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One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake. Creamy, spicy, tomato basil pesto sauce made with summer tomatoes, basil pesto, and a touch of red enchilada sauce, then tossed with fettuccine pasta, creamy goat cheese, and melty fontina cheese. Finish the dish off with torn mozzarella and throw it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Two words, SO GOOD. This pasta takes just minutes to make, uses just ONE pot, and has the simplest of summertime ingredients…most of which you may have in your pantry right now! If you’re looking for a new summer pasta dinner, this is it.
This has got to be one of my better recipes.
It’s really just as easy as the title suggest and yet it’s so delicious. Boil pasta, add it right back to that same pot, add all the remaining ingredients, bake 10 minutes, top with fresh tomatoes and basil. Done.
Simple, right? Perfect for a Monday.
By the way, happy Monday! I’m going to skip the details of our snowy weekend since I’m honestly just exhausted/tired of complaining about our weather. All I will say is that I stayed inside, caught up on work, surrounded myself with cherry tomatoes, fresh peaches, corn, and all the fresh berries. Oh, and chamomile and peonies too…thank God for Whole Foods and their flower department.
I also made this creamed corn chicken and shared all the details on Instagram. It was delicious and made for the perfect Saturday night dinner at home.
What did you all do?
So, this pasta. It’s been a long-time favorite. I’ve actually been making this one for years. It was created out of the contents of my fridge and whatever was in my pantry. Since it was summertime way back when I first made this, that meant plenty of tomatoes and plenty of basil. I took those two ingredients, grabbed everything else in my fridge (literally), and about 30 minutes later I had this pasta on the table.
It turned out better than I could have imagined and it’s been a favorite ever since. It’s been a while since I made this, but with summer here I thought it was the perfect time to pull out this oldie, but goodie recipe. Plus, our freezing cold summer weather calls for slightly cozier, but still summery recipes.
Here’s the deal, just because this pasta bake is simple doesn’t mean it’s in lacking flavor. NO. I love a simple recipe, but I hate a flavorless recipe. Which is probably why I don’t have a ton of those 5 ingredient recipes here on HBH (though these 5 ingredient chocolate peanut butter cookies are a favorite). I know that just 5 ingredients are great and all, but I really like textures and layers of flavors, and so much color (all about the color). That can be hard to achieve with only 5 ingredients, you know?
Anyway, my point is – this is simple, but oh so flavorful. What’s the secret? Well, there’s a few, so let’s talk details.
First things first, boil your pasta. Really, you can use any cut of pasta you love. We’re partial to a longer cut of pasta around here, so I typically use fettuccine when making this. Penne or rigatoni would be equally delicious I’m sure.
Boil the pasta, drain, and add it right back to the same hot pot. Once the pasta is drained and added back to the pot, toss in the remaining ingredients. Yes, all ingredients except for the mozzarella go in. The mozzarella will get sprinkled over the pasta just before baking. Adding the sauces and cheese to the hot pot, along with the hot pasta is KEY. The tomato sauce warms the goat cheese, which melts into the sauce, and the basil in the pesto is infused by the heat. This creates a super luscious and creamy pasta sauce.
To create a really intense tomato basil flavor, I use a mix of marinara sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh cherry tomatoes.
To add a spicy kick? Enchilada sauce. I know, it’s beyond weird, but trust me, the enchilada sauce is that ingredient that makes everyone say YUM. It adds a layer of spicy, smoky flavor that’s a really nice switch-up from a more classic tomato basil pasta. You don’t realize it’s there, you just taste a little bit of a spicy kick. Again, trust me, it’s delicious.
To keep things creamy, I toss in some goat cheese and then swirl in just a touch of coconut milk (or heavy cream). It makes for a baked pasta that’s saucy and super creamy.
Assuming you’re using an oven-safe pot, you can finish off the pasta with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and then throw it into the oven for a few minutes to melt. If you don’t have an oven-safe pot, just transfer the pasta to your favorite baker. Either option will work great!
As soon as the pasta comes out of the oven, the sauce will be bubbling, the cheese will be melty, and your house is going to smell amazing. Kind of like summer.
Finish the pasta with all the fresh basil you can find and sweet cherry tomatoes for a layer of light, summery freshness. It’s the perfect complement to the richness of the creamy sauce. Kind of like a salad for your pasta! I mean, kind of…
This pasta bake is a summer weeknight essential. BUT it can also double as a fancy weekend dinner to serve to friends and family too. It’s perfect to prep ahead of time and then bake up just before serving. Add a side salad full of garden produce and you’ll have the perfect summer meal that’s SO EASY, very pretty, and so incredibly DELICIOUS.
Monday night is looking good, am I right??
If you make this one pot 30 minutes creamy tomato basil pasta bake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1338 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry fettuccine or other long cut pasta
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- 1 jar (28 ounce) marinara sauce
- 1/3 cup red enchilada sauce
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained and chopped
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (cream cheese or crème fraîche can be used instead)
- 1 cup cubed fontina cheese
- 1/2 cup canned full fat coconut milk, or heavy cream
- kosher salt and pepper
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, torn
- 2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it right back to the hot pot. To the pot add the butter, pesto, pasta sauce, enchilada sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, fontina cheese, and milk/cream. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss everything together until a creamy sauce has formed, about 3-5 minutes. If your pot is not oven-safe, transfer the pasta to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Scatter the mozzarella overtop the pasta.3. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn the broiler on and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.4. Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes. Serve topped with tomatoes and fresh basil. Enjoy!
