Are you a garlic lover? Then you need to try this Creamy Garlic Tomato Sauce for your next pasta dinner. It takes 30 minutes of (mostly hands-off) cooking and uses a whole head of garlic to achieve a beautiful blend of garlic and tomato flavours.
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A Perfect Blend of Sharp and Creamy
This foolproof garlic tomato sauce takes only 30 minutes to make, and it’s worth every minute. (The longer simmering time is essential for thickening the sauce and ensuring the flavours meld together.)
It’s cheaper than storebought pasta sauce, no additives, and much more flavourful too. It uses only fridge and pantry staples so you’re sure to have all the supplies on hand even for a last-minute meal.
Not too thin, not too thick. A little chunky. Though you can blend it smooth if you’d like. Full of sweet-savoury tomato and garlic flavours. And finally, a generous splash of heavy cream makes it irresistible.
If you can’t decide whether you’re a cream sauce or tomato sauce person, why not get the best of both worlds with this creamy tomato garlic sauce?
Ingredients + Substitutions
A few important notes on some of the ingredients used in this Creamy Garlic Tomato Sauce recipe:
Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is a must for any Italian tomato sauce! I use my garlic-infused oil from making Air Fryer Garlic Confit.
Butter: Adds richness. (Use garlic butter for extra punch.)
Garlic: Use a whole head of garlic. Yeah, you read that right. The fresh garlic flavour plays a major role here. Mince it up really, really fine so it melts into the tomato sauce.
(For an even more garlicky pasta sauce, try our recipe for Tomato Sauce with 30 Garlic Cloves)
Tomato Paste: Tomato paste intensifies the savoury tomato flavour. Plus it helps thickens the sauce.
Canned Whole Tomatoes: Canned whole tomatoes have the best flavour. Even better than fresh tomato in most cases. (Bianco DiNapoli and Cento are two high-quality brands that work well in cream sauces.) You can also used crushed tomatoes for a smoother sauce. I don’t recommend diced tomatoes—they don’t break down easily and will leave you with a thin, watery sauce with big blobs of tomato. If you only have diced tomatoes on hand, chuck the sauce in a blender to blend it smooth.
Salt, Black Pepper, and Italian Seasoning: Season to taste. We use ½ teaspoon of each. Here’s a homemade recipe for Italian seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
Red Pepper Flakes: These crushed red chili flakes are a staple in my kitchen. They’re great on pizza, pasta, dips, whatever. Add as much as you want if you like it spicy!
Heavy Cream: Essential to add an indulgent creamy taste.
See recipe card for quantities.
Directions
Step 1. Add olive oil and butter to a skillet on medium heat. Sauté garlic for about a minute or until just starting to brown.
Step 2. Add tomato paste and stir it around for half a minute to caramelize it. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Fry for a few more seconds.
Step 3. Pour in the canned tomatoes (juice and all). Stir to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer without covering. When it starts to bubble, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
Step 4. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat. Stir in heavy cream. Ladle the sauce over cooked pasta (around 1 cup of sauce for 6–8 ounces of cooked pasta). Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.
Tip: As long as you keep the heat low and stir occasionally, you won’t have much splattering with this recipe. But a splatter guard is a great investment. You can get them for a few dollars on Amazon or at IKEA, and you never have to worry about thick sauces splashing over your stovetop.
Variations
- Swap out tomato paste: Use red pepper paste for a spicy roasted pepper flavour (or even gochujang for an Asian kick!)
- Roasted garlic: Sub roasted garlic instead of raw garlic for a more mellow, caramelized flavour.
- Blended: Purée the sauce with an immersion blender for a super smooth creamy sauce.
- Make it vegan: Use a vegan butter and sub coconut milk for the heavy cream.
Storage
Fridge: Refrigerate creamy garlic tomato sauce in an airtight jar for up to three days.
Freezer: Freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. The sauce may separate slightly when thawed; just reheat it in a saucepan and stir it back together.
Canning: I do not recommend canning this garlic tomato sauce because it contains cream. The USDA warns against home canning dairy products.
Top Tips
If you find your canned tomatoes tasting too acidic, add a pinch of sugar to instantly brighten up the tomato flavour. Stir in some chopped fresh basil at the end of cooking for an herby burst.
Related Recipes
Looking for other garlic recipes? Try these:
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating or comment below to give me feedback and help out other readers.
Recipe Card
Creamy Garlic Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- Dutch oven or skillet with high sides
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil I use my garlic-infused oil from making garlic confit
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 head garlic, very finely minced around 10 cloves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning see Note 2
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste we use 1 teaspoon of each
- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes see Note 1
- ½ cup heavy cream aka whipping cream
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to a skillet on medium heat. Sauté 1 head garlic, very finely minced for about a minute or until just starting to brown.
- Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stir it around for half a minute to caramelize it. Add the ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste and fry for a few more seconds.
- Pour in the 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, juice and all. Stir to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer without covering. When it starts to bubble, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat. Stir in ½ cup heavy cream.
- Ladle the sauce over cooked pasta (around 1 cup of sauce for 6–8 ounces of cooked pasta). Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
- Tomatoes: Canned whole tomatoes have the best flavour. Even better than fresh tomato in most cases. (Muir Glen and Cento are two high-quality brands that work well in cream sauces.) You can also used canned crushed tomatoes for a smoother sauce. I don’t recommend diced tomatoes—they don’t break down easily and will leave you with a thin, watery sauce with big blobs of tomato. If you only have diced tomatoes on hand, chuck the sauce in a blender to blend it smooth.
- Homemade Italian Seasoning (makes 4 teaspoons): 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried marjoram, ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, ½ teaspoon dried sage
- Pasta: 1 batch of this recipe makes just enough sauce for a 16-ounce box of dried pasta.
Lynn says
This was quite yummy! So we used half cream instead of full cream and skipped the butter, but it was still a satisfying sauce.
Kelly Zhang says
Thanks for sharing what worked for you Lynn!