Creamy One Pot Pasta with Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce is big on flavor and ready in 35 minutes. Penne pasta and silky mascarpone cheese in a rich tomato marinara creates the ultimate creamy veggie pasta recipe. Share with Vegetarian Kale Caesar Salad to complete the meal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recipe Review “Oh wow! What a easy, quick, yummy and spicy pasta dish.” ~ Ceejay
Highlights of One Pot Pasta with Tomato Mascarpone Sauce
We’ve Nora Singley to thank for bringing us the genius of one pot pasta via Martha Stewart Living in 2013 (Food52). It was a revelation in my cooking years ago and was the inspiration not only behind this recipe but also my Creamy One Pot White Bean and Mushroom Orzo.
Although this tomato and mascarpone sauce pasta strays from Nora’s original one pot pasta recipe, I applied her simple method here.
This Recipe Is
- SO creamy (!!)
- made in one pot
- easily gluten free
If you love hearty Pasta Recipes, then you’ll enjoy this one pot pasta.
Mascarpone Cheese (mahs-car-POH-nay) is an ultra silky and creamy cows milk Italian cheese that’s rich with a slightly sweet flavor that pair so well in both sweet or savory recipes. It melts easy in sauce recipes, making it ideal for this mascarpone tomato pasta.
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How to Make Creamy Veggie Pasta with Tomato Mascarpone Sauce
step by step
This recipe can be made in a 3.5 – 4 quart Dutch oven or saute pan. You’ll need to give yourself enough room to stir the sauce, pasta and for wilting the spinach.
We love this recipe with veggie sausage. Our favorite is Seattle Field Roast Italian Garlic and Fennel. I cook it in the Dutch oven first, remove it, then add it back to the pot after the pasta is finished to warm through.
Traci’s Tips
- Find Mascarpone Cheese in the deli or specialty cheese sections of your well-stocked grocery store. It generally comes in 8-ounce tubs. I like BelGioioso Mascarpone and Vermont Creamery Mascarpone.
- Share with freshly grated parmesan, basil leaves and plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Serve with a baguette or warm Seeded Sourdough Bread and a salad such as a Kale Caesar Salad.
35-Minute One Pot Pasta with Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup (35 grams) Shallot, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Fresh Garlic, minced, about 3 plump cloves
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 28 ounces (794 grams) San Marzano Style Tomatoes, canned, whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 3/4 cups (385 grams) Water
- 1 teaspoon Dried Italian Seasonings
- 1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 8 ounces (230 grams) Penne Pasta
- 2/3 cup (5 ounces / 140 grams) Mascarpone Cheese
- 5 cups (5 ounces / 140 grams) Fresh Spinach, lightly packed, large leaves chopped
Garnish With:
- Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Basil, Ground Black Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes
Instructions
- In a 3.5 quart saute pan or 4 quart Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in the shallots and garlic. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, OR until shallots are soft and garlic is slightly golden and fragrant.
- Meanwhile, empty the tomatoes into a bowl and either crush the tomatoes by squeezing them with your hands or mash with a potato masher until broken down into smaller bits. Set aside.
- To the shallots and garlic, add the tomato paste, stirring and mashing frequently for about 3 minutes, or until slightly darker in color. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning, red pepper flake and salt. Stir.
- Pour the tomatoes and water into the pot and bring to a boil. Add the penne, adjust the heat to simmer, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Cook until aldente, about 11-14 minutes. It will seem almost soupy, but will thicken as the remaining ingredients are added.
- Remove from heat and stir in the mascarpone cheese until completely melted. Return to low heat and stir in the spinach, adding one handful after another stirring until wilted. Taste for salt adjustment.
- Spoon into bowls and serve with fresh grated Parmesan, torn basil leaves and fresh ground black pepper.
- To Store: Store in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Gently reheat stove top. You can freeze this recipe, however, the pasta looses its firmness and breaks easily.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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I loved this recipe easy to make and delicious
Best news ever, Max! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go!
so delicious! I preferred it with more salt though.
Hi Julian! Thank you for your note and giving the pasta a go. SO glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent recipe! So easy and versatile and I could follow it losely and still it came out amazing!
Easy peasy, so delicious, and weeknight friendly! It came out much saucier than the picture, so next time may increase pasta/spinach quantities or cook down a bit before adding pasta (or just eat it with a spoon). To avoid a small amount of leftover cheese, I used a full 6oz tub, which was a bit too rich for my taste – will start with 4oz next time and go up from there. Rather than dirty a separate bowl for the tomatoes, I added them whole and smashed them right in the pot. Talk about easy cleanup – pot, knife, cutting board. Thank you!
Hi Jennifer! I love hearing you’re enjoying the pasta and experimenting with the ratios. Thank you for your tomato tip :D. That little bit of leftover cheese is so tasty on toast, or eggs.
Delicious!! I just made it as a sauce and cooked the noodles separately. I also doubled the recipe so we were sure to have left overs. Very favourable and loved how creamy it was!
Hi Leah! Thank you for sharing your sauce only tip and five star review! SO glad you’re enjoying the pasta!
So since you didn’t put the noodles in, how much water did you put in or did you put any? Wonder if you could just add a little white wine if you’re not cooking the noodles in the sauce……?
SO, SO delicious!!! Followed it exactly except I used my homemade tomato sauce. A KEEPER of a recipe for sure. Thanks Traci!
Woooo! Thank you for your note and five star review! Homemade tomato sauce – I’m in!
Oh wow! What a easy, quick, yummy and spicy pasta dish. I cut the recipe in half for my hubs and me, used a 14.5 oz. can of cherry tomatoes instead of San Marzano, otherwise I made the recipe exactly as written. We both really enjoyed it and my “sous chef” said clean up was a breeze! Thanks for this recipe that will go on repeat in this household.