Amazing 25-Min Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Oh my gosh, are you tired of the weeknight dinner scramble? You know the feeling: long day, you open the fridge, and suddenly making anything that takes more than fifteen steps feels impossible. Well, let me tell you about the dish that completely changed my takeout game: the **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta**.

This isn’t just pasta; it’s pure, savory comfort that tastes like you spent hours on it, when really, it takes about twenty-five minutes total. The way those sun-dried tomatoes blend with the cheese? Unreal!

The very first time I whipped this up, it was a total impulse buy on a Tuesday night. I was staring down a jar of sun-dried tomatoes near the end of its life and thought, “Let’s see what happens!” Twenty minutes later, I was utterly hooked. Now, it’s my go-to for those evenings that demand big flavor with zero fuss, straight from my test kitchen to yours. I’m Sara Stein, by the way—Culinary Editor and Recipe Curator here—and trust me on this one; this recipe is gold.

Why This Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta is a Weeknight Hero

I know you’re looking for food that works hard so you don’t have to, and this recipe totally delivers. It’s proof that gourmet flavor doesn’t require standing over the stove forever. Frankly, if you can chop garlic, you can nail this dinner. It’s become my benchmark for how fast a meal should come together!

• Quick Prep and Cook Times: Seriously, we’re talking 5 minutes to prep everything, and then just 20 minutes cooking time. That puts dinner on the table in under half an hour. You just get it going and let the magic happen while you set the table.
• One-Skillet Simplicity: Cleanup? Don’t even sweat it. Since we build that rich sauce right in the same deep skillet you cook the pasta in, you’re looking at minimal dishes. I swear, less scrubbing means more time eating, right? If you love one-pot wonders, check out my Cajun Garlic Chicken Rotini Skillet too!

Gathering Ingredients for Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Okay, let’s talk about what you need! Since this recipe uses so few ingredients, the quality of what you bring home really matters. Don’t worry; most of this is pantry friendly, but pay attention to how you prep those key items. If you want restaurant flavor, you need to treat the ingredients right!

First up, those sun-dried tomatoes. If you can grab the ones packed in oil, drain them really well, but you absolutely must chop them finely—we want those little bursts of sweet-tart flavor distributed evenly, not giant chunks in every bite. You’ll need about half a cup chopped.

For the base flavor that starts everything singing, grab two tablespoons of good butter and two cloves of garlic that you’ve minced up super fine. Seriously, don’t skimp on the fresh garlic here; that’s where that wonderful aroma comes from!

The pasta itself is usually fettuccine—about 8 ounces worth. But remember my rule: if you want shorter strands, just snap them right in half before they hit the pan! It’s easier than you think. We’re also tossing in half a teaspoon of dried basil and just a pinch of freshly cracked pepper. I like my pepper aggressive in this dish, so feel free to eyeball a little extra!

Now for the creaminess! We need two cups of chicken broth to cook the pasta, one cup of whole milk, and the star of the sauce: about two ounces of cream cheese, cut right into chunks before you start cooking. Having those chunks ready means they melt down quickly later. Finally, grab a quarter cup of grated Parmesan cheese. I always use one of those little tubs of pre-grated stuff for speed in this specific recipe, but freshly grated dissolves the best if you have the energy!

If you’re thinking about adding chicken, I have an amazing Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Recipe that uses similar flavors, but for this one-pot version, focusing on these core ingredients really lets the tomatoes shine!

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

This is where the magic happens! Since we are trying to get this delicious **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta** done quickly, every step needs to flow right into the next. Don’t worry about making a huge mess; it all happens in one spot, which is the best part. Just make sure you have a deep skillet or a trusty Dutch oven ready to go!

Sauté Aromatics and Prepare Components

First things first, make sure those sun-dried tomatoes you gathered are chopped up nice and small. We want little flavorful confetti, not big chunks!

