Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Over Three Cheese Tortellini
I love pasta. And I love alfredo sauce. But its high fat content fills me so quickly so I lightened up the sauce and added three kinds of tomatoes (see below) to create a one of kind, oh-so delicioso sauce that is so creamy you’ll forget that you lightened it up. You may just want to drink it all up before you pour it over your pasta.
A word about this pasta. These cute little tortellini are not home-made because it would have taken me
all day to make these, so I let the commercial pros like the Buitonni brand (no sponsorship) do the cooking. When you buy fresh pasta be sure to prepare within a day or two or else they dry up and don’t taste as fresh. The best part is that they cook up in 
less than four minutes in a pot of boiling water.
On to the sauce. I usually avoid Alfredo sauce on any Italian-restaurant menu because I choose to eat less fat and Alfredo sauce is about as fatty as it gets with all it’s luscious cream and butter and cheese. But then I discovered that a tasty homemade cream sauce made from sauteed garlic mixed with (1) tomato paste (the kind in the tube is so handy) and Italian seasoning, fat-free half and half with a little reduced-fat cream cheese blended in actually makes a very tasty sauce. Adding finely chopped (2) sun-dried tomatoes, (3) a can of petite diced tomatoes along with shredded Parmesan cheese and fresh basil finishes it off. There are your three tomatoes. Oh so tasty!!
This is a super easy dish for the crazy nights of busy ball games, homework and piano. Adding chicken to this dish, like a little rotisserie chicken makes it even higher in protein. Keep the ingredients handy so you’re ready to roll when the time calls. You can do this!
- Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Over Three Cheese Tortellini
- 9 ounces fresh three-cheese tortellini (in refrigerator section)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 3/4 cups fat-free half and half
- 1/2 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 (14-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- Sprig of fresh basil
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package instructions; drain well and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet placed over medium high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, tomato paste and Italian seasoning until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in fat-free half and half, sun-dried tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese, fresh basil and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more half and half as needed; season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Serve over tortellini and garnish with remaining 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese and basil.
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