Cappellini in Fresh Tomato Cream Sauce
I’ve been thinking about creating a tomato cream sauce for a while. Actually, I wanted to make a vodka sauce, but I absolutely cannot stand vodka so we never have any in the house. We do, however, continually have a veritable mountain of tomatoes in the kitchen. Hello, Summer!
I’m beginning to get a huge crush on blender sauces. Toss everything into the blender, whiz it up, heat it up and you’re done. Between the blender sauce and the cappellini (aka angel hair) that cooks in 2-3 minutes, this is a lightning quick meal. It’s fast and tasty, but not exactly healthy. It’s a cream sauce! What do you want from me?!
The sauce makes enough to coat two reasonable portions of pasta. I say “reasonable” because when it comes to pasta, that’s not what I usually make. I tend to go for “ridiculous” which usually ends in my husband and I complaining that are stomachs are going to absolutelyexploderightthisminute for an hour after eating. If you make more than two lunch-sized pasta portions, you might want to make more sauce. However, you don’t want to drown your cappellini. This dish works best when it’s just lightly coated.
Cappellini in Fresh Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves Two
4 Small Tomatoes, quartered (about 2 Cups)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Italian Herbs of your choice
3 Tbs Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 Tbs Earth Balance
1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
2-4 Cloves Garlic, optional
Heat well-salted water for you pasta.
While heating, whiz your tomatoes around in your blender until it becomes as smooth as it’s going to get. You should now have 1 cup of pink tomato sludge. Add remaining ingredients and blend again until well combined. Add mixture to a skillet over medium heat. Once you start to see it bubble, you’re going to have to stir it fairly constantly so it doesn’t burn. Use one of those fun rubber spatulas for this, I think it does the job best.
The sauce will be a light pink color when you start, but by the time it’s done it’ll be a rich, creamy orange. You basically want to cook it until the tomatoes lose their raw taste, which shouldn’t take too long, about 10 minutes.
Just before the sauce is done, add your pasta (broken in half for easier mixing with the sauce) to the water. Check for doneness after 2 minutes. Strain and add pasta directly to the sauce, right in the skillet there on the stove. Mix well and serve immediately topped with lots of freshly cracked black pepper.
If this dish sits after the sauce is added, it’ll clump up a bit. It’ll still be tasty, but the noodles will stick together. It’s best if you time it so you can serve it immediately. That should be pretty easy to do since the pasta cooks so quickly–just have it be the last part of your meal that you prepare.
you said vodka, I have to run and hide now. this looks fantabulous!
When I was in Japan, they made a tomato mango pasta sauce once. It was fucking phenomenal.
What a beautiful photo, and the recipe sounds delicious!! Thanks for the post!
I just made this using canned tomato sauce. Creamy and good!
wow, that was fast orangeluna!
Mmmrph. Excuse me while I snarf down my serving of this. Yum! What a great recipe. I blurred it all up in my vitamix and watched it change from pink to orange, just like you described. I used Tofutti’s chive flavor cream cheese instead, because that’s what I had on hand, but it still worked wonderfully. I’ll definitely make this again!
Gorgeous! Haha, I like how you’re “getting a huge crush on blender sauces,” you’re hilarious. The cappelini looks fantastic, and the sauce not too “creamy!” Just perfect.
I buy those little airplane bottles of vodka to make sauce with. Cheap, one-time usage. It’s wonderful with the fresh summer tomato and basil, soy creamer and silken tofu.
Hm, now I want to make it again!
I have to admit that I love your blog, the pictures look amazing, plus the food sounds great.
Now, I admit I am not a Vegan. I respect people who don’t want to eat any type of meat by-product, but for me I do like to eat meat. I don’t go overboard. However I love using your recipes and have used many of them along side a small meat dish.
Keep up the good work
Dave.
I love tomato sauce, but this creamy version is new to me – looks delicious!
That looks amazing!
wow! gr8 blog u’ve here, this is the first time i’m visiting your blog, and liked it a lot. I look forward to try out your recipe very soon. Luv Pasta !
This also looks glorious and I see you’ve used the tofutti cream cheese. I’m going to have to keep my eyes peeled for the closest Australian version. Can I also ask what Earth Balance is? Thanks for this delicious looking recipe.
You really are brilliant at this food thing — making a tomato cream sauce out of tofutti! I am also not a vegan, although I don’t eat red or the other white meat. I do LOVE vegetable dishes and tofu and am always looking for tasty new veggie and tofu dishes.
TimeoutNY had a story about career changers and wrote something that people who aspire to be chefs don’t need to go to cooking school. You are certainly proof of that (vegan) pudding.
I am looking forward to your cookbook!
YUM!!!
I made this tonight since I had some great, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil on hand. I didn’t have cappellini so I used regular multigrain spaghetti pasta and also added dried thyme & oregano to the herb mixture. Extremely easy and tasty! I’m eating this right now with “parmesan cheese” (that rice cheese in a shaker) on top!
