"Marry Me" Pasta Sauce
(or at least "Impress Your Date Or Your Spouse" pasta sauce)
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YouTube: "Marry Me" Pasta Sauce
In October of 2026, my Facebook feed was suddenly full of videos that all showed the same thing: people cooking whole tomatoes, then adding other ingredients and blending them together into pasta sauce. It looked so good, I had to give it a try...and man, was this ever good! That's why I can only describe this as "marry me" pasta sauce, or at least "impress your date or your spouse enough to have a quickie" pasta sauce.
Pans needed: Large covered stock pot for boiling pasta. Large cast iron skillet, preferably 12 inches in diameter (#10 size) to roast the tomatoes and garlic. A blender to blend the cooked sauce. (A stick blender will work fine.) Large bowl to combine the sauce and pasta.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) whole tomatoes, not canned
- 10 to 15 peeled garlic cloves
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (or see below)
- 4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese
- 1 pound (16 ounces) pasta of your choice
- 1/4 cup (6 grams or 0.2 ounces) fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup (25 grams or 0.9 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning:
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 3/4 teaspoon drieds oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit. While the oven is heating, prepare a stock pot to boil pasta, using a large amount of salted water. Bring the pot of salted water to a boil.
Place the cast iron pan on your table or counter, and add the olive oil to the pan. Use a basting brush to spread the oil around, and cover the entire cooking surface of the pan. Add garlic cloves to the pan, and use the basting brush to mix them and cover them with oil. Place tomatoes into the pan, then use the basting brush to brush oil over the tomatoes and coat them with oil. Sprinkle the tomatoes and garlic with salt and pepper.
Place the pan into the hot oven, and roast at 425° for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan when the tomatoes are wrinkled and browning, and the garlic cloves are browned. The tomatoes and garlic need to be soft enough that they can easily be crushed with a fork.
While the tomatoes are roasting, add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook until it's al dente. Remove and reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain the pasta.
If you're using a blender or food processor, move the tomatoes and garlic from the cast iron pan to the blender. (If you're using a stick blender or other portable blender, move them to a large bowl.) Add Italian seasoning, cream cheese and basil leaves to the blender (or bowl). Blend it all together into a sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add pasta water -- a little bit at a time -- to thin the sauce.
Pour the sauce into a large bowl (if it isn't already in the bowl). Add the cooked pasta, and toss everything together to coat the pasta with sauce.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.