The perfect blend of tomato and cream sauce, this pasta with pink sauce is one of our favorite dishes to make and comes together so quickly! Just a handful of ingredients and a quick cooking time gets lunch or dinner on the table in a flash.

What is pink sauce?

In the Middle East, pasta pink sauce is one of the most popular restaurant dishes to order. It’s a blend of tomato and cream sauce, so the resulting pasta sauce is colored pink. It’s really delicious! It has tang from the tomato sauce, and creaminess from white sauce without being too rich and heavy. It makes creamy sauced pasta more approachable!

Pink Sauce Pasta

The perfect blend of tomato and cream sauce, this pasta with pink sauce is one of our favorite dishes to make and comes together so quickly! Just a handful of ingredients and a quick cooking time gets lunch or dinner on the table in a flash.

Ingredients in pasta with pink sauce:

Pasta: I like using penne- it’s the most typical way to make pink sauce pasta, but you can use any pasta you like.

Tomato passata: This is not the same thing as tomato paste. You’ll find jars labeled passata in the same section you find canned tomatoes and sauce. It’s basically pureed and strained uncooked or lightly cooked tomatoes. If you can’t find it, you can substitute tomato puree or tomato sauce.

The creamy part: here you can use mix of heavy cream and milk. I made creamy part with flour and milk which is not too heavy but gives creamy texture.

The flavoring: The sauce starts off with a base of olive oil and butter, in which we cook onion and garlic. This gets the flavor going.

Added to this are the spices: simply dried basil (can sub Italian seasoning if you want), red chili flakes, salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar which helps with the acidity of the tomatoes. The crumbled bouillon cube (you can use veggie stock too) adds a lot of flavor, depth and some salt to the dish too.

The cheese: I use mozzarella cheese that’s stirred into the sauce at the last minute making it gooey and delicious. You can also top the completed dish with some fresh Parmesan if desired or extra mozzarella.

How to make pink sauce pasta:

First make the pasta. You’ll cook it according to package instructions, until pasta is al dente, then you’ll drain the pasta but reserve a little pasta water. Be careful not too overcook, since it’ll get added back to the pink sauce and soften a little further.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large enough skillet to fit all the pasta ingredients over medium heat until the butter melts.

Add All purpose flour into it. Mix it and make sure there is no lump. Add milk into and and keep stirring until it gets thick. Add red chili flakes and Italian seasoning into it. Mix it and add cheese. when cheese melt turn the flame off and your pink sauce is ready. Keep it aside.

In a pan add some olive oil. Add minced garlic into it and onion. Saute for few minutes. Add vegetables of your choice. I added Zucchini, peppers, corn and you can add broccoli too. Roast all these vegetables. Do not over cook Veggies. Add the preapare sauce.

Add little bit of pasta water. Mix it well and add cooked pasta. Mix all these and add parmesan cheese.

That’s it! A delicious meal in a flash!

Tips for pink sauce success:

-Make sure not to overcook the pasta so it doesn’t get too soft when you add it back to the sauce.

-Cook the onions through thoroughly until soft- they won’t cook further when you add the tomato passata.

-Adjust the seasoning to your taste. The bouillon cube will add saltiness, so taste before adding any salt.

-Make it as creamy and as cheesy as you like. The amounts indicated are my perfect balance.