Next, put your skillet over medium heat and drop in those two tablespoons of butter. When it’s melted and maybe just starting to look glossy, toss in your minced garlic. Now, this is important: you only want to sauté that garlic for about one minute. You are aiming for that incredible, pungent aroma that fills your kitchen—the second it smells amazing, you gotta move on. If it browns, it gets bitter, and we can’t have that in our creamy sauce!

Simmering the Pasta in Broth for Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Time to load up the pan! Add your fettuccine right into the skillet with the garlic and butter. Dump in your chopped tomatoes, that dried basil, and that pinch of pepper we picked out. Then, pour in your two cups of chicken broth. If my fettuccine is being stubborn and won’t lay flat, I just break the noodles in half—nobody minds short pasta in a one-pot meal. It just helps them submerge!

Put the lid on, crank the heat up to high, and wait for a full boil. The second it starts bubbling hard, give everything a good, thorough stir to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Then, immediately turn the heat down to low—the absolute lowest setting that still keeps a gentle simmer going. We let this cook, covered, for about 7 to 10 minutes. Remember to peek and stir every couple of minutes; that stirring is what keeps the noodles from clumping up on you while they soak up all that wonderful broth. Once the broth is mostly gone and the pasta is tender, we’re ready for the luxurious part!

Creating the Rich Cream Sauce

Keep that heat on low; we don’t want anything burning now! Take those chunks of cream cheese and start stirring them in. You’ll notice it melts surprisingly fast right into the hot pasta mixture. Once it’s smooth, pour in the whole milk and whisk everything together until you’ve got a unified, beautiful sauce coating everything. This is when it truly becomes the **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta**!

Finally, sprinkle in your grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until it melts completely and the sauce has that perfect thickness. If you are worried about it getting too thick, try adding a splash more milk. If you want an amazing one-pan vegetarian option, I also have a great recipe for Creamy Tuscan Chicken Skillet ideas that use similar sauce bases!

Tips for the Best Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Texture

Even though this is a super simple recipe, there are a couple of little secrets I learned through trial and error that really take this dish from “pretty good” to “I need the recipe immediately.” When you’re cooking pasta right in the sauce, you have to pay a little extra attention to everything boiling down just right. Trust me, these few pointers will save you from a sticky situation!

Managing Liquid Absorption

So, the recipe calls for 7 to 10 minutes of simmering, but you know how it is—no two stovetops are exactly alike! The exact time it takes for the pasta to finish absorbing the broth really depends on the shape of your skillet, how deep it is, and even the specific brand of fettuccine you bought. Those noodles act like little sponges, and if your pan is shallower, the liquid evaporates faster.

Here’s my pro tip for liquid management: if you peek during the simmer and the pan looks dangerously dry before the pasta is actually tender—like, you can see the bottom of the skillet—DO NOT panic! Just pour in another splash or two of your chicken broth or even just hot water. You want the pasta to be bathing gently while it cooks, not trying to fry itself to the bottom of the pan. This little adjustment guarantees the noodles get perfectly al dente.

Achieving Maximum Creaminess

When it comes time to melt in that cream cheese for our rich sauce, speed and smoothness are what we are aiming for. If you throw in a cold block of cream cheese straight from the fridge, you’re going to spend what feels like an eternity stirring while trying to get it to melt evenly. That often leads to scrambling or lumpy bits in the final sauce.

My advice? Take the cream cheese out when you start chopping your tomatoes. By the time you get to the sauce-making step, those chunks will be closer to room temperature, and they’ll blend into the hot milk and parmesan like they were meant to be there all along! It makes that final whisking step so much easier, resulting in a velvety sauce every single time. It’s the little things that make such a difference when you’re making something as comforting as this Creamy Crock Pot Chicken style flavor profile.

Serving Suggestions for Your Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Now that you’ve mastered the main event, the million-dollar question is: what goes beside this rich, dreamy pasta? Since the **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta** is so decadent, featuring that beautiful combination of cheese and oil-rich tomatoes, the best companions are usually things that offer a nice, crisp contrast in texture and brightness. You want something light to cut through all that richness!

