This pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce recipe made me reconcile with ricotta, and that was not a small feat. The ricotta helps to tone down the sweetness coming from the shallots and the tomato puree and binds the ingredients together beautifully. It makes for a luscious sauce that coats the pasta perfectly!
There is still a long way for me to go in order not to think that putting ricotta in cheesecakes is an atrocity. Who would prefer a ricotta cheesecake with a gritty texture to a silky smooth cream cheese one? Really who? I want an explanation. But I digress. In this recipe though, the ricotta is a true asset as it rounds up the flavors of the sauce while making it creamier.
EASY WEEKNIGHT DINNER
This pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce recipe comes from one of my dearest friends who made it for me the last time she visited. I couldn’t believe I was actually enjoying something with ricotta in it so I had to ask for the recipe. Technically it used to be a lasagna recipe with layers upon layers of finely cut summer vegetables mixed in the sauce, lasagna sheets, bechamel sauce, and a copious amount of grated cheese.
However, I decided to turn her recipe into something lighter, something I could make with cupboard staples anytime I felt like it. I really liked the consistency the ricotta brought to the tomato sauce and I didn’t want to have to wait to have enough time to make lasagna to be able to enjoy it. Making pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce is way simpler than making lasagna from scratch but it is still plenty flavorful and comforting to boot.
STEP BY STEP
PREPARE IN ADVANCE
You can prepare the sauce for up to 3 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat gently over medium-low heat while cooking pasta.
Freezing is also a great option if you have the possibility. Because the recipe does not use up the whole tub of ricotta, I will often double the quantity of the sauce ingredients and freeze half of the sauce. Wait for the sauce to cool down completely and place it in a freezer bag. You can keep the sauce in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat it gently in a saucepan while you cook pasta. If you have forgotten to thaw the sauce overnight, you can reheat it directly in the pan but it will take longer. The sauce will be a bit more watery but the flavors will be preserved.
Are you looking for other pasta recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
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Pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A pasta recipe chock-full of finely chopped veggies with a ricotta and tomato sauce. You don’t need to feel guilty anymore about having pasta for dinner! [healthyish + freezer friendly]
Ingredients
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2 tbsp olive oil
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1 big onion
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2 garlic cloves
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100g dried tomatoes (1 ½ cup)
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1 zucchini
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1*120g tin of diced mushroom (8-ounce can)
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120ml white wine (1/2 cup)
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1*300g tin of plum tomatoes (10-ounce can or 1 ¼ cup)
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1 tsp caster sugar
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1 vegetable stock cube
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half a bunch of basil, leaves only, torn
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125g ricotta (1/2 cup)
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300g dry paccheri (4 cups)
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3 tbsp parmesan
Instructions
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Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic cloves and zucchini. Dice the dried tomatoes.
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Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, cook for 10 min until softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.
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Add the chopped garlic and dried tomatoes and continue cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
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Add the zucchini and mushrooms, mix well with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat for 10 min or until wilted.
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Pour in the wine and leave to bubble and cook away for 4 min.
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Add the tomatoes with their juice, stir well, try breaking the plum tomatoes apart a little with the spoon. Sprinkle the sugar, season with salt and pepper.
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Pour 200ml of boiling water in a bowl and dilute the vegetable stock cube in it. Pour the stock mixture in the pan, increase the heat a little bit and bring the sauce to a boil. Then cover with a lid and let it simmer 10 min over a lower heat. Give it a stir from time to time. Meanwhile bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
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Add the basil and ricotta to the sauce, stir well until combined. Taste and season accordingly. If it looks a bit dry add a splash of water to help it along.
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Put the lid back on again and let the sauce simmer at a very low heat while you cook the pasta. When it’s ready the sauce should have the consistency of a ragù.
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Once the paccheri is 1 min short of ready, drain, reserving a bit of the cooking water.
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Spoon half of the sauce in the plates, put the drained paccheri on the sauce and spoon the other half of the sauce on top of the paccheri. Delicately toss to coat the paccheri, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed.
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Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 612
- Fat: 16.3g
Keywords: tomato sauce, ricotta, ricotta and tomato sauce, pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce
Joseph
white wine dry or sweet or chardonnay. Paccheri ??? canned mushrooms to much liquid. how about fresh ?? also could you show a n index to find recipes. ,like what cuisine country ingredient and so on. ??? this recipe found by looking at another HELP ASSISTANCE. it looks awesome. and the chicken Caribbean one is dynamite. been cooking for 72 years can remember my first. fried eggs sunny side up snuck down to basement kitchen early before everyone was up so I would not be scolded for being near flame on stove. was 6 yrs old ..made my own flame grilled small fish outside on return from a small lake a mile walk away yummy love what recipes I have found you are an amazing person I was delighted to read about you. I also grow a nice garden, all heirloom vegetables like kohlrab , bon chow , cabbages carrots 5 kinds , beets 3 kinds , radishes 3 kinds ,French are my favorite, German next best , rutabaga , 7 kinds pole and bush beans , escarole love it in a chicken broth with white beans , herbs lots of em , roman lettuce bib lettuce , Nagasaki cabbage , thing You can not buy at da markets . love to cook love fishing love the LORD ,
★★★★★
Amélie
I’m also delighted to read your stories, they always brighten my day!
I could totally picture you cooking as a little kid! I used to wait for my dad to go to the supermarket so I could use the oven to bake in secret.
If you click on ‘recipe box‘ in the menu below the website’s banner, it will take you to the index. There you’ll be able to browse the recipe by types of cuisine of types of meal.
If you are on a phone you’ll have to click first on the 3 bars on the top left corner, next to the banner, to make the menu appear.