Cheesy Tomato Vegetable Sauce Recipe

This is Cheesy Tomato Vegetable Sauce is a delicious vegetarian pasta sauce recipe. Be sure the cream cheese you have chosen is suitable for vegetarians, and use vegan cream cheese if necessary.. Rich and delicious, it works well with any pasta or pasta shapes (including the spinach ravioli in the photograph above!)

Updated July 2025 – New photos coming soon

Canned passata (sieved tomatoes) means the sauce doesn’t take a long time to make, but still tastes fresh and delicious. Although tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes is wonderful, there is no harm in using canned tomatoes or passata (sieved tomatoes) if you prefer. Many of my Italian friends actually recommend it! If you prefer you can make the sauce a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge – as with so many sauces the flavour develops with keeping.

Pasta with Cheesy Tomato Vegetable Sauce Recipe

4 tablespoons good olive oil, divided

1 large white onion, very finely chopped

about two to three cups of chopped vegetables

(may include zucchini, red, green, yellow or orange peppers)

2 – 14 ounce cans passata (sieved tomatoes – organic if possible)

1 teaspoon oregano

¼ cup basil pesto

¼ cup cream cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Place the vegetables in a roasting dish and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Roast at 375 to 400℉ (180 – 200℃) for twenty to thirty minutes, stirring once.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion gently for five to ten minutes until it becomes tender and translucent.

Add the passata and oregano and simmer the sauce over low heat until the roast vegetables are done. Transfer the hot vegetables into the sauce and add the pesto. Stir the cream cheese into the sauce, making sure it all melts in. Simmer over low heat for about five more minutes.

Taste the sauce adding salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over pasta.