I’ve found that simple greens work wonders. A quick side salad is perfect. You don’t want anything heavy near this main dish! Think crisp mixed greens with a light vinaigrette—maybe lemon and olive oil. That little bit of acidity is exactly what your palate needs between bites of that gooey fettuccine.

If you want to keep that Italian theme going, some lightly roasted asparagus or simple garlic bread (used for dipping up any extra sauce left in the bowl, naturally!) are fantastic additions. I love making a batch of my Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad when I serve this pasta; the fresh crunch of cucumber is a perfect counterpoint to the creamy sauce.

And don’t forget the final touch we mentioned! Make sure you leave that little grinder of black pepper right on the table. Even if you sprinkled some on when you served it, some people just like that extra sharp kick right before they dive in. It really highlights the savory notes of the sun-dried tomatoes.

Storage and Reheating Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

So you made a monster batch of the **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta**—which, let’s be honest, is most of the fun! The good news is this tastes just as good the next day, but you do have to be careful because dairy-based sauces like this one can be a little dramatic when you reheat them. They sometimes decide they don’t want to be creamy anymore!

When you are putting leftovers away, try to use an airtight container, obviously, and get it into the fridge within two hours. I usually find that this pasta is really best eaten within three days. Any longer than that, and the noodles just start getting too soft for my liking.

Here’s the crucial part about reheating: when you pull the container out of the fridge, don’t just blast it in the microwave! It will likely look stiff, kind of broken apart, or maybe even a little oily. That’s the cream cheese throwing a tantrum.

To bring it back to life and get that silky texture, you MUST introduce some liquid back into the mix. You can stand right over the microwave (or stovetop) and stir in just a splash of milk or, even better, a little bit of warm chicken broth while you heat it up gently. I start with just a tablespoon of liquid and go from there. You stir, heat for thirty seconds, stir again, and keep adding small amounts of liquid until that luxurious, silky texture returns. Honestly, a little broth makes it taste almost freshly made again—it’s such a simple fix!

Variations on This Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Part of the fun of any great staple recipe, like our fantastic **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta**, is making it totally yours! This dish is so straightforward and accommodating that it basically begs you to toss in whatever else you have hanging out in the fridge. It’s sturdy enough to handle some extra bulk without turning into mush, which is always a win.

My favorite modification when I’m trying to sneak in some greens is adding spinach right near the very end when we melt the cream cheese. You just toss in a huge handful or two, and watch it wilt down into the sauce in about sixty seconds flat. It adds color and a tiny bit of nutritional boost without changing the core flavor profile we love so much. If you’re into heartier sides, you might also want to check out my recipe for Spinach Artichoke Spaghetti Squash where we play with baked veggie texture!

If you want to turn this into a full-blown, protein-packed dinner that’s going to keep the whole family full for hours, adding cooked meat is a no-brainer. Leftover grilled chicken is perfect sliced up and stirred in right before serving. You could also brown up some Italian sausage in the skillet *before* you fry the garlic—just make sure you drain off most of that grease! The sausage fat adds an intense savory layer that pairs incredibly well with the sweet tomatoes.

Another simple variation that makes a big impact is fresh mushrooms. Sauté sliced mushrooms alongside your garlic until they release their water and start getting nicely browned. They bring an earthy depth that complements the Parmesan so nicely. Honestly, once you master the base, you can treat this skillet recipe like a springboard for whatever flavor adventure strikes you that night!

Frequently Asked Questions About Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

It’s funny how many questions pop up once you start cooking something simple! Even though this recipe for **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta** seems straightforward, sometimes little doubts creep in. I’ve gathered the most common things folks ask me when they’re making this for the first time. Don’t worry about anything seeming silly—if you’re asking, someone else is wondering too!

Can I use oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes instead of dry ones?

