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One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake. Creamy, spicy, tomato basil pesto sauce made with summer tomatoes, basil pesto, and a touch of red enchilada sauce, then tossed with fettuccine pasta, creamy goat cheese, and melty fontina cheese. Finish the dish off with torn mozzarella and throw it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Two words, SO GOOD. This pasta takes just minutes to make, uses just ONE pot, and has the simplest of summertime ingredients…most of which you may have in your pantry right now! If you’re looking for a new summer pasta dinner, this is it.
This has got to be one of my better recipes.
It’s really just as easy as the title suggest and yet it’s so delicious. Boil pasta, add it right back to that same pot, add all the remaining ingredients, bake 10 minutes, top with fresh tomatoes and basil. Done.
Simple, right? Perfect for a Monday.
By the way, happy Monday! I’m going to skip the details of our snowy weekend since I’m honestly just exhausted/tired of complaining about our weather. All I will say is that I stayed inside, caught up on work, surrounded myself with cherry tomatoes, fresh peaches, corn, and all the fresh berries. Oh, and chamomile and peonies too…thank God for Whole Foods and their flower department.
I also made this creamed corn chicken and shared all the details on Instagram. It was delicious and made for the perfect Saturday night dinner at home.
What did you all do?
So, this pasta. It’s been a long-time favorite. I’ve actually been making this one for years. It was created out of the contents of my fridge and whatever was in my pantry. Since it was summertime way back when I first made this, that meant plenty of tomatoes and plenty of basil. I took those two ingredients, grabbed everything else in my fridge (literally), and about 30 minutes later I had this pasta on the table.
It turned out better than I could have imagined and it’s been a favorite ever since. It’s been a while since I made this, but with summer here I thought it was the perfect time to pull out this oldie, but goodie recipe. Plus, our freezing cold summer weather calls for slightly cozier, but still summery recipes.
Here’s the deal, just because this pasta bake is simple doesn’t mean it’s in lacking flavor. NO. I love a simple recipe, but I hate a flavorless recipe. Which is probably why I don’t have a ton of those 5 ingredient recipes here on HBH (though these 5 ingredient chocolate peanut butter cookies are a favorite). I know that just 5 ingredients are great and all, but I really like textures and layers of flavors, and so much color (all about the color). That can be hard to achieve with only 5 ingredients, you know?
Anyway, my point is – this is simple, but oh so flavorful. What’s the secret? Well, there’s a few, so let’s talk details.
First things first, boil your pasta. Really, you can use any cut of pasta you love. We’re partial to a longer cut of pasta around here, so I typically use fettuccine when making this. Penne or rigatoni would be equally delicious I’m sure.
Boil the pasta, drain, and add it right back to the same hot pot. Once the pasta is drained and added back to the pot, toss in the remaining ingredients. Yes, all ingredients except for the mozzarella go in. The mozzarella will get sprinkled over the pasta just before baking. Adding the sauces and cheese to the hot pot, along with the hot pasta is KEY. The tomato sauce warms the goat cheese, which melts into the sauce, and the basil in the pesto is infused by the heat. This creates a super luscious and creamy pasta sauce.
To create a really intense tomato basil flavor, I use a mix of marinara sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh cherry tomatoes.
To add a spicy kick? Enchilada sauce. I know, it’s beyond weird, but trust me, the enchilada sauce is that ingredient that makes everyone say YUM. It adds a layer of spicy, smoky flavor that’s a really nice switch-up from a more classic tomato basil pasta. You don’t realize it’s there, you just taste a little bit of a spicy kick. Again, trust me, it’s delicious.
To keep things creamy, I toss in some goat cheese and then swirl in just a touch of coconut milk (or heavy cream). It makes for a baked pasta that’s saucy and super creamy.
Assuming you’re using an oven-safe pot, you can finish off the pasta with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and then throw it into the oven for a few minutes to melt. If you don’t have an oven-safe pot, just transfer the pasta to your favorite baker. Either option will work great!
As soon as the pasta comes out of the oven, the sauce will be bubbling, the cheese will be melty, and your house is going to smell amazing. Kind of like summer.
Finish the pasta with all the fresh basil you can find and sweet cherry tomatoes for a layer of light, summery freshness. It’s the perfect complement to the richness of the creamy sauce. Kind of like a salad for your pasta! I mean, kind of…
This pasta bake is a summer weeknight essential. BUT it can also double as a fancy weekend dinner to serve to friends and family too. It’s perfect to prep ahead of time and then bake up just before serving. Add a side salad full of garden produce and you’ll have the perfect summer meal that’s SO EASY, very pretty, and so incredibly DELICIOUS.
Monday night is looking good, am I right??
If you make this one pot 30 minutes creamy tomato basil pasta bake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1338 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry fettuccine or other long cut pasta
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- 1 jar (28 ounce) marinara sauce
- 1/3 cup red enchilada sauce
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained and chopped
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (cream cheese or crème fraîche can be used instead)
- 1 cup cubed fontina cheese
- 1/2 cup canned full fat coconut milk, or heavy cream
- kosher salt and pepper
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, torn
- 2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it right back to the hot pot. To the pot add the butter, pesto, pasta sauce, enchilada sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, fontina cheese, and milk/cream. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss everything together until a creamy sauce has formed, about 3-5 minutes. If your pot is not oven-safe, transfer the pasta to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Scatter the mozzarella overtop the pasta.3. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn the broiler on and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.4. Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes. Serve topped with tomatoes and fresh basil. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on June 24, 2019
Planning to make tonight-I love one pot meals! Suggestions on substituting the goat cheese? My family is not a fan…
Hi there! I recommend an equal amount of cream cheese or creme fraiche! Either is great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
what is up with those URLS in the recipe! cant understand it
Hi! Could you tell me more about what you’re talking about? I am not sure I see the same on my page!
