Easy Pink Sauce Pasta Recipe (2024)

This quick and easy pink sauce pasta is tossed in a creamy rose sauce made from a blend of tomatoes and heavy cream. Delicious on its own or topped with chicken or seafood. Ready in 20 minutes!

Nothing goes better with this pasta dish than Caesar salad and some warm, buttery garlic knots!

🌟 Why you’ll love this recipe

• If you love pasta with vodka sauce, you’ll love this recipe! Vodka sauce is a type of pink sauce that’s known for it’s pale pink (or orange) color and smooth texture. I personally always add vodka to pink sauce but it’s optional for this recipe.
• Quick and easy! This is the perfect meal to make during the week because there’s almost no prep involved and it ‘s ready in just 20 minutes! You can use one pot if you boil the pasta beforehand, but I like to boil the pasta in a separate pot while I’m making the sauce to save time.
• Serve it by itself or add some protein. Much like other pasta dishes, this one holds its own, even without the protein! If you would like to add a protein, I recommend chicken, shrimp or salmon.

📋 Ingredient notes

• Tomatoes are the base of this dish and we’ll be using a combination of tomato paste and puréed tomatoes. Both ingredients can be found in your local grocery store, they’ll be located in the aisle where the canned tomatoes are sold.
• Heavy cream – you’ll need lots of it to get that perfectly pink color – two full cups.
• Pasta – I like rigatoni (it comes in varying lengths) but you can choose any round, tube-shaped pasta. Make sure to reserve some pasta water, it’s mixed in to helps bind the sauce to the pasta.
• Optional ingredients – vodka and parmesan cheese add depth and additional flavor to this dish but you don’t have to use either. You definitely won’t need to make a trip to the store for either of them!

Refer to the recipe card for full list of ingredients and exact measurements.

📖 Substitutions

• Feel free to use fresh onions and minced garlic. To keep the texture smooth, the sauce calls for garlic paste and a combination of garlic and onion powder. You can use fresh onions and garlic though if you don’t mind the texture.
• Use canned tomato sauce instead of tomato purée. Pink sauce is wildly popular in Middle Eastern restaurants where it’s common to use tomato purée as the base. Tomato sauce works just as well though.
• Half and half can be used in place of heavy cream for a low-fat version of this dish.
• Other pasta options are penne, bowties and shells. I tend to stick to using tube-shaped pastas for this dish because the sauce sticks better.

See recipe card below for measurements and quantities.

🔪 Step-by-step directions

Step 1: Fill a stockpot with water, add 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt and bring to a boil. Add pasta and follow the al-dente instructions on the package. Drain and reserve ½ cup of pasta water.

Step 2: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, deep skillet. Add the tomato paste and crushed garlic then cook for 1-2 minutes.

Step 3: Stir in the chili flakes and dry seasonings then add the puréed tomatoes and vodka. Let cook for 1-2 minutes more.

Step 4: Stir in the heavy cream. Once the sauce starts to simmer, turn the heat down low and cover the pan with a lid. Let the sauce cook for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Add the remaining tablespoons of butter, the pasta water and stir until the butter is melted. Cut the flame and stir in the chopped basil and shredded parmesan. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Step 6: Add the cooked pasta and toss until it’s evenly coated in sauce. Serve immediately with fresh black pepper and extra parmesan cheese.

💭 Tips & tricks

• Al dente pasta works best for this dish. Not only does it taste better, it holds up to being tossed in sauce.
• Make sure to reserve some pasta water! Adding it to the sauce helps the sauce bind to the pasta. I also like to reserve some extra to toss the to the pasta with when reheating leftovers.
• Keep the flame low while the sauce is cooking and make sure to cover the pot with a lid to avoid hot/messy splatters.

🥣 Serving suggestions

Serve pasta with pink sauce on its own or with:

• Your choice of protein: chicken, shrimp or salmon go great with this dish. Both grilled or blackened versions taste great with the sauce.
• Vegetables – asparagus, broccoli, roasted red peppers and sun dried tomatoes all work well.
• Shredded parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper on top.

❓FAQ’s

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