Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe
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This recipe is for one of my favorite pasta dishes ever: Creamy Pesto Pasta. Our daughter requests this recipe often. I think she has good taste! It’s quick and easy to throw together in no time. Make your own fresh basil pesto or buy it already prepared. Once the pesto is made this Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe is so very quick, and perfect for any night of the week.
This pasta recipe calls for a basic fresh basil pesto. And look! There just so happens to be one right here: Basic Basil Pesto Recipe. In addition to the pesto, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, heavy cream and a pasta of your choice.
Once you’ve made the fresh pesto:
- In a saute pan heat approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the pesto and mix into the oil. Be sure to stir often as the pesto warms.
- When the pesto is warmed and just a little bubbly, slowly stream in about 1/4 c. heavy cream as you whisk lightly. If you want to add more cream, go for it. You can always add some pasta water to thin out the sauce, if needed. Here I added about 3 tablespoons.
- Turn down the heat and continue to stir to incorporate the cream and pesto. (I use a flat bottom whisk that works very well for cream sauces and gravies.) Don’t forget to salt and pepper to taste.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce tossing to cover every nook and cranny with the fresh pesto goodness. I used a 16 oz. box of butterfly/bowtie pasta (or farfalle: far-fa-lay) which I tend to prefer for this pesto pasta dish because it grabs onto the sauce so well (plus it is so very cute!), but you may certainly use whatever tickles your fancy.
This sauce is rich and creamy and so very tasty. Throw in some grilled chicken, shrimp or broccoli to change it up. Get creative with it.
Please note that I’m not a chef, but I play one in our home. While this process may not be what the pros do (or maybe some do) it works for me just fine, plus it’s easy. And easy is always a good thing.
Creamy Pesto Pasta recipe notes:
- If fresh basil is not readily available for making the homemade pesto, there are a couple of pre-made options that will work well in a pinch.
- Chicken, shrimp or broccoli can easily be added to the this recipe by cooking them in the same pan in a bit of olive oil prior to cooking the pesto sauce. Cook until done (about 6-7 minutes chicken, 3 minutes for shrimp, and a few minutes for broccoli) and then remove from the pan and cover to keep warm. Add back in once the sauce has been made.
Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe
Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe
This sauce is rich and creamy and so yum. Throw in some grilled chicken, shrimp or broccoli to change it up.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of Basic Basil Pesto recipe
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound favorite pasta, cooked
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add pesto and mix into the oil. Be sure to stir often as the pesto warms.
- When the pesto is warmed and just a little bubbly, slowly stream in the heavy cream as you stir. (You can always add more cream it you'd like.)
- Add some pasta water to thin out the sauce, if needed.
- Turn down the heat and continue to stir to incorporate the cream and pesto. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Would it be okay to use pre-made basil pesto, in a jar?
Yes, you can Leslie. Enjoy!
This looks delicious! I love pesto, but when it’s in pasta, I always miss that creamy element that I crave. This has the best of both worlds! Love it and can’t wait to try! Thanks for posting! 🙂
I hope you enjoy it, Jennie Leigh!
Very delicious! I stuck to the recipe but doubled the cream (I couldn’t help myself!) and added 1 tablespoon of pasta water. Beautiful recipe! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Can you freeze the sauce.
I plan to try making this as a warm dish for my family, but I am also looking for a cold pesto pasta salad as a side dish. Would this hold up as a cold salad, or would it be too dry/clumpy, rather than creamy?
I would not add the cream and just use the pesto to toss as a cold salad.
OMG!! So good!!! I used shrimp and it is to die for!! Thank you for posting. Who doesn’t love pesto!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy it as much as we do, Julie!
Hi, do you think using milk would be an okay substitute for the heavy cream?
The texture will not be the same as milk will not thicken the same way.
Okay. Thanks for the quick reply!
Made this dish tonight – using store bought pesto sauce. The only other addition was crushed red pepper, since we like everything spicy! Topped it with freshly grated parmesan and italian crusted chicken breast. It was wonderful!
I am going to make this for a potluck on Sunday, so excited…but I’m not a super experienced cook so I have to ask, is it possible for me to make it on Saturday and take it to be heated up on Sunday? I would like it best hot, but can it be eaten cold?
Thank you for the recipe!
It is delicious served as a cold pasta salad. Rewarming the sauce will usually cause it to separate, which, while it still tastes good, doesn’t look so pretty. If you are wanting to serve warm, I would cook it Sunday morning. If your pesto is prepared the day before and everything is measured out the night before, this recipe will not take long to put together. While the pasta is cooking, begin the sauce. Heating the water to boil for the pasta will take the most time, the sauce is really quick to put together. Please let me know if this make sense and how it turns out for you!
It makes great sense, and eases my mind…I feel like I can do this! lol
I will report back!
Thank you!
Wonderful, one of our favorite pasta meals with basil pesto. I make and freeze my own basil pesto every year. *If freezing basil pesto, just remember to add a ¼” of olive oil on top after filling the jars and placing into the freezer. This prevents the basil from oxidizing.
Thank you for the freezing tip, TL!
The notes say “about 6-7 minutes chicken, 3 minutes for chicken” I know one of the chickens is supposed to be shrimp, which one?
Three minutes is for shrimp. Thank you for pointing out my typo, Glenn! It’s fixed now.
Excellent! I make my own basil pesto so I’m always looking for new recipes that call for pesto. This is a keeper for sure. I use bow tie pasta as well as penne when I make this dish. Thanks for the recipe. BTW, we like to add plenty of pepper of the pasta and then sprinkle with grated fresh Parmesan.
I want to make this for a Potluck, if I make morning of and it sits in an enclosed pot for about 4 hours will it still be okay? Or does this need to be eaten right away?
To be safe, I would only keep it waiting that long in a slow cooker or covered in a warm oven. Also, if making ahead, be aware that the sauce can separate, especially with a temperature change.
Hi Amy
Is it 16 oz uncooked pasta? how much is it when it is cooked around 8 cups?
Sounds wonderful! But because I am dairy intolerant, I make a creamy sauce in a blender, using plain unsweetened almond milk as the base (usually pour in until about half full), a big handful of salted cashews, 1/4 C of rice flour, 1/8 C onion flakes and salt/pepper to taste. I puree this mixture, then over medium heat I stir until thickened… then add the pesto.
Greetings! What a delicious recipe. 8 do have one concern though. I have made this a couple times and both times it is very oily. The oil tends to separate a little bit from the pesto sauce. I am probably missing a step somewhere or doing something wrong. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!
I also had this experience. I’ll be using less oil next time.
This was so good! The only thing I did different was add some peas to it …other than that I followed the recipe exactly and thank you for such a great recipe. I will definitely be making again. ????????
I made this. Used more olive oil, sauteed a little spinach and mushrooms and stirred them in and, MAN! Yummy!
I just made this for Fourth of July and it came out delicious! Thanks for the recipe! It was so easy to make with little ingredients and will work great as a side dish !
I’m super late to the party but made this for supper tonight. Delicious. I did add grilled chicken and a bit of broccoli.