Oh, absolutely, you can! In fact, sometimes the oil-packed ones have a richer, deeper tomato flavor, and they are super easy to work with. The main thing you need to remember is that you are adding extra fat into the dish since that oil is concentrated flavor. So, if you use oil-packed tomatoes, make sure you drain them really well. I’d also suggest dropping your initial butter measurement down from two tablespoons to just one or one and a half. Otherwise, you might end up with a slightly slicker sauce than intended.

What is the best type of pasta for this recipe?

I always list fettuccine because those wide, flat ribbons do such a great job of catching all that gorgeous, slow-melted cream cheese sauce. They really feel luxurious when you twirl them up. Having said that, since this is a one-skillet, boil-in-sauce method, you have total flexibility! Short pasta works brilliantly too, especially if you prefer not to break noodles.

Penne, rotini, or even short rigatoni work perfectly well because they trap the sauce inside their tubes and curves. If you use a short pasta, just keep an eye on the simmer time, as they might cook a tiny bit faster than long fettuccine.

Can I make this a vegetarian dish?

That is the easiest ‘yes’ you can imagine! This recipe is naturally meatless, which I love for simple weeknights. The only modification you need to worry about is the broth. Since the recipe calls for chicken broth to give it that savory depth, just swap that out entirely for vegetable broth. Voila! You’ve got a perfect vegetarian **Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta** that still packs all the creamy punches, and you can feel great about serving it to everyone.

If you’re looking for other meatless comfort dishes, you should check out my ideas for Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese—that creamy factor is strong there too!

Estimated Nutritional View for Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Okay, let’s talk fuel! Because this is a homemade recipe using whole ingredients like cheese and butter, it’s definitely on the richer side, which is probably why it tastes so ridiculously good. I always have to remind myself that this is a hearty comfort meal, not a light salad!

What I’m providing down below is just an estimate, mind you. The actual numbers can swing depending on the exact brand of Parmesan you use or how much oil actually clung to your sun-dried tomatoes. This calculation is based on the full recipe breakdown resulting in four generous servings.

If you’re tracking macros or curious about how this stacks up nutrition-wise, here is a general idea of what you’re looking at per serving. For more general tips on tracking your meals, you can check out my resource section on food and nutrition!

• Calories: Approximately 650 – 720 kcal
• Total Fat: Around 35g (Yes, that’s the richness talking!)
• Protein: Roughly 25g
• Total Carbohydrates: Approximately 60g
• Dietary Fiber: About 3g
• Sugar: Near 6g (Mostly from the milk and tomatoes, not added sugars!)

See? Lots of flavor, lots of satisfying carbs from the pasta, and a good boost of protein from the milk and cheese to keep you full. Enjoy every bite, because it’s worth it!

Share Your Experience Making This Dish

Whew! Now that you’ve got the skillet sizzling and that incredible aroma swirling around your kitchen, I really want to hear about it! Making this **Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta** is just the first step; the real joy comes from seeing how you all make it your own.

I put my heart into testing and perfecting every measurement so you don’t have to stress, so if you loved the result, please do me a huge favor and give this recipe a rating! Five stars are always appreciated because it tells me that my tweaks and tips really worked for you. You can click right below the recipe card to let me know how you felt about the creaminess or the speed of cooking.

Even more than the stars, I live for the comments! Tell me, what was your favorite part? Was it the cheesy melt? Did you break the fettuccine like I suggested? Or maybe you went rogue and added something unexpected? If you tried out one of those variations we talked about—like adding spinach or sausage—drop the details below! I get so many great ideas from my readers.

If you snap a picture of your dinner masterpiece—and believe me, this pasta is very photogenic—please tag me on social media! Seeing my recipes come to life on your tables is honestly the best part of my job, right after tasting the final product, of course. You can find all my latest kitchen adventures and ramblings over on my About Me page, too, if you want to get to know me better!

Happy cooking, friends. I can’t wait to see your creamy, tomato-y creations!