This delicious Pesto Cream Sauce is easy to make with rich cream, flavorful pesto and parmesan cheese. Serve it over your favorite pasta for a family friendly dinner that uses simple ingredients and comes together in less than 20 minutes.
Love a creamy pasta recipe? You need to try our Cheesy Dump and Bake Pasta, as well as our Creamy Lemon Pasta and our Cavatappi Pasta with Cream Sauce!
In this post…
Why You’ll Love This RecipeIngredients neededHow to Make Creamy Pesto SauceRecipe TipsFrequently Asked QuestionsStoring leftoversPesto Cream Sauce Recipe
The BEST Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe
This is a recipe we’ve been making for a good 20 years now and I crave it on a regular basis. I really prefer to make it with my Homemade Pesto (I also have a vegan pesto recipe!). That being said, when basil is hard to come by in the winter, I’ll reach for a store-bought jar.
I wanted to keep the recipe pretty basic so that you could customize it based on your preferences! I love adding protein and/ or veggies to this to really bulk the meal up!
Any way you make it, I know you’re going to absolutely love this creamy pesto pasta!
Happy cooking!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to adjust thickness + richness
Ready in about 10 minutes!!
Uses simple, pantry-friendly ingredients
Ultra creamy + flavorful
Perfect for pasta, gnocchi, veggies, or protein
Ingredients needed
The ingredients for this recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
Heavy cream. I recommend a good quality heavy cream, where cream is the only ingredient listed on the package. This will make your sauce perfectly rich and extra tasty!
Water. For extra flavor, if you’re serving this with pasta, use the leftover pasta water.
Butter. I prefer using unsalted butter for this recipe to control the saltiness.
Pesto sauce. The star of this recipe! I like to use freshly made pesto that can be found near fresh (not dried) pasta or in the produce section of the store. You could also make homemade pesto.
Parmesan cheese. Freshly grated Parmesan is always best.
Salt & pepper. I recommend tasting the finished sauce before adding salt. Depending on the saltiness of your pesto, you may not need any salt at all.
Pasta. Choose any favorite pasta to pair with this easy pesto sauce. We like to use bow tie pasta, also known as farfalle pasta. Penne pasta works too!
How to Make Creamy Pesto Sauce
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you 🙂
Cook your pasta of choice. I like to cook my pasta in a large pot of salted water. If you want the dish to be EXTRA saucy and creamy, use 8oz of pasta. For a more balanced dish, go for 12oz of pasta.
Make the sauce. Start out by heating the cream and water (pasta water is best!). Bring to a gentle simmer and add in the butter and pesto. Cook for a few minutes before adding in the parmesan and then the cooked pasta. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Use pasta water instead of regular water for a silkier, more cohesive sauce
Keep the heat low—high heat can cause the cream to separate
I like to make the sauce in a large skillet, so the pasta can easily be mixed into the sauce once made.
Add parmesan slowly while stirring to avoid clumping
Taste before adding salt – pesto + parmesan are already salty (I make this mistake often)!
Want it thicker? Let it simmer a bit longer or add extra parmesan
Frequently Asked Questions
Pesto cream sauce is a rich, creamy sauce made by combining traditional basil pesto with cream, butter, and parmesan cheese.
You can, but the sauce will be thinner and less rich. Half and half is a better substitute.
Yes, but it’s best fresh. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of milk or water to loosen it.
Storing leftovers
Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to about 4 days.
The sauce mixed with the pasta is best served immediately. If you wait too long to serve it, the pasta tends to dry up. If your pasta gets too dry, add additional pasta cooking water to make the pasta creamier again.
Pesto Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
Notes
Water – If you’re serving this with pasta, I like to use leftover pasta water in the cream sauce.
Storing leftovers – Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to about 4 days.
The sauce mixed with the pasta is best served immediately. If you wait too long to serve it, the pasta tends to dry up. If your pasta gets too dry, add additional pasta cooking water to make the pasta creamier again.
Nutrition
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