No-Cook Blender Pasta Sauce
This no-cook blender tomato sauce is made with cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and almonds, which give the sauce a creamy texture. You pop it all in the blender, puree it, and then toss it with hot pasta for a quick and easy dinner full of fresh flavors.
Over ten years ago, I made a tomato pasta that I found in an issue of Cook’s Illustrated. It was a revelation at the time because it was a quick, no-cook pasta sauce, and the combination of fresh tomatoes with almonds was a pairing I would never have tried had the recipe not caught my eye. It was an easy pasta sauce full of fresh flavor, and even now, years later, I still think about it.
Recently, I tinkered with that old recipe, adjusting the ingredients a bit and pureeing them in the blender. The original sauce had a chunky texture, and I like this version even more. It’s a silky, smooth tomato sauce that perfectly coats pasta.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes: This sauce is all about tomatoes, so if you can get your hands on some garden tomatoes or some from the farmer’s market, you won’t be disappointed. If you can’t, I find cherry tomatoes at the grocery store taste pretty good year-round.
- Sliced almonds: The almonds serve two purposes in the sauce. First, they give it a subtle nutty flavor like nuts in a pesto does. Second, when pureed, the almonds break down, giving the sauce a creamy texture. It’s a great way to make a creamy sauce without cream.
- Garlic
- Basil leaves
- Parsley
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
How to Make It
☑️ Prep the Sauce Ingredients
Smash the garlic with your knife and remove the papery skin. Pop it in the blender, followed by the tomatoes. If your tomatoes are big, you might want to half or quarter them first. Add the basil, parsley, and cheese.
☑️ Blend
Secure the lid, and pulse a few times to break down the tomatoes. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Continue processing until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth.
☑️ Serve
Toss the sauce with hot pasta and garnish with more Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.
Recipe Tips
A high-powered blender works best for this recipe, but you can use a food processor, too. The sauce may not be as smooth if you use a food processor.
You’ll get enough sauce to serve with about 12 ounces of pasta, but you can double the recipe if you want more.
You can enjoy the pasta and sauce as is or add a protein like cooked chicken, shrimp, ground beef, or turkey.
More Pasta Sauce Recipes
No-Cook Blender Pasta Sauce
This no-cook tomato sauce takes just minutes to make. Almonds give it a creamy texture (with no cream added!) and the tomatoes, herbs, and cheese is a delicious combination. In the time it takes to cook the pasta the sauce is ready to go.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta (any long pasta or short pasta like penne)
- 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed (see note)
- 12 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 olive oil
- salt, to taste (see note)
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. Place the garlic, tomatoes, almonds, basil, parsley and cheese in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times until the tomatoes are broken down. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture creates a smooth thick sauce.
- Drain the pasta and return it back to the pot you boiled it in (be sure the burner is turned off). Add the tomato sauce and toss until the pasta is evenly coated. To serve, garnish with extra grated Parmesan and chopped parsley or basil.
Notes
Raw garlic gives the sauce a spicy kick, and two large cloves are plenty. If you don’t love garlic, reduce it to one clove.
About the salt: I don’t add salt to mine, but everyone’s salt tolerance is different, so taste the sauce before you toss it with the pasta and add a few pinches to taste.
Nutrition
- Calories: 517
- Sugar: 4.8g
- Sodium: 124.6mg
- Fat: 20.2g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15.4g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 70.1g
- Fiber: 4.7g
- Protein: 15.2g
- Cholesterol: 5.4mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Quick Recipes
Happy cooking,
This blender sauce post has been updated from the archives. It was first published in September 2019.
This was so easy to make on a work night! Even the kids loved it! Delicious!!
Oh, that’s great! So glad your family enjoyed it 🙂
This was so easy & delicious! The almonds in it was genious!
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Could I use pecans instead of almonds?
I haven’t tried it, but they should work fine – will just change the flavor. Let me know how it works for you.