I've seen it done before, it changes the sauce to a crema rosa, or almost a tomato alfredo.
It's okay, I prefer other recipes for those two sauces, but it's a quick and easy change.
My grandmother used to do this when making lasagna instead of using ricotta. I made it once and now my family insists on having Nana's lasagna instead of the kind with ricotta and fresh homemade sauce.