This delicious and creamy Pasta Cream Cheese Sauce can be compared to Alfredo Sauce and takes only 10 minutes to prepare. Use it to elevate simple dishes like ravioli, spaghetti, and white lasagna.
I'm currently in San Diego taking care of my grand-dogs while my daughter is in Arizona for a friend's wedding. This means I'm fending for myself until she gets back.
While searching her refrigerator, I found not one, not two, not three, but SIX unopened packages of cream cheese! 😂 I knew I had to come up with a recipe that incorporated at least one of those packages of cream cheese.
Using what she had in the fridge, I developed this Easy Pasta Cream Cheese Sauce recipe. Had she had other ingredients in her fridge, this could have been an entirely different recipe. However, it came out better than I expected and I will definitely be making it again when I head back home.
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe is quick, easy, and delicious. It only takes around 10 minutes to prepare. In the time it takes you to boil water and cook your pasta, the dreamy cream cheese sauce can be prepared and ready to serve over the pasta.
Add shrimp, asparagus, crumbled bacon, spinach, or anything you'd like to make this recipe even better! Give it a sprinkle of Dukkah Spice or Parmesan cheese and it's ready to serve!
What Goes Into This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Olive Oil: Don't have olive oil? Substitute avocado oil or unsalted butter.
- Cream Cheese: I prefer to use full-fat cream cheese in this sauce because it melts much better than non-fat or low-fat cream cheese.
- Milk: Instead of whole milk, you can use cream, half and half, almond milk, or oat milk.
- Broth: The chicken broth can be replaced with vegetable broth or some of the pasta water.
- Crushed Red Pepper: If you prefer a milder sauce, you can leave out the crushed red pepper.
- Goat Cheese: Not everyone likes goat cheese, luckily, it can easily be left out of the recipe.
- Chives: Instead of chives, you can use minced scallions or diced herbs like Italian parsley, basil, or thyme.
How to Make Pasta Cream Cheese Sauce
STEP 1: Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté the minced garlic cloves for a minute over low heat. Pour milk and broth into the saucepan and stir to combine.
STEP 2: Add cubed cream cheese, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
STEP 3: Whisk lemon zest and goat cheese crumbs into the sauce and continue to simmer over low heat until the cream cheese has completely melted. This should take approximately 10 minutes or less. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve the Pasta Cream Cheese White Sauce over ravioli and sprinkle with chopped chives and a lemon wedge.
Recipe FAQs
Philadelphia cream cheese is easy to melt using a microwave or stovetop. To melt the cream cheese in a microwave, place the cheese in a bowl and cover it loosely to avoid splatter. Microwave 20 to 30 seconds at a time, whisking until smooth.
To melt cream cheese on the stovetop, place cream cheese into a saucepan over very low heat. Whisk the cream cheese until creamy.
It's easy to make cream cheese sauce without Parmesan cheese. Just melt the cream cheese in a pot with either milk or cream. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic, and add your favorite fresh herbs.
Cheese sauce can be thickened by adding roux made with an equal amount of all-purpose flour and butter. Whisk the roux into the sauce until incorporated and smooth.
To dilute thickened cream cheese sauce, whisk in additional liquid. Choose from milk, cream, broth, or water.
Expert Tips
- When you cook the pasta, don't toss out the water. Save some of the starchy pasta water to whisk into the sauce if the sauce gets too thick.
- To add protein to the dish, toss in cooked chicken breast, kielbasa sausage, or shrimp.
- Different pasta can be used including linguine, rigatoni, bow tie pasta, and ziti to create various dishes with this cream cheese sauce as the base.
- Besides using different pasta, try adding various vegetables, for example, grilled mushrooms, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.
- Since cream cheese pasta sauce is a dairy-based sauce, leftovers don't freeze well. However, they can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Related Recipes
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Easy Pasta Cream Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 8 ounce cream cheese (cubed)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 medium lemon (zested)
- 2 tablespoon goat cheese (crumbled)
- 1 tablespoon chives (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté the minced garlic cloves for a minute over low heat. Pour milk and broth into the saucepan and stir to combine.
- Add cubed cream cheese, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
- Whisk lemon zest and goat cheese crumbs into the sauce and continue to simmer over low heat until the cream cheese has completely melted. This should take approximately 10 minutes or less. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve the Pasta Cream Cheese White Sauce over ravioli and sprinkle with chopped chives and a lemon wedge.
Notes
- When you cook the pasta, don't toss out the water. Save some of the starchy pasta water to whisk into the sauce if the sauce gets too thick.
- To add protein to the dish, toss in cooked chicken breast, kielbasa sausage, or shrimp.
- Different pasta can be used including linguine, rigatoni, bow tie pasta, and ziti to create various dishes with this cream cheese sauce as the base.
- Besides using different pasta, try adding various vegetables, for example, grilled mushrooms, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.
- Since cream cheese pasta sauce is a dairy-based sauce, leftovers don't freeze well. However, they can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Cheryl Hunter says
I can not wait to make this! Thank you for sharing this
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Cheryl, I hope you enjoy it!