The BEST Creamy Pesto Pasta
This creamy pesto pasta recipe is a quick and delicious dinner! With just 7 simple ingredients and 15 minutes, this recipe is perfect for busy weeknights!
Table of Contents
Watch The Recipe Video
Note: You can also watch this recipe video on YouTube.
What Makes This Recipe Great
Too busy on weeknights, but still want a delicious dinner that is ready FAST? I’ve got you covered! From walking into the kitchen to walking out of the kitchen with a warm bowl of this creamy pesto pasta, it will take you 15 minutes or less. I promise you, I timed myself. And that even includes the boiling time for the water!
I use fettuccine pasta, but in the past, I’ve used faster cooking pasta like spaghetti, angel hair, or shells which take even less time. Choose your favorite pasta!
If you have some leftover chicken or veggies, throw them in as well. This quick and easy creamy pesto pasta dinner is so yummy and totally kid-approved! Basil pesto for the win!
Homemade Pesto vs. Storebought Pesto
In the summer, when my basis is overflowing, I love to use my homemade pesto recipe to make the creamy sauce. However, I have found that store-bought works as well to make a creamy pesto sauce!
Pro tip: I find that refrigerated store-bought pesto has a better flavor than shelf-stable pesto. Trader Joe’s sells a delicious pesto in their refrigerated section which you can see in the ingredient photo above!
Ingredient Notes
Homemade Pesto
- Basil Leaves: For this recipe, you’ll need to use fresh basil.
- Olive Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil because adds a great flavor to the pesto.
- Roasted, Unsalted Pine Nuts: If you’re allergic to nuts, you can skip these, however, they really do add a lot of flavor, so if there is no allergy, make sure to use pine nuts.
- Garlic Cloves: You can buy already peeled cloves or peel them yourself! The fresher the better.
- Salt: Use whatever you have on hand. I love kosher salt!
Pesto Cream Sauce
- Milk & Heavy Cream: Feel free to substitute these for non-dairy alternatives if you prefer.
- Parmesan Cheese: Use grated or fresh, whichever you prefer.
- Pasta: I use fettuccine pasta, but in the past, I’ve used faster cooking pasta like spaghetti, angel hair, or shells which take even less time.
- Pesto: Either homemade or store-bought!
Recipe Step by Step
Homemade Pesto
- In a food processor, combine the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and salt. Pulse until all the ingredients are finely chopped. Add in the olive oil, and blend until combined. If needed, add in more olive oil until desired consistency.
- To prevent the top of the pesto sauce from turning brown as it sits in the fridge (oxidizing), pour on enough olive oil to cover the whole top. This will prevent oxygen from reaching the pesto sauce and will keep it green. Not necessary, for looks only.
- Store in a wide mouth pint mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 1 year. I store my dairy-free pesto in wide-mouth pint mason jars since they’re freezer friendly!
*for more details & a how-to video for homemade dairy-free pesto, click here!
Creamy Pesto Pasta
- Boil a large pot of water over high heat. Season the water generously with salt, and cook the pasta according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the butter and garlic. Cook for 30-60 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the heavy cream, milk, and pesto. Stir and cook for 1 minute to warm through. Turn heat to low, then add in the parmesan cheese. Stir until it is melted.
- Grab the cooked pasta with tongs out of the boiling water and add it directly to the sauce. Toss to combine. Add pasta water if the sauce needs to be thinned out.
- Serve this creamy pesto pasta warm, garnished with parmesan cheese.
Expert Tips
Pasta: I love my creamy pesto sauce smothered over fettuccine noodles, but use whatever pasta you have on hand and love. You can also use gluten-free pasta if needed.
Dairy-Free & Vegan: You can make this creamy pesto pasta & sauce recipe dairy-free if needed.
- Use ghee or plant-based/vegan butter in place of the regular butter.
- Use dairy-free pesto (my recipe for homemade pesto is dairy-free!).
- Substitute original flavor Nutpods in place of the cream and milk.
- Measure the same quantities for all substitutions.
Storage: Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 5 days. Reheat in the microwave until warm.
Adding Protein: For extra protein, add your favorite meat or seafood to this pasta. Creamy pesto sauce goes great over chicken, shrimp, etc.
FAQs
Yes! This recipe actually freezes super well. Put leftovers in an airtight, freezer-safe container and store them in the freezer for at least 6 months.
Pesto by itself is amazing on eggs, avocado toast, and sandwiches, and makes a great dip. This creamy pesto sauce is the perfect topping for multiple types of meat and protein, and a variety of pasta dishes. It would even go great in a casserole! Pesto is so versatile!
This recipe is not keto because of the Fettuccine pasta. However, you can make this creamy pesto pasta with Natural Heaven Hearts of palm pasta to make it low carb!
More Creamy Pasta Recipes!
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The BEST Creamy Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup pesto
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt
Equipment
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water over high heat. Season the water generously with salt, and cook the pasta according to the manufacturers instructions.
- Heat a large skillet over medium low heat. Add in the butter and garlic. Cook for 30-60 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the heavy cream, milk and pesto. Stir and cook for 1 minute to warm through. Turn heat to low, then add in the parmesan cheese. Stir until it is melted.