Really good. I made my own pesto. Next time I’m going to add the sun dried tomatoes to the processor as part of the pesto—I think it will make it more part of the sauce. You also really need to break up the goat cheese well. Very tasty and hearty. Thanks!
Ooo yum! I am so glad you enjoyed this Donna! Thank you! xTieghan
Soooooo good. I made this up for meal prep this week 🙂 I can’t wait to eat it all week.
Thank you so much Liz! xTieghan
Delicious. Even without the goat cheese (I didn’t have any in the frig).
So glad it turned out amazing for you! Thank you! xTieghan
I don’t know why or how this works, but it was SO good! The ingredients are so strange, but it all worked together really well. We only added a little rotisserie chicken, because my man doesn’t feel like he’s eaten if he doesn’t have MEAT. Thanks for this recipe! No surprise, you’ve nailed it again!
Haha thank you for trying it Amanda! So glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
This pasta bake is beautiful and looks absolutely delicious! And I love that it can be on the dinner table in 30 minutes or less!
Thank you so much Kelly! I am so glad you loved this! xTieghan
AMAZING!!! My family was so hungry and I whipped this out. They loved it.
That is so amazing! Thank you so much Renaie! xTieghan
Wow! This dish was a smashing success with my family. It convinced me to go ahead and purchase the HalfBaked Cookbook! Thank you.
I hope you love the cookbook Kim! Let me know what you make! Thank you for trying this recipe! xTieghan
Thanks for sharing! What modification would you recommend instead of adding cream (or cream substitute)? Should I just put some extra pasta sauce? Thanks!
Hey Kat, I recommend using canned coconut milk. I often use it place of cream. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
do you make your own enchilada sauce or you use store bought?
Hey Maggie! I like to make my own sauce…most of the time! IN a pinch I use store bought. The recipe for my sauce is in my cookbook! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
What would you recommend for a substitute for goat cheese? This looks amazing but I can’t stand goat cheese lol
Hi Cali! I recommend an equal amount of cream cheese or creme fraiche! Either is great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
OMG, I just made this recipe and it is FANTASTIC! As soon as I saw it yesterday I knew it had to be made soon. The flavors all meld amazingly together and the mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil take it over the top! (if you need to do one though, definitely make sure you do the mozzarella! Some of my family actually preferred the veggies on the side) It was surprisingly very easy to make – whenever recipes claim they’re “easy” they just end up taking forever, but this one was an actual breeze (I am not kidding – I usually spend two hours on a “30 minute” recipe! I NEED to try more one-pot recipes!). I think next time I’ll top the pasta with the fontina and goat cheese as well so you can get stronger bursts of flavor from them, as it does mostly meld into the sauce (very deliciously though). ALSO, DO NOT LEAVE OUT THE ENCHILADA SAUCE!! I was about to skip it because me and especially my sister are sensitive to hot foods, but it did NOT make it taste hot, or even mild. It just gave it, like Tieghan said, a slight, spicy, smoky flavor. Like, it had the “flavor” of spice, but didn’t actually have that spicy sensation or taste. I hope that makes sense, haha. We used mild red enchilada sauce, and it worked perfectly. I even topped it with some more after serving, as it really did add that perfect kick (but not a hot, spicy one, rememeber!). We served this with some fried Italian sausages and peppers, and it felt like a very satisfying, dare I say fancy, meal. Also, this recipe makes A TON!! I bet it could serve 10 people, maybe even 12? So be prepared for (delicious) leftovers! Overall, an AMAZING, EASY recipe which will definitely stay in the repertoire! Thanks, Tieghan!
Oh yeah, one more thing… I LOVE how you don’t have to really cut any vegetables – I think that’s why my cooking takes so long, haha. I didn’t even bother cutting the tomatoes or basil – it all went together perfectly 🙂
This is SO amazing to hear! I am really glad you loved this dish and it did not take a lot of time to make! Easy, quick and delicious is the best! Thank you for trying this Sofia! xTieghan
I love that you are bringing back some of your old recipes from the vault! Your photography has improved so much since you started the blog. I love seeing how you style and plate all of these recipes now! Would love to see more of this!!! (And maybe for you to revisit recipe #1 this Halloween?!) So much fun!
That would be a real treat haha! I totally should do it! Thank you so much Nicole, so glad you like this! xTieghan
Oh my goodness!! This is such a delicious looking pasta bake.. Lovely ?
Thank you so much Arpita! xTieghan
So confused…I only see 2 comments from 2019. Everything else is from years earlier. Is this a re-do recipe?
Hey Lindsay! Yes! I had previously shared a version of this pasta, but gave it a refresh because I love the recipe so much! 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This looks so tasty. Must make this week for sure.
Thank you Joyce! xTieghan