Easy Pasta Recipe for Dinner with Homemade Sauce
I am so excited to share the below recipes with you - if you’re looking for a good pasta recipe with cheese and a delicious homemade sauce, this is it!
Additionally, if you’ve been searching for the best recipe for easy marinara sauce or are wondering how to make creamy pasta sauce you’ll find that here too.
This Three Cheese Tortellini will become an immediate favorite and this might also be the best sauce for pasta recipe as well. I use for everything from a basic spaghetti dinner to pizza sauce to lasagna, and of course, it’s the base to my creamy sauce for 3-Cheese Tortellini.
I’m using 2 packages of tortellini from Aldi, but I do think Barilla is actually the best. 2 Aldi packages of tortellini (just under 17oz) is perfect for this recipe. The Barilla bag is 12oz and I don’t like using half of a second bag, which is why I’m using the two Aldi options instead. If you have a tortellini brand you like, use it. The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t have to be exact. Around 17oz of tortellini….if it’s a little under, fine. If it’s a little over, that’s fine too.
Best Sauce for Pasta Recipe:
Ingredients
2 TB Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (finely chopped)
3-5 Garlic Cloves (Minced or pressed)
2 tsp Dried Basil
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (you can use less)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 TB Butter
28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
Instructions
Heat olive oil over high heat until it simmers. Saute the onions, stirring frequently, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, stir and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Add seasonings, stir to combine. Add butter, stir until melted.
Add crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and stir in water. Depending on how thick you like your sauce, you can add more or less.
Simmer for a minimum of 10 minutes or as long as 60 minutes. The longer you simmer, the more water
Creamy Pasta Sauce Recipe:
Complete the pasta sauce recipe as instructed. Once complete, stir in the following:
2/3 C Heavy Cream
4 oz Shredded Parmesean
That’s it!
Three Cheese Tortellini
Cook around 17 oz tortellini according to package instructions. Drain and rinse.
Combine cooked tortellini with creamy sauce. Stir well. Add combination to 8x10 buttered baking dish.
Top with 4 oz shredded Parmesean and 4 oz Mozzarella or Italian blend. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (or until cheese starts to brown).
*17 oz of dried tortellini works perfect for the amount of sauce, but you could do a bit more or less.
And there you have it! Use these two sauce recipes for any pasta or pizza you like. Especially for the regular marinara sauce, not only is it easy, it’s SO inexpensive to make and with our bank accounts seemingly decreasing everyday, we need a few inexpensive meal options in our recipe boxes. Enjoy!
