This creamy roasted garlic and tomato pasta is an "almost" one-pan dish that is sure to delight. It tastes high class, but it's made with affordable ingredients and with just a few steps. The perfect dinner does exist.
This sheet pan pasta sauce is a wonderful addition to your meal because it packs all the wonderful flavors of roasted garlic and tomatoes into every creamy bite.
Pasta with roasted garlic and cherry tomatoes is a flavorful meal like you'd expect from a restaurant but made in the convenience of your own home.
Sheet pan meals are a great way to make a simple meal without a lot of work. For more sheet pan dinners, check out my Sheet Pan Sausages and Brussel Sprouts, Sheet Pan Chicken Drumsticks and Potatoes, and Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner.
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- One pan, one mess. While the pan might get a bit messy in the process, this is one recipe worth the clean-up after. Most of the mess stays contained to a single baking sheet to, so line it with foil and make cleanup a breeze.
- It tastes great meatless too. This roasted garlic tomato pasta recipe is perfect for your family meal with or without chicken breasts. I personally prefer this as a meatless meal option, but roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce go well with chicken, and I'm outnumbered in a house of meat-eaters, haha.
- Simple ingredients. We just need a few basic ingredients to make this simple yet tasty meal. Some of the ingredients may be things you already have in your home.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Cherry tomatoes- Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes will add an acidic taste and become sweeter when roasted.
Fresh spinach leaves- These will wilt down, but they're great for added flavor.
Garlic cloves- Use fresh garlic for the best results. As they roast whole, they will make an incredible flavor profile.
Cream cheese- Use a brick of cream cheese to make the sauce rich and creamy. You do not need to soften the cream cheese beforehand.
Cooked penne pasta- Cook the pasta according to the package directions in a pot on the stove.
Reserved pasta water- Make sure to reserve some of the used pasta water before draining the pasta. This can be used to thin down the pasta's sauce.
Chicken breasts- This is an optional ingredient that can be used if you want meat with your meal.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2: In a 9x13 baking dish or large baking sheet (lined with foil or well-greased) mix together the cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, onion, and half of the olive oil.
Step 3: Toss together until well coated and then push them off to the side of the pan to allow space in the middle.
Step 4: In the middle of the pan, place your brick of cream cheese (unwrapped). Lay a chicken breast on each side (if using).
Step 5: Coat the top of the breasts and cream cheese with the remaining olive oil and seasonings.
Step 6: Bake in the oven for 25 minutes and check the internal temp of the chicken. If the chicken has reached 165 degrees F, then remove and place it on a plate and cover it with foil. Return pan to oven.
Step 7: Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes or until the cream cheese looks cracked and falling apart.
Step 8: While the pan is roasting in the oven, cook your noodles according to the package instructions. Reserve one cup of pasta water before draining. Return pasta to the pot.
Step 9: Remove the pan from the oven and use the back of a spoon to press down on the tomatoes.
Step 10: Bring the loose roasted garlic cloves, tomatoes, and onions to the cream cheese in the center of the pan and mix them well with your spoon.
Step 11: Add to the pot of drained cooked pasta.
Step 12: Stir in the cut spinach leaves and reserved pasta water, a little at a time, until the pasta no longer looks dry.
Step 13: Taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Step 14: Serve warm with sliced cooked chicken.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Easier cleanup
I highly recommend laying a piece of foil down on the baking sheet to help with cleanup, but if you omit this, you can simply allow the pan to soak for a bit before scrubbing.
Convenience
The ingredients for this pasta with garlic and tomatoes are all mixed together in the pan, so there is no need for a mixing bowl, making it a little easier.
The chicken cooks the fastest
If you choose to cook chicken breasts on the baking sheet with everything else, keep in mind that the chicken will finish cooking before everything else and that the chicken juices will make the pan have more of that "charcoal" color. Set chicken aside on a foiled-covered plate to remain warm and juicy, then add in at the end.
How to combine
When you scrape together everything from the pan for the sauce, don't scrape so hard that you actually pull up all of the charcoal-roasted pieces. You just want the stuff that's easily slideable on the pan. Move it all up to where the cream cheese brick is and mash it all together.
Then scrape everything into your pot of drained noodles and mix to combine, adding in the pasta water if it's too thick.
💭 FAQs
You can use some frozen spinach if you warm it up, drain the liquid and then store it into the sauce and pasta at the end.
Yes, you can use any pasta variety of choice, but I prefer the noodles that are shorter in length versus a full length spaghetti or linguine noodle.
Yes, you can use a brick of feta cheese in place of the cream cheese if you want. This will change the flavor profile, but if you like feta cheese, it's a great option!
❤️ More Delicious Pasta Recipes
If you tried this Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 1-2 pints Red cherry tomatoes ($1.48)
- 1 ounce Spinach leaves, chopped ($1.32)
- 4 Whole garlic cloves ($0.20)
- ½ Onion, diced ($0.35)
- ¼ cup Olive oil ($0.52)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ($0.10)
- 2 teaspoons Salt ($0.20)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder ($0.10)
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder ($0.10)
- 1 brick (8 ounce) Cream cheese ($1.98)
- 16 ounces Penne noodles, cooked ($0.78)
- 1 cup Reserved pasta water ($0.00)
- 2 Medium sized chicken breasts *optional ($3.98)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a 9x13 baking dish or large baking sheet (lined with foil or well greased) mix together the cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, onion, and half of the olive oil.
- Toss together until well coated and then push them off to the side of the pan to allow space in the middle.
- In the middle of the pan place your brick of cream cheese (unwrapped). Lay a chicken breast on each side (if using).
- Coat the top of the breasts and cream cheese with the remaining olive oil and seasonings.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes and check internal temp of the chicken. If the chicken has reached 165 degrees F then remove and place on a plate and cover with foil. Return pan to oven.
- Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes or until the cream cheese looks cracked and falling apart.
- While the pan is roasting in the oven cook your noodles according to package instructions. Reserve one cup of pasta water before draining. Return pasta to the pot.
- Remove pan from oven and use the back of a spoon to press down on the tomatoes.
- Bring the loose roasted garlic cloves, tomatoes, and onions to the cream cheese in the center of the pan and mix them well with your spoon. Add to the pot of drained cooked pasta.
- Stir in the cut spinach leaves and reserved pasta water, a little at a time until the pasta no longer looks dry.
- Taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm with sliced cooked chicken.
Notes
- Line the baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup. If not, soak the pan before cleaning.
- No need for a mixing bowl; all ingredients are combined in the pan for simplicity.
- When cooking chicken on the sheet, remember it'll finish early; set it aside covered with foil to keep it moist.
- When scraping the pan for the sauce, don't remove burnt bits. Just collect what's easily movable, blend with the cream cheese, and add to your drained noodles.
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