Creamy Tomato Basil Fettuccine has quickly become a pantry staple in my household and I’m living for it! It’s super easy, creamy and feels incredibly indulgent. Also, since I’m working from home, I’ve even gone so far as to make this for lunch. It truly never disappoints! 🙂
When COVID-19 first hit, I knew that I wanted to limit my trips to the store. There was so much uncertainty and confusion, not to mention the whole toilet paper fiasco. It really challenged me to get creative with what I was making; this dish was born out of that challenge. While I realize that combining tomato and basil isn’t exactly revolutionary, I can also recognize how, at times, simplicity is needed.
Tips for Creamy Tomato Basil Fettuccine:
- We’re skipping the canned tomato sauce. There’s really no need for it in this recipe. We’re getting all of our flavor from the tomato paste and the fresh diced tomato. The tomato paste brings a depth of flavor and the diced tomatoes bring a freshness.
- I used one vine ripened tomato for this recipe. Roma or cherry tomatoes would work as well. I used what I had on hand ensuring this is super simple.
- Salt your tomato when you add it to the pan. This will help draw out any moisture that is in the tomato, which will eventually become the sauce.
- Toss in the basil at the end. Basil has so much flavor but will wilt if you add it too early. Oregano, parsley and rosemary are great additions to this dish.
- You can swap the chicken stock for white wine. Sadly, I did not have any on hand this day. 🙁
- Salt your pasta water! This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. It should be salty like the sea
- Speaking of pasta water, make sure that you save it. This will be the majority of the liquid in our sauce. The starch from the pasta will help to emulsify the sauce and help it stick to the pasta. The recipe calls for 1 cup, but depending on your tomatoes you may need to reserve more.
That was honestly more tips than I thought we’d need! The key to this recipe is to keep it as simple as possible. A few fresh ingredients and a you can have this delicious pasta dish yourself. I hope you like it as much as we do. Let me know what you think. Enjoy 🙂
Creamy Tomato Basil Fettuccine
Ingredients
- 1 lbs fettuccine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion small
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tomato diced
- ¼ cup chicken stock low sodium
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- ¼ cup basil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, heavily salt the water and add the fettuccine, cooking according to the instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine.
- Once the tomatoes have cooked down and released most of their liquid, add the chicken stock reserved cooking water from the pasta and heavy cream. Bring just to a simmer.
- Add the cooked fettuccine to the sauce and toss, adding more pasta water if needed. Finish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.