Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta features your favorite pasta in a simple homemade tomato-basil sauce, lightened with a swirl of mascarpone cheese. 

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

Last month I attempted macarons. I was so excited, I thought they were going to come out -the temperamental cookies had “feet” and everything! However, I was never able to get the darn things off the baking sheet. I was sooo disappointed.

After my failed macaron attempt, I had a container of mascarpone cheese in the fridge (the cookies were supposed to have a mascarpone -raspberry filling). I rarely cook with mascarpone and was struggling to find a recipe to use it up. Lucky for me, the perfect recipe popped up – tomato mascarpone pasta. I love that it’s easy (there’s a long cook time but it’s mostly inactive time), but even more, the sauce was impressive. The mascarpone adds a slightly creamy texture to the sweet tomato-basil sauce, making a simple meal something special.

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

Recipe Notes for Tomato Mascarpone Pasta:

  • Basil: I love fresh basil, so feel free to add extra. If you have leftover basil, it can be chopped and frozen in water for use in marinara or other pasta sauce later on. 
  • Pasta: You can use any pasta here, but I like rigatoni as the larger ridges in the noodle help catch the sauce. 

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

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Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta features your favorite pasta in a simple homemade tomato-basil sauce, lightened with a swirl of mascarpone cheese. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4
Author Liz

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 large shallot small dice
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 12 large basil leaves finely chopped (plus more for garnish, if desired)
  • 1/4 c. red wine
  • 4 oz. mascarpone cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lb. cooked pasta I like rigatoni

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil. When hot, add garlic, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 5 minutes, until shallots are soft.

  2. Add tomatoes and basil. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Stir in red wine and simmer for another 20 minutes. Now is a good time to start cooking your pasta.
  4. Just before pasta is ready, stir mascarpone into tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Lower heat to low and leave on the hot burner until pasta is ready. Drain pasta and stir in tomato-mascarpone sauce.
  5. Serve hot, sprinkled with more minced basil and a grated Parmesan cheese, a side salad, and some fresh bread.

This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver. As of August 2022, the recipe no longer appears online. 

Tomato Mascarpone Pasta on Books n' Cooks

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