Pink Sauce Pasta (Parma Rosa)

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

3 Comments

10 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
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Pink Sauce Pasta (Parma Rosa) is a classic dish with a creamy sauce that comes together quickly with the perfect combination of cheese and tomato flavors.

When it comes to easy Weeknight Dinners, it’s hard to beat a simple pasta dish. If you’re a fan of quick and simple meals, then you’ve probably already tried our Tomato Sauce and Creamy Alfredo Cream Sauce. With this recipe, you get the best of both worlds by combining the two into a cheesy, creamy tomato sauce over a good, old-fashioned pasta dish.

Pink Sauce Pasta in bowl with parmesan and basil garnish

PINK SAUCE PASTA (PARMA ROSA)

Parma Rosa gets its iconic pink color from combining tomato sauce with a white cream sauce. It is an amazing recipe made with quality ingredients and perfect to serve over your favorite pasta dish. As the creamy sauce, garlic, onion, and basil cook together, the house will fill with a mouth-watering aroma that gets everyone excited for their soon-to-be favorite meal.

You can either make your own homemade sauces or buy the two kinds of sauce to make the dish even quicker. Either way, the combination of flavors turns out absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients for Pink Sauce Pasta in prep bowls

If you’re a fan of creamy, cheesy, comforting dishes, this sauce is sure to become one of your favorite recipes to top off simple meals. Cheese Rosa Sauce is an absolute cheesy delight. Not only is there cream cheese and parmesan in the Alfredo sauce, but the savory sauce is topped with extra parmesan before serving.

Busy weeknights are the perfect time to serve this easy Italian food with other favorite dishes. The quick-to-prepare sauce mix and pasta is a simple main course, so you’ll have time to make an easy side dish recipe. Enjoy the pasta with a simple salad or finger foods like Garlic Bread or Pesto Cheesy Bread. You will feel like you’re at your own table in your favorite Italian restaurant. 

Collage of prep steps for Pink Sauce Pasta

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COOKING TIPS

  • Cook pasta: Add a few cups of water to a large pot with a dash of salt and put it over medium heat. Once the water is boiling, add in the uncooked penne pasta. Cook for 1-2 minutes shy of the box instructions. Then drain pasta, and transfer it to another dish. Wipe the inside of the pot dry with a dish towel.
  • Pasta Sauce: Add the butter, garlic, and onion to the pot over medium-low heat. Cook the ingredients until the onion has softened, this should take about 6-8 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce and Alfredo sauce to the pot. Stir the pasta sauce to mix well, until it comes to a simmer. Next, add the pasta into the sauce. Stir, and keep the pasta sauce mix over heat for about 3-4 minutes.
  • Serve: After the cook time, top it off with parmesan and fresh basil. Then add to serving plates, and enjoy!

Pink Sauce Pasta with penne in pan

VARIATIONS

  • Garlic and herb sauce: To add some more savory flavor to your creamy pasta sauce, you can mix in some garlic and herb ingredients. A little bit of garlic powder or extra minced garlic cloves will make a big difference in overall taste. Then add in your favorite Italian herbs like parsley, oregano, thyme, or rosemary according to your taste.
  • Vegetables: You can also add extra vegetables to the tasty sauce like sliced tomatoes, fresh spinach, or zucchini. If you add in fresh spinach, make sure to add it just a few minutes before you’re done cooking the sauce, so that it doesn’t completely break down while cooking.
  • Gluten-free: To make a gluten-free Penne Rosa dish, all you have to do is replace the regular penne pasta with a gluten-free pasta, which you can find at most grocery stores. Traditional pasta sauce will already be gluten-free. However, if you’re using a store-bought Alfredo sauce, you may want to double-check that they haven’t used any flour as a thickening agent in the pasta sauce mix.
  • Cheese: If you just can’t get enough cheese, you can add more to the creamy pasta sauce. Try sprinkling in some shredded mozzarella, cheddar, provolone, or asiago to go with the parmesan.

Pink Sauce Pasta with penne in pan

MORE PASTA RECIPES

HOW TO STORE

  • Serve: After cooking, you don’t want to leave your Pink Sauce Pasta (Parma Rosa) at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: To store the pasta, you can cover the dish in plastic wrap or transfer the simple recipe to an airtight container to store in the fridge. It will keep well for up to 5 days.
  • Freeze: You can also seal and freeze Pink Sauce Pasta for up to 6 months. To reheat the pasta, first, let it thaw in the fridge. Then you can heat it up on the stovetop or transfer it to a baking dish to heat in the oven. Put the pasta into the baking dish, and heat it in the oven for 10-15 minutes until warmed through.

Pink Sauce Pasta in bowl with parmesan and basil garnish

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Dinner, then Dessert

Pink Sauce Pasta (Parma Rosa)

Pink Sauce Pasta (Parma Rosa) is a classic dish with a creamy sauce that comes together quickly with the perfect combination of cheese and tomato flavors.
Yield 10 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Author Sabrina Snyder
Pink Sauce Pasta in bowl with parmesan and basil garnish
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 16 ounces penne pasta
  • 1/2 yellow onion , diced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 3 cups Marinara Sauce
  • 3 cups Alfredo Sauce
  • 1 cup parmesan , grated
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil , chopped

Instructions

  • Cook the penne in a large pot of salted boiling water 2 minutes less than the box says.
  • Drain the pasta (and set aside), wipe dry the inside of the pot.
  • Melt butter, garlic, and onion in the pot on medium-low heat until the onion has softened, about 6-8 minutes.
  • Add the Marinara Sauce and Alfredo Sauce to the pot and stir well, bringing it to a simmer.
  • Add the pasta back in and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  • Serve topped with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1048mg | Potassium: 366mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 418IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1mg

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Pink Sauce Pasta (Parma Rosa) collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. Thank you Shelby! That was an oversight and we have corrected the recipe card. Appreciate you letting me know. Please let us know if you try the recipe and how you liked it!

      Reply