Creamy Marinara Sauce with Pasta

Creamy Marinara Sauce will make your house smell amazing as it simmers. Made with slow roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions, oregano and tangy goat cheese.

Generally when I make a tomato pasta sauce, I’m all about adding some spicy Italian sausage or every once in a while plump juicy meatballs. But the other day I was craving a little bit of a lighter sauce. To curb my craving, I opted to forgo the sausage and meatballs and cooked up this creamy marinara instead. It has flavors of slow cooked tomatoes, garlic, oregano and little twist from an unlikely ingredient: goat cheese.

When most people think creamy sauce, they probably think heavy cream or maybe even half and half is added. However, for this recipe I decided to go with goat cheese. It adds a creaminess to the sauce but also a tangy flavor. And a bonus, its a little better for you than heavy cream.

Let’s talk about all of the ingredients you’ll need to make it:

Creamy Marinara Sauce Ingredients:

• OLIVE OIL: To saute the onions, and garlic.
• CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES: These add a bit of heat but only as much as you like. I use 1/2 teaspoon and you definitely get some heat but it’s not overwhelming. If you are worried about it being to spicy you can start with 1/4 teaspoon and then add more at the end of the cooking process if you want more heat.
• CANNED WHOLE TOMATOES: You’ll use the canned whole tomatoes and their juices.
• OREGANO: You can use fresh or dried oregano for this recipe. I’ve made it with both but only had dried on hand recently. If you use fresh you’ll use 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves.
• GOAT CHEESE: Where the creaminess in this creamy tomato sauce comes from. It adds creaminess and tanginess.
• SALT AND PEPPER
• PASTA: I used spaghetti but you can really use any pasta. I prefer long pasta but this sauce would also be great with penne so the sauce could work it’s way inside.

Step by Step Photos and Instructions:

This isn’t a particularly quick meal because you do need to slow roast the tomatoes. This is going to give amazing flavor to the sauce so don’t skip this step!

• STEP #1: In a large dutch oven (or other large skillet that is oven proof), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions about 5 minutes or until they become translucent. Add garlic, crushed red peppers and oregano. Cook 30 seconds or just until garlic is fragrant. Pour in the whole tomatoes.
• STEP #2: Bake tomatoes, uncovered, in a 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.
• STEP #3: Remove from oven. Using an immersion blender puree until smooth (Note: If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully transfer, in batches, to a blender and blend until smooth). Place on stove top over medium heat. Stir in  goat cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer while you prepare the noodles.
• STEP #4: Prepare the pasta according to package directions. At this point you can simply serve the pasta sauce over the cooked noodles, or you can do as I did, and add the noodles to the sauce and toss to coat. Either way is fine!

Serve with plenty of parmesan cheese, a salad and my easy garlic bread.

Variations:

If you want to add a bit more of a vegetable punch to this Creamy Marinara Sauce, add a couple handfuls of fresh spinach to the sauce before you add the pasta. You can also add some protein like cooked chicken or sausage.

Storage and Leftovers:

Store covered in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days. Reheat leftovers in the microwave.

If you love the tanginess that goat cheese adds to this Creamy Marinara Pasta, try these other recipes that use goat cheese:

Basil Whipped Goat Cheese is a quick, easy addition to cheese or charcuterie boards.

Herb Marinated Goat Cheese with olive oil, garlic, capers, dill and chives is perfect for parties. Great with crackers or crostini!

Goat cheese makes a great addition to salads too! Try this Farro, Cranberry and Goat Cheese Salad

Note: Originally published in 2010. Updated in 2025 with new photos, nutrition information, step by step photos and a slightly modified recipe.