I find cappellini and angel hair very delicate to handle. Will try this with spaghetti. I think silken tofu will also be nice addition instead of cream cheese.. Beautiful pic!
jillian, thanks for the airplane vodka bottle suggestion, our corner liquor store has tiny bottles for around a dollar. although i am no a big fan of rachael ray, she has some kind of vodka pasta sauce she makes and calls it ‘you won’t be single for long’ pasta sauce.
oh yum, you have no idea how excited i am to try this! i used to be a big fan back in the pregan days. thank you!
this looks delish! I have to try it!
how do you get such clear and amazing pictures?
Do I need to peel and deseed the tomatoes for this? I usually scarf down the good, fresh tomatoes… but our plants are really producing this year! I don’t want to end up with a sauce full of bitter seeds and locular jelly…
I just made this again – I used baby roma tomatoes still on the vine, and the herb mixture was fresh sage, thyme and oregano. And I used corn penne since I’m trying to do the gluten free thing for a bit. AMAZING!!!
This is going on my list of keepers. I LOVE tomato cream sauce but while I’m not vegan, the idea of all that cream can kind of gross me out. I can’t wait to try this!
Hey, I just made this – getting over a cold and wanting tomatoes and garlic and something substantial – and it turned out really well. I made some minor substitutions – olive oil for earth balance – but no big thing. Thanks for doing the blog, it’s really great!
deeeeeeeeeeeeelish! i added roasted red peppers, roasted garlic and fresh basil, and it was amazing, and really easy to make. i used whole grain angel hair pasta and it was beautiful. i can’t wait to see your cook book!
deeeeeeeeeeeeelish! i added roasted red peppers, roasted garlic and fresh basil- it was amazing, and really easy to make. i used whole grain angel hair pasta and it was beautiful. i can’t wait to see your cook book!
i just made this and it was so yummy! i used canned tomatoes and regular spaghetti and it was superb. thanks for helping feed vegans such fine things.
What’s Earth Balance?
Ellen – Earth Balance is a vegan butter replacement.
oh my yum! i made this last night for dinner and it was a hit. it reminded me of when i was a high schooler and LOVED those pasta-roni dishes (icky!) — this was fast, delicious, cheap and the color was neat. i roasted the garlic before and it made a nice flavor for it.
I made this when you first posted it and loved it. Tonight while passing the tofutti cream cheese at the store I suddenly remembered it and HAD to make it. I googled “tofu cream cheese tomato sauce” and of COURSE, your blog was the first hit. ;)
Thanks! <3
OMG! This was so incredible…as I ate one batch, I started making another! I have been searching endlessly for a good VEGAN cream sauce and I am happy to report that the search is over. Yum yum yum yum yum! Thank you SO much for sharing this. I love it!
Yum – looks amazing! Your comments about expectation and food are so true! Whenever I introduce a non-veg person to a fake meat or fake cheese dish I tell them even though it’s called ‘meat’ loaf or whatever, don’t expect or hope for it to taste like your mom’s meat loaf. Just expect it to be good.
Ha, that last comment was supposed to go under mac n cheeze. But whatever, it all looks amazing!
This was so delicious! Everyone in my family loved it and I’m the only vegan! I will be making this at least once a week! It was so quick and easy! Thank you sooooo much!!!
this sauce was so easy and pretty tasty. i am definitely going to experiment with my own versions of this! i like yours, but i want to add more veggies in order to get some extra nutrients. delish!
This is also amazing with Spaghetti Squash!
I read the ingredients on tofutti better than sour cream and better than cream cheese – HYDROGENATED oil!!!!! No ok in my book, but I’m allergic to milk, so I need an alternative. Does anyone have any suggestions? I want to try several recipes that call for heavy cream or other such ingredients. I also want to make truffles, and need to figure out what to use when the recipe calls for cream there – I tried pureeing tofu, but it doesn’t ever get that smooth. What would you suggest?
@Jennifer DeMent:
You have to look for the non-hydrogenated varieties: yellow container for cream cheese and blue for sour cream (Tofutti brand). There are other fake cream cheese and sour cream on the market as well (such as those made by Follow Your Heart). Although better products, these non-hydrogenated varieties are still highly processed (but I still love them).
I made this for dinner tonight and it was great! I used canned whole plum tomatoes (didn’t have any fresh) and added fresh oregano and parsley. Keep up the great recipes!
Did anyone measure how many ounces this makes when they made it? I’m trying to make lasagna and I need 16 oz of sauce, this sounds like the perfect one!
I made this for Valentine’s Day, and I have to say that this cream sauce is one of the best things I have ever tasted. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe. I will definitely be making this again!
I just made this with spaghetti and put in some homemade wheat gluten “chicken”.
Needless to say, this is a keeper. It’s like eating at an expensive italian restaurant, but at home! Superb, awesome, amazing, delicious recipe. Thanks a billion!
Nice and quick. Super yummy. Here’s my take: http://veganniche.blogspot.com/2010/03/creamy-tomato-pasta-and-salad.html