Creamy Pesto Pasta

5 from 1 vote

This stupidly simple creamy pesto pasta makes a quick, delicious family meal that will leave everyone licking their plates clean. Total time required is 15 minutes.

The Pesto recipe makes ½ cup enough for the pasta.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Creamy pesto pasta

Servings:

Calories: 442kcal

Author: Katia

Ingredients

Pasta

8 oz (225 grams) Linguine or spaghetti (or your fav pasta shapes)

Homemade Basil Pesto (or ½ cup of store-bought)

1 ½ cup (40 grams) basil leaves
¼ cup (20 grams) grated parmesan
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts (or ¼ cup cashews)*
1 garlic clove, sliced
¼ teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil

Cream Cheese pesto

½ cup (120 grams) pesto (homemade or store-bought)
½ cup (100 grams) soft cream cheese
¼ cup (60 ml) pasta water, plus more if needed

Instructions

Pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta per packet instructions.
When the pasta is nearly done, reserve ½ cup of cooking water (you need it for the sauce), and drain the pasta.

Pesto

To save time, make the pesto while the pasta is cooking: Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped.
Slowly pour the oil in through the feeder tube while the motor runs. Blitz until smooth (or to desired consistency), adding a touch of extra oil or water if it helps to blitz.

Creamy pesto pasta sauce

Place cream cheese, pesto, and ¼ cup of pasta cooking water in a large bowl (save the rest for later). Stir until creamy and smooth.
Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl. Toss everything together until well combined and the pasta is well coated and creamy. If needed, add an extra touch of the reserved pasta water.
Serve immediately while it's still hot with extra grated parmesan cheese and a few toasted pine nuts on top if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Pine nuts: Preheat a small skillet over medium heat, add pine nuts, and toast until light brown; it takes about 3 minutes. Immediately remove them from the skillet. Alternatively, you can use less expensive cashews (either toasted or untoasted).

Storage: You can store leftover creamy pesto pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stove, adding a touch of water if needed. The color will eventually get dull, but the flavor will still be nice.

Nutrition facts: The nutrition values are for one serving and they are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice (extra parmesan cheese for serving is not included). Please see my disclosure policies.

Nutrition