This is a beef pasta cooked with Italian seasonings in a creamy tomato sauce. The epitome of easy homemade comfort food with the convenience of one-pot cooking!
One Pot Creamy Tomato Beef Pasta
I’m quite selective about one-pot pasta recipes. I only use it for saucy pastas, like today’s. It just doesn’t work properly with less saucy pastas, like Puttanesca and pesto pasta, because there’s not enough liquid to cook the pasta evenly.
So, any one-pot pasta recipe you see here on my website is saucy and oozy.
I’ve never heard any complaints. Everybody loves sauce! 🙂
Today’s is a beef pasta that comes with a creamy tomato sauce. It’s essentially a variation of Bolognese, with Italian seasonings plus a dash of cream. Total crowd pleaser!
Proof of ooziness:
Ingredients in this One Pot Beef Pasta
Following on from my introduction about the sauciness of one pot pastas, it will be no surprise when I say that the key to cooking one pot pasta recipes is to have plenty of liquid that the pasta can absorb! Dried pasta absorbs more than double its own weight in liquid as it cooks. Today, we use 4 cups of stock plus a can of tomato for 360g/12 ounces of pasta.
Beef mince (ground beef) – I use lean here (90% or 95%) but any fat % will do. Actually, the fattier the beef, the beefier the flavour – because fat is where all the flavour is! If you mix, say, lamb fat into very lean beef mince and cook it up, you’d swear you’re eating lamb. 🙂
Chicken stock/broth – The cooking liquid of choice. Tastier than water! I use the liquid cartons regularly in my cooking so I stock up when it’s on sale. For an economical option, I recommend using Vegeta stock powder or Chinese chicken stock powder (Knorr) plus water. I prefer the flavour of these over other Western stock powders.
Pasta type – I used the spirals (fusilli), but other similar sized short pastas will work just fine too. Penne, ziti, elbow macaroni, shells. Avoid the really small pastas like risoni/orzo, tiny stars etc. If using long pasta, it’s easiest to break in half. You can also use a little more – increase up to about 400g/14oz.
Cream – Just 3/4 cup, stirred in right at the end transforms a normal tomato sauce into a creamy tomato sauce! You really do only need 3/4 cup to get the flavour and colour impact of the creaminess.
Garlic and onion – Essential flavour base.
Tomato paste and canned tomato – Tomato paste gives a boost to the tomato flavour as well as thickening the sauce a touch.
Italian herbs – Seasoning! I use a store bought mix, it’s a staple in the dried herbs and spices aisle at any grocery store and doesn’t cost any more than other dried herbs. If you don’t have it, use any mix of dried oregano, basil and parsley. Or, a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Just something to add flavour.
Red pepper flakes (chilli flakes) – 100% optional. I like to add a tiny touch of warmth into this to keep things interest but you can just leave it out if you prefer!
How to make One Pot Creamy Tomato Beef Pasta
Don’t be alarmed by how saucy it is at the end as you take it off the stove, that’s exactly what you want. Pasta absorbs liquid really quickly, so by the time you ladle into bowls, garnish with parmesan, put the bowls on the table, yell at everyone to sit down then start eating, the pasta will go from a little bit too soupy to the perfect level of ooziness.
Cook beef – Sauté the garlic and onion. Then add the beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see red.
Toast seasoning – Add the Italian herbs then cook for 30 seconds. This really brings out the flavour of the herbs and spices, and improves the flavour by toasting it. Then add the tomato paste and stir for a minute. This cooks out the rawness and also improves the flavour.
Add liquids and pasta – Add the stock, canned tomato, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, then add the pasta.
Cook 15 minutes – Once the liquid comes back up to a simmer, cook for 15 minutes until the pasta is just about cooked. Stir every couple of minutes at the start then more regularly towards the end to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick to the base of the pot. As you cook, the liquid will reduce and thicken but should still be soupier than you’d expect.
Cream it! Stir in the cream, bring it back up to a simmer then keep cooking for another minute until the pasta is fully cooked. It should still be slightly soupier than you think!
Serving – Remove from the stove, then give it a good stir and ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parmesan and a little parsley if using, then devour!
As noted at above, pasta absorbs liquid quite quickly so it will go from a little too soupy to perfect ooziness in the time it takes between taking it off the stove and eating it. In any case, saucier is better than dry. Nobody wants a mound of gluey, stodgy pasta!!!
YUM. That’s a bowl of food that is 100% me. It’s not fancy. It’s fuss free to make. It’s hearty and cosy and easy and rustic and full of flavour.
I know it’s a cliche to say “it’s me on a plate”, but it really is. (Well, bowl).
Love to know what you think if you try it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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One pot creamy tomato beef pasta
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 500g/ 1 lb beef mince / ground beef
- 2 tsp Italian herbs (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 400g/ 14 oz can crushed tomatoes (or tomato passata)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (chilli flakes, optional)
- 1 1/2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 cups (1 L) chicken stock/broth , low sodium (Note 2)
- 350g/ 12oz fusilli, penne, elbow macaroni or other short pasta (Note 3)
- 3/4 cups thickened / heavy cream
Serving:
- Parmesan cheese , finely grated
- Parsley , finely chopped, optional
Instructions
- Sauté – Heat the oil on high heat in a large heavy-based pot. Cook garlic and onion for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Cook beef & seasonings – Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see red meat. Add the Italian herbs and cook for 30 seconds, then add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to cook out the raw flavour.
