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If you’re looking for a CREAMY GARLIC PASTA RECIPE, this is the one! It’s an easy one pot dish that’s full of Parmesan and garlic and ready in just 20 minutes!
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I’m basically physically incapable of resisting a recipe that has the word creamy in the title.
I mean, no. I can not pass it up.
If it’s creamy, I will eat it. (Go ahead. Make the that’s what she said joke. I deserve it.)
Anyway, I was pinning all the things one day, when I came across this recipe for Creamy Garlic Pasta from The Cheese Pusher and it sounded like a simple, flavorful dinner that would be pretty much perfect for a cheesy, creamy, garlic pasta lover like myself.
We love this dish because the noodles cook right in the sauce, giving them a ton of flavor without dirtying any extra dishes! The cream and cheese gets stirred in right at the end, no need to even drain the pasta. This is basically a one pot Alfredo and it’s darn delicious.
If you love Alfredo sauce, you’ll also want to try our homemade Alfredo sauce. It’s so creamy and decadent!
Ingredient Notes:
Linguine – Any shape of pasta should work here, but we love twirling strands of linguine on our fork.
Parmesan – Make sure to use the shredded stuff (in a bag, or shred your own) and not the powdery kind in the green can.
Heavy Cream – This is necessary for the rich, creamy sauce. You can try swapping for half and half, if you must, but the sauce won’t be as thick creamy.
Chicken Stock – We’re boiling the pasta in chicken stock to add extra flavor. Use vegetable broth if you’d like to keep this vegetarian.
How to make creamy pasta:
Melt your butter in a large stock pot. While it is melting, add in the olive oil and garlic. Cook for about one minute over medium heat.
Add salt and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add the pasta to the pot and cook according to directions. After cooking, remove about 1/4 cup of liquid from the pot and set it aside for later.
Helpful Tip!
Reserved Liquid:
We’re removing about 1/4 cup of liquid from the pot to help get the right consistency for the sauce. You may want to add the liquid back in to thin the sauce or you may choose to discard it.
Reduce the heat to medium and add in cheese. Stir to combine it all. After the cheese is fully melted you can remove the pot from heat and stir in your heavy cream and parsley.
Give it a taste and stir in the reserved liquid if you’d like a thinner sauce. We like to keep our sauce thick and creamy, so we don’t often add the reserved liquid back in, but we have it if we need it. If you’re not using the liquid, just discard it.
FAQ’s:
This creamy garlic parmesan pasta should be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. It’ll reheat well in the microwave. Be sure to stir halfway through cooking for even heating.
Absolutely! Serve this creamy garlic parmesan pasta with sliced grilled chicken over the top, or stir cooked and cubed chicken into the pasta along with the cheese and cream.
We love Cajun seasoning paired with Alfredo sauce and it works well in this recipe too! Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning to taste (be careful – many brands are quite salty) just before serving.
More pasta recipes to try:
Creamy Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 8 ounces linguine
- 8 ounces Parmesan cheese grated
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken stock to the pan. Raise the heat to high and bring the stock to a boil.
- Add the linguine to the boiling liquid. Cook according to package directions. Use a measuring cup to remove 1/4 cup of the liquid from the pot and set aside.
- Remove from the heat add the cheese to the pasta, stirring to combine.
- When cheese has melted, stir in the cream, parsley, salt. Add the reserved liquid, if desired, to thin the sauce to your desired consistency.
- Serve immediately.
Athena says
Easy and delicious!
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Athena!
Don Bigwood says
Thanks for the recipe. Easy and flavorful pasta dish.
Idaho Mom says
This was soooo yummy. I’ve never cooked my pasta in chicken stock before… ever!! What a hack! Thank you. Everyone had seconds. My kids said they think I can have my own restaurant after this recipe! ?
Karly says
Oh wow, so glad it was such a hit! 🙂
Caitlin says
This was amazing! I used Whole Wheat Pasta and switched in 1% milk instead of the cream, and it was still just as amazing! My husband said this is definitely one for our recipe books! Thank you so much!!
Paula says
I adore this recipe! Thanks so much! I’ve made it maybe half a dozen times in about a month. I’m gluten-free, so I used GF linguine and it was delicious. My 17 yo son even loved it. And he’s notoriously anti-GF anything. He thinks it’s yucky. I added bacon (because who doesn’t love bacon?) the last couple of times I made it. SO good. Adds a zing of something. Of course it’s great without the bacon but we’re big bacon lovers here, so I chopped up a few slices, browned them, then took them out and cooked the garlic in a teeny bit of the leftover bacon grease. Oh my. Thanks again!!
Liz says
I found the recipe (and your website) via Pintrest.
I decided to make your creamy garlic pasta last night… It’s so good!
We made it with whole wheat pasta, so there was almost no liquid left over because it tends to absorb more liquid when cooking. I didn’t drain any water and I ended up with a thick sauce.
I also used half-and-half (instead of heavy cream)because that’s what I use when making cream sauces. (Both my partner and I are slender with teenager-level appetites, despite being over a decade out of our teenage years. Making healthy choices usually involves lower saturated fat when possible, because portions are going to be huge ^-^’)
It also refrigerates well for lunches, though reheating does ‘dry’ the sauce a bit. (I packed them individually right after dinner, because of how I figured the starch would make the dish stick together when cold. It ended up being good foresight.)
Thank you for the recipe and blog, Karly! I’ve never cooked a pasta in with the sauce before, and I must say, I’m hooked!
Karly says
@Liz,
I’m so glad to hear that this was a hit! 🙂 Switching to half and half sounds like a great idea!
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog says
It’s 7 am, I haven’t had breakfast and here this bowl of pasta was staring me in the face. Now I want pasta for breakfast. Thanks Karly… #foodieproblems
Karly says
@Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog,
Happens to me on the regular. 😉
Christine H says
Where has this been all my life? I usually make a homemade alfredo sauce in a separate pan and then the pasta and then merge…this made it so much easier. I halved the recipe, just me and my 2 daughters (10 and 2). I followed exactly, except I used light cream. There is NO need to use heavy cream…in fact, when I make my own alfredo sauce, I use fat free half and half and get the same results. I also refused to drain and liquid…all of that precious flavor juice! Instead, once the cream was added, I put back on high heat and mixed rapidly with a whisk (to keep from burning). This naturally thickens the sauce. Topped with some quickly sautéed shrimp and fresh basil instead of parsley…since it s what I had on hand, and I prefer the flavor. This was TO DIE FOR! My picky 10 yr old ate it up and so did my toddler, who, like her mama, adores all forms of carbs, especially creamy cheesy covered carbs. This one is going in my keepers list!
Karly says
@Christine H,
Awesome! Glad you liked it! 🙂
vadeem @vadeem says
This looks wonderful, I wonder how much money I’d have to invest to make this.
Libbie says
Holey Moley….good enough for me to cheat on my diet for sure 😉 …I wink but I am serious. 🙂
Lisa says
Tried this tonight! Yummy & easy….thanks!!
Janet says
Made this tonight!!! Added a little onion with the garlic and some chicken. So delicious! 🙂
Lisa@ Cooking with Curls says
Creamy and Garlic and two of my favorite food groups! Wow, that needs to be my dinner tonight!!