushed tomatoes and a little salt and pepper. I simmered this for about 15 minutes so a little water could evaporate and the flavors could meld. You generally don’t want to go longer than 20 minutes for a basic tomato sauce (unless it is a huge quantity), because you can actually ‘cook out’ the fresh tomato flavor.

Finally, after the fifteen minutes of simmering, I added the cream and shredded basil, stirred them in, and let the cream heat up for a minute or two over low heat. Feel free to add more salt if it needs it. That’s really all it takes. I make tomato sauce pretty frequently because it is so easy, but this is a good way to add some variety, even if it isn’t the healthiest sauce you’ll ever eat.

Tips

There are probably better tomato-basil cream sauces out there, but I doubt any one is as easy as this.
The recipe called for 1 tablespoon of basil, but even with my 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons, I thought it could have used a little more.
The recipe, adapted from Anderson’s How to Cook Without a Book, recommends fettuccine for the pasta (I used spaghetti).
This recipes is just a basic quick tomato sauce plus cream and basil.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
Half a small onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. shredded fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat with the butter. Add the onions when hot and sauté until soft and translucent.
Add the tomato sauce, stir, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes - some water should evaporate and the flavors should meld a bit.
Turn the heat to low or medium low, and stir in the cream and basil. Let the mixture heat through for a minute or two. Serve over fettuccine or another pasta.

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