- All in – Add crushed tomato, chicken stock, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, if using. Stir, then add the pasta.
- Cook 15 min – Bring the liquid to a simmer, then cook for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes then more frequently towards the end (ensure pasta doesn't stick to base) until the pasta is just about cooked.
- Creamy – Add cream, then simmer for a further 1 to 2 minutes. It will still be quite saucy – this is what you want! Pasta absorbs liquid quickly, so it will still be nice and oozy when you start eating.
- Serve – Remove from the stove. Give it a good stir then ladle into bowls. Serve with parmesan and parsley.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I caught him snuffling a tub of rice in the pantry so he was made to walk around with a sticker of shame. (Raw rice grains. I think there was a smear of sauce on the tub. It can surely be the only explanation).
Gosh Nagi. Yet another hit!!! Only change i made was swap the usual canned tomatoes for the Indian style one because i wanted that kick. Sooo YUM!
My first time making one-pot pasta. I was a bit nervous given how many Italians on social media say it’s heresy to cook pasta like this.
Well…call me a heretic! Easy and delicious! Didn’t have cream so subbed it with sour cream.
Second time I made this and did a few tweaks to enhance the flavour: a dash of fish sauce and a couple anchovies for umami, plus a good slug of red wine, and a bit of sugar to offset my pretty sour tomatoes. Also ran out of cream so subbed with some ricotta instead. 2 small grated zucchinis upped the veg quotient.
Made this tonight, its SO SO SO delicious! I did add some diced carrots and celery when frying the onions and a cup of red wine. Honestly, I will never make pasta in a seperate pot again. This technique works perfectly!
Never a disappointment with your recipes. This was so tasty! With other recipes from other people, I have to amp up the seasonings. Not with your recipes. I follow exact measurements and it was delicious. Everyone loved it from the 3 year old toddler to the 74 year old grandma in the house.
Amazing, I used fresh herbs from my garden, added a dash of cinnamon and cannot stop eating it
I second the addition of a pinch of cinnamon 👌
Delicious! Whole family loved it – 2 adults, 3 kids – 4/7/9yo and Gran!
Good morning Nagi San. This is a wonderful recipe and so tasty. My niece put dibs on the remaining pasta for her lunch today. Thank you Nagi San. You are an absolute star.
My kids love bolognese but I was getting bored with the same old routine. This is a nice variation which is very easy to make. I love the ooziness. Thank you!
Delicious! I made with 350g of gluten free spiral pasta (Pasta Roma brand from Woolies) and just kept an eye on the pasta which lead to slight reduction in cook time
So so yummy though
Absolutely delicious!
What a great, easy to prepare meal! Picked up the ingredients in the afternoon and had the meal ready in about 30 minutes. Added some zucchini to up the veg content. Definitely a winner.
When did you add the zucchini in the cooking process? I was worried the excess moisture would affect it
This was a hit for my family! I ended up cooking the pasta a little longer in the sauce, but stuck with the recipe besides that! They requested it again. I’ve really enjoyed your blog—thanks for making interesting food approachable and offering weeknight comfort meals, all in the same place!!
Hello from South Africa!! I made this for my family this week. I did not have any chicken stock, so substituted beef stock. It came out delicious!! My family loved it, and that is saying something as my daughter is a VERY fussy eater. I can see this is going to become a firm favourite of ours.
I had pork mince to use, and made this as per recipe, it was amazing! Thanks Nagi, preferred this to spag bol, was so easy, used my dutch oven green pan
Can I make this the day before for a gathering or will it be stodgy?
Hi leone, I would like to do the same.
So just wondering if you did cook it the night before- did it turn out ok?
Had this tonight and hubby had 3 serves! This is a keeper for sure!
Hey Nagi, what beans would you recommend for me to swap with the beef make this recipe vego?
Hey Nycolle. Personally when I’m going to go vego on something like this I use brown canned lentils or red dried lentils or a combination. I’ve done this before and I feel it suits the bolognese type flavours and similar texture.
Just drain and wash the brown ones and sautee quickly in place of mince (won’t need as long as mince would). If you want to add dried red just add them in the same time as the broth, they’ll be tender if they are simmered for 20-30mins.
(If i did beans, cannelloni)
That’s me Personally 🙂
Followed this recipe to a T and added a few more dashes of heavy cream and it was a massive success. SO delicious!
I made this as a weekend dinner and my husband, who doesn’t normally like pasta, loves it. The 4 cups of broth looks a lot at first but it cooks down and makes the beef saucy. Adding the cream and parmesan adds a creamier and cheesy touch to the dish. Thank you Nagi, now I have one more recipe up my sleeve for dinner parties.
This is a simple dish with out of this world flavor. Another fantastic recipe!
Yum! Maximum taste, minimum effort, it’s a big win. I added extra pasta so used the whole 500gm packet to stretch the meal, and therefore added an extra tin of tomatoes, and also a splash of red wine. Used a little bit more cream too. Will definitely make again, doesn’t taste like a quick meal, heaps of flavour, will be a regular in my house
Made this for a get together with some friends…. everybody finished their plates and even licked up the sauce!! So good, you’ve done it again, Nagi! xx