- Grab the cooked pasta with tongs out of the boiling water and add it directly to the sauce. Toss to combine. Add pasta water if the sauce needs to be thinned out.
- Serve warm, garnished with parmesan cheese.
- See the Recipe Notes below for more tips, FAQ's and ingredient substitutions.
46 Comments on “The BEST Creamy Pesto Pasta”
This was an absolute hit! Made the sauce and put it over mushroom ravioli and a little over NY strip steak. Cut the recipe in half but it was still a lot for leftovers (only two of us). It will now be in our rotation! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I love this! Sounds like such a yummy dinner! So glad you liked this recipe!
Just perfect.
I made this with home made cavatelli, and pesto that I freeze when my basil is abundant. I prefer my home made frozen pesto to store bought, but I agree that there exist some good refrigerated store-bought brands.
This recipe has been voted in as the official “Decadent Night” dinner by my family. Easy meal for me to make, and everyone loves it.
Hi Carol! I’m so honored! This recipe is one of my tried and true favorites and I am so glad your family feels the same. Thank you!
This is absolutely a family favorite – great for special occasions or a quick weeknight meal. We are a little more generous with both pesto and parm and usually include fresh shrimp sautéed in garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes for a little kick.
I love to hear this, Hope! Your tweaks sound absolutely delicious! Honored to be part of your family’s favorite recipes rotation!
Simple, quick and tasty. I paired the cream sause with tortellini and seared pork sausage medallions. The wife was looking at me in disbelief before she finished her first bite. This is the BEST creamy pesto sauce because simplicity and versatility, it’s easy to pair even when adding seasoned meats to the dish. (if the meat is salty use unsalted butter, salt to taste at the end)
Thank you, JB! I am so glad that you and your wife both liked this recipe so much! It is one of my favorites as well. Thanks for sharing your tips also! So helpful!
I use my homemade garlic scape pesto for this. The recipe from what I remember used 2 tablespoons of pesto. But I always added more. And I believe it was 8 ounces of pasta and I usually used the whole box. When looking at it today it looks like it has changed a little bit. Still one of my favorite recipes ever. Also one of my daughters favorite things that I make for her.
Thank u…
Hi Steve! I am so happy this recipe has been one of your favorites for so long! What an honor! I’m always testing and re-testing recipes so it’s evolved a little bit, but still the same amazing creamy pesto pasta! Love to hear your swaps and your homemade pesto sounds incredible!
FINALLY I learned how to make creamy pesto pasta haha. I have tried soooo many recipes and never got it to taste the way I imagined it until now. Thank you thank you for this delicious recipe! 10 year old twin daughters were big fans!! Paired it up with some Trader Joe’s Pesto Chicken breast and it was TO DIE FOR !
Hi Karen! I love to hear this. Especially when it’s kid-approved! :) Totally made my day!
Best recipe ever! I added cherry tomatoes and grilled chicken and it’s just amazing!
I am so happy you liked my pesto sauce Ezzie! I am so thrilled you think it is the best recipe ever! I love it! Adding cherry tomatoes and grilled chicken sounds delicious!
I couldn’t remember if this was the recipe I used the last time I made creamy pesto pasta. Gave it a try today and it was just as delicious as the last time I made it. I added some pesto flavored meatballs to it to kick it up a notch. Will definitely cook this again.
I am so happy you liked my pesto pasta Susan! I am so glad it turned out delicious for you. I love your addition of meatballs, that sounds delicious. I am so glad you will be making this again.
For the food bloggers – adding to the community to support their fellow bloggers and get traction on their own page – that write reviews about recipes and say “this sounds great”, this really doesn’t help people checking to see whether it’s worth the time, effort and money to make it
Luckily I did and it tastes amazing. Thank you
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to share Richard! Means the world.
Hugs,
Natalie
So delicious!! Made it with half and half because i decided last minute i needed a creamy sauce for dinner tonight and thats what i had. I added a little corn starch to thicken. My husband and three boys scarfed down every last noodle, asking for seconds and even thirds!!
I’m so glad you liked it Milla! I love using half and half too! And so smart adding corn starch, I’m going to try that next time! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked my recipe, you made my day!
May I omit the parmesan, or what may I replace it with? Thanks so much! Really wanna make it, it looks so good! :)
Looks Yummy! :)
You had me sold at “pesto” and “less than 15 minutes”. This pasta sounds so comforting and delicious, and it’s perfect how easy it is!
My fella is on a diet, so I guess I’ll just have to devour this whole plate of Creamy Pesto Pasta myself! Pretty sure that’s Not going to a be problem. Loved your customer service story. I have a million of those myself from back in the day. Who ARE these people? Sometimes I think people are just lonely and want someone to talk to. In this case, a simple “Hmm, how about US Mail?” would have worked just fine! But nooooo! :)
That is hilarious, Natalie!! There are so crazy people out there! Love this pesto pasta so much! I literally just finished dinner, but now my mouth is watering and I’m craving pesto pasta :)
Oooh … posh comfort food, that’s what I’d call this. Sounds delicious, and of course the 15-minute part of it is very attractive.
That’s a funny conversation indeed that you had at work this week! You should keep a record of all the funny incidents, Nathalie … ;-)