You can’t exactly call it cooking if you’re using all these pre made sauces….. Enchilada sauce?? Dont let any Italian mum hear you call this dish Italian
Hi Katrin! Using pre made sauces helps this recipe to be made in less time, but still taste amazing! It can be made with homemade sauce as well, it will just take longer. I hope you understand and try this recipe!
How many people does this lovely-sounding dish serve? I’m very keen to make it as I love cheese and don’t think some should be frozen and then reheated if too much at one sitting. I’ve halved the ingredients which seems about right for four people. Love to have your advice.
Anne
This will serve about 6-8 people, so if you halved it then 4 is perfect! Hope the recipe is a huge hit! Thank you!
Here in Europe we eat dinner pretty late usually so I tottally get the 9pm thing! However, it’s now 4pm here and I’m about to cook this now as compfort food for myself because it just seems like the exact ammount of cheese I need right now haha!
That sounds perfect! Cheese is the BEST comfort food! I hope you love this Laura?
Hi! I was just wondering, if I’m hoping to have this dish prepared about an hour and a half before actually baking and serving it, would I need to change any of the cooking instructions so that the pasta is the correct tenderness? Thanks in advance!
Hi! No, I don’t think you need to change anything, should be great prepped ahead! 🙂
Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this!
I know this recipe has been posted for awhile, but I am finally getting around to commenting on this one. I make a lot of HBH recipes, but this is still one of my favorites. I only make it once or twice a year since it’s not exactly the picture of health food, but it is soooo good. I served it last night for a dinner party and all my guests loved it. As one of your other commenters noted, I use gouda instead of fontina based on availability and I always use some shaped pasta (rotini, rigatoni, etc). This is what baked ziti is supposed to taste like.
Awh yay! SO happy to hear you and everyone liked it (:
Gouda is delish, i’m sure that was amazing! Thanks so much Rachel!
Found this recipe this morning, and as the day progressed, I became increasingly convinced I would make it. And I just finished. Since I’m a pretty amateur cook, it took me a bit longer than advertised. But it was worth it. My grocer didn’t have Fontina, so I replaced it with Gouda. We also added italian sausage. It. IS. AMAZING. Much creamier than we expected. Realize I’m late to the party, but thanks so much for this recipe. It is amazing, and going down in the cook book.
PS – we eat super late too, as you can tell by the time of this post.
Hi!! I’m so happy you made it, and even happier it was good!!
Thank you so so much!! (Late eaters club?)
I made this last night!! Instead of using Feta I used white beans that I cooked down and blended. It was very creamy!! My husband was like this needs to go in the regular rotation.. Thank you! It was awesome
Sounds amazing!! So happy you loved this Carrie!
Delicioso!Lo acabo de hacer!
P/D: Acá en Argentina nosotros cenamos tarde. 9pm es perfecto! 🙂
¡Perfecto! Estoy muy feliz de esta receta fue perfecto para usted, gracias Mariana!
okay, so I have my Iftar planned out for tonight, we are offering fasts here at this time of the year, but I am sooo making this for tonight! I’m a lazy cook, but this post has had me drooling! Simple yet so satisfying! Can’t wait! Will definitely update how it turned out!!
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear what you think!! Thanks!
This was amazing and easy to make. I added sauté shrimp for my need meat eaters and placed them on top under the mozzarella slices.
Yay! Thats awesome! Thanks for making Danielle!!
Made this last night for dinner and it was fabulous! I did make a few changes to suit my preferences and pantry.
First, I couldn’t find enchilada sauce. Instead I just used extra tomato sauce (I opted for vodka sauce) and threw in some garlic powder, onion salt, cumin, and cayenne (didn’t realize I was out of chili powder). Close enough.
Second, and I strongly recommend this, I added some extra veggies. I chopped up a vidalia onion and tossed that in the pot with the butter after I strained the pasta. Instead of adding all the ingredients at once, I sautéed the onions until translucent before adding back the pasta and other ingredients. Similarly, I added spinach at the very end (before putting the whole dish in the oven), allowing it to wilt on top, then stirring it throughout. I didn’t get the impression that the onion or spinach changed the flavor at all, but it made me feel a little healthier about eating cheesy pasta. I only did one bag of spinach, but I would do two next time I make this as it always wilts way more than I think should be possible.
Hi Molly! Glad you liked it! The substitutes sound perfect! Great suggestions! Thank you!!
I am headed to the store right now for these simple ingredients. This is dinner and it’s going to be delicious! Thank you…
Hi Christine!! I hope you love it!! Thank you!
This is my go to recipe for every friend/family gathering! I ommit some of the cream and some of the butter, and sometimes add ground beef– and its a huge hit every time. Super rich and addictive, and relatively easy to make. I looove this recipe.
That is awesome! So happy this recipe is so loved! Have a great weeknd! 🙂