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My Pink Sauce recipe is creamy, cheesy, and perfect for pairing with pasta of all kinds. Enjoy pink pasta sauce with ham, sausage, pork, chicken, or steak pasta using your favorite noodles. Ready in 20 minutes or less!
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Pink Sauce
I have been making tomato cream sauce pasta for my family for years, and can tell you it is always a hit! My kids love this recipe, and it's such a staple for our household, I can't wait to serve it to my grandkids.
That's part of what makes this Italian pink sauce recipe truly special - you can count on it to be a comforting, delicious, and easy pasta sauce your own family will love. It's hearty and filling while remaining light and creamy at the same time.
The best part about pink sauce pasta is you can change the protein based on what your family prefers. Mine loves this dish with ham or sausage, but you can use chicken, steak, or even simple vegetables.
Pink Sauce Recipe Ingredients
- Pasta noodles of choice (I used elbow macaroni noodles)
- Butter
- Minced garlic or garlic paste
- Italian sausage, mild or spicy; or, diced ham
- Tomato sauce
- Half & half
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parsley
Pink Sauce Pasta
- Cook pasta noodles according to package directions.
- Add half a stick of butter to a skillet over medium-high heat and melt.
- Add garlic and cook until lightly browned, being careful not to burn it.
- Add Italian sausage, ham, or meat of choice. For sausage, break it up into tiny pieces using a wooden spoon and cook until browned. For ham, cook until it is browned and begins to "pop" in the pan. For all other meats, cook through completely and to desired doneness before moving on to the next step.
- Once meat is done cooking, add tomato sauce and stir until well-blended.
- Lower the heat. Gradually pour in half & half while stirring. Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce is well-blended.
- Add in your cooked pasta, then mix in Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Once fully mixed, top with parsley if desired, and enjoy!
Pasta Pink Sauce Recipe Tips
- You can use any meat you like. If using chicken or steak, cook in strips or cubes and make sure the meat is cooked through before adding sauce ingredients. Season the meat as desired before cooking, but test salt levels before adding more.
- Cook pasta so it is just slightly underdone because it will continue to cook when you add it to the sauce.
- Add the half & half gradually, not all at once, and only after lowering the heat. If you add the half & half too quickly, it may curdle.
- Break up any chunks of Parmesan as you add it to the sauce.
Pink Sauce for Pasta FAQs
Typically, pink pasta sauces use a mixture of cream and tomato sauce. Pink pasta sauce is a tomato cream sauce using olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, chicken stock, half & half, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and parsley.
Although vodka cream sauce and pink pasta sauce are both tomato cream sauce recipes, vodka sauce uses vodka, while pink sauce is an alcohol-free sauce using chicken stock.
You can make pink sauce without heavy cream by using half & half or even milk. The texture will be thinner if using milk, but you can thicken it as you like with additional cheese or by adding a roux.
Pasta Sauce Recipes
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Pink Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- Skillet
- Colander
- Large pot
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 16 ounce box pasta your choice, I recommend a shell pasta or macaroni
- ½ stick butter 4 Tablespoons
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic or garlic paste
- 1 pound Italian sausage mild or spicy - or 2 cups ham, or any meat of choice
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup half & half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
- parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta noodles according to package directions.
- Add half a stick of butter to a skillet over medium-high heat and melt.
- Add garlic and cook until lightly browned, being careful not to burn it.
- Add Italian sausage, ham, or meat of choice. For sausage, break it up into tiny pieces using a wooden spoon and cook until browned. For ham, cook until it is browned and begins to "pop" in the pan. For all other meats, cook through completely and to desired doneness before moving on to the next step.
- Once meat is done cooking, add tomato sauce and stir until well-blended.
- Lower the heat. Gradually pour in half & half while stirring. Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce is well-blended.
- Add in your cooked pasta, then mix in Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Once fully mixed, top with parsley if desired, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can use any meat you like. If using chicken or steak, cook in strips or cubes and make sure the meat is cooked through before adding sauce ingredients. Season the meat as desired before cooking, but test salt levels before adding more.
- Cook pasta so it is just slightly underdone, because it will continue to cook when you add it to the sauce.
- Add the half & half gradually, not all at once, and only after lowering the heat. If you add the half & half too quickly, it may curdle.
- Break up any chunks of Parmesan as you add it to the sauce.
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