A little spicy, creamy and loaded with flavor is this easy pasta dish for weeknight family dinner – Pasta with Tuna in Creamy Tomato Sauce
When I was in Manila, my sister cooked a yummy tuna pasta with a creamy sauce and the other day I suddenly had a strong craving for it. I looked around our pantry shelves to see if I still have some canned tuna lying around. Thankfully, I found one.
Unfortunately, though I didn’t have any mushrooms to go with my pasta. I thought I’d have to find a way somehow to make a yummy and creamy tuna pasta without mushrooms.
Then I remembered an old post about a pasta recipe that had sausages in it and a creamy tomato sauce. Since I still had some canned tomatoes perhaps I can use it for my tuna pasta. And to add more flavor, I grabbed a tin of anchovies to use for the recipe.
The rest was just a matter of adding some chili flakes to give some spicy kick to the sauce and cut on the heaviness of the cream.The result was a totally flavorful pasta that all of us loved. If you are looking for a new pasta recipe with tuna, I highly recommend this!
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Pasta with Tuna in Creamy Tomato Sauce
By: Manila Spoon
A little spicy, creamy and loaded with flavor is this easy pasta dish for weeknight family dinner.
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Yield: 6
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1 (6 oz) can Tuna in Olive oil
1 (2 oz) can Anchovy
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red Chili flakes, or to taste (optional)
1 (28 oz) can Whole Tomatoes, pureed
1/2-3/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 lb Pasta preferably Penne
Procedure
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente.
While waiting for the water to boil, heat olive oil in another large pan. I drained the canned tuna and used its olive oil but you can use fresh olive oil if you prefer.
Saute the garlic cloves very briefly just until aromatic. Add the tuna and the entire content of the can of anchovies. Stir to break the tuna and anchovy fillets. Cook for a couple of minutes. Season with the dried herbs and add the chili flakes, if using.
Add the pureed Tomatoes and then simmer for 10 minutes (while the pasta cooks). Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste.
Pour in the heavy cream and cook until heated up. Add some parmesan cheese and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
When the pasta is cooked, mix with the sauce. Serve with more parmesan cheese on top, if desired.
This is totally yummy and my kids totally devoured it!
If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates, we’d love you to subscribe to our posts or join our site. Needless to say, we’d love you to like us on Facebook or follow us on Pinterest where you can get more recipes and updates. Thanks and happy browsing!
Last updated on July 11th, 2021 at 08:43 pm
I have a habit of collecting amassing cans of tuna as a easy-meal option, but never seem to have enough recipes to keep it interesting. Thank you for sharing this! Pinning for later 😀
Thanks, Chrisy! I can relate to you as I do that a lot as well. Having canned tuna in the house can be a life saver. Thanks for pinning. 🙂
I love tuna! This dish sounds divine. And so easy too. Perfect mid-week dinner fare.
Thanks, Susan – certainly a good fall back dinner fare. 🙂
Going to cook this later for my sisters. I'll use all the recipes except for the tomato puree. I think I better use the tomatoes in the fridge before it rots. Haha! Thanks Manila Spoon. (BTW, you're very pretty)
I’ve been making the usual cheese based tuna dish for my kids. My kids like it when I melt the cheese into a roux-based sauce. You’ve given me the idea of sautéing garlic into the oil before making the roux, replacing half the milk with tomato purée,and adding the anchovies. Adding an extra variant to the mix will make Lent pass a lot faster!