Creamy Pesto Pasta is a family favorite that’s also super easy – it’s done in just 10 minutes with only 5 ingredients!
Pasta with pesto is good. Pasta with creamy pesto sauce is great.
Back in the early 90’s in the first years of our marriage Brian and I went to an Italian restaurant and ordered pasta with pesto. I thought it was good. Brian thought it was like “eating chopped grass” with his pasta.
So when I started growing basil and making pesto to keep in our freezer all winter long, I had to figure out a way to have pasta with pesto that wasn’t quite so “pesto-y.” Well I suppose I didn’t have to, I just wanted to because it’s such an easy meal- on it’s own or mixed with chicken (and dried tomatoes-yum), or even alongside chicken or sausage. Plus by that time we had kids and they loved it.
My solution was to create a creamy white sauce and then mixing in pesto. I suppose you could just heat cream until it thickened and then add pesto, but I wanted a thicker sauce, kind of like an Alfredo.
And this creamy pasta has become one of our family’s favorite dishes. It’s one of those things I always have the ingredients for and is so fast (10 minutes!) that when we are tempted to buy something to eat on our way home from something, I always think “I could have creamy pesto pasta made in less time than it would take to get fast food.”
Having recipes like these in our collections makes it easier to stick to a budget and bypass those times we’re tempted to order out. How much savings? Combined with a salad this would come in around $3.50-$4 for the whole meal (serving a family of 4-5).
Making Creamy Pesto Pasta
NOTE: Start the water boiling first before starting the sauce and add the pasta to the water when it’s ready. In this dish, it’s the pasta that needs the most time to cook. See? Really just 10 minutes!
Making a white sauce is really very simple. I didn’t use to think so, back when I made everything with a can of cream-of-something soup. But once I learned there was no going back. Especially when I realized that a white sauce has four ingredients (butter, flour, milk, & salt) and the canned creamed soups have…well, a lot. Plus things I don’t recognize as food. It goes without saying that the taste is way better.
1. Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a medium saucepan. Add 1/4 cup of flour and mix well over medium heat (you can see it bubbling some in the top picture). You just want it combined and bubbly a bit, but not brown (that’s becoming a roux, then!).
2. Slowly add 2 cups of milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens. Add a teaspoon of salt or to taste.
How easy is that- 1/4 cup each of butter and flour, two cups milk and some salt? I can’t believe I ever thought it was hard!
3. When the sauce has thickened, add the pesto. This can be to your taste. I usually add one of my small containers of frozen pesto which are between 1/2-3/4 cup.
4. Drain the pasta and reserve a little of the pasta water in a cup measure. Add the creamy pesto sauce to the pasta and toss until the noodles are coated, adding the reserved pasta water as needed if the sauce needs thinning.
There you have it. One more recipe in the arsenal against the last-minute “let’s just grab something to eat” scenario – and maybe your next family favorite recipe, too.
Click the arrow for the printable recipe!
You are making me hungry……..
I also make a similer pasta as a go to dish. I take what ever random veggies I have in the fridge and saute them in a pan with some olive oil and basil (just dry, I don’t have pesto in my freezer 😉 Once the veggies are done I sprinkle about 2 tbs of flour over it and cook for a minute or two. Then I add my two cups of milk and cook unitl thick. It’s quick, easy, delicious and used up veggies that might otherwise have gone bad.
Jenny- That sounds yummy- my son loves ravioli so I would love to try it!
Jenelle- oh, that is such a good idea to make it all in one pan like that! I love those “one pan wonder” meals, they’re right up my alley. 🙂
I just learned the beauty of making my own white sauce to use in place of a can of cream of soup. I also made my own pesto this summer and froze it. Was so glad to have this in the freezer this winter! I will be making a lot more this summer. I have a recipe on my blog that is delicious made with homemeade pesto. Here is the link if you want to check it out.
http://lovebeinginthekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/spinach-ravioli-lasagna.html
That sounds so good, I’ve placed it on our Monthly meal plan for next month. But I think I’ll add leftover grilled chicken to make it more hearty for my hubs. He said he’d try it…he’s never had pesto anything…picky eater of mine 🙂
I had just made some pesto, over the weekend with my son, needless to say it is really delicious. I love pesto. My favorite is on grilled chicken either hot or cold. I also like pesto with pasta but I never thought of making a white sauce and adding to the pesto. I just use pesto and toss over pasta. While Troy (my son) and I were making this I said I had no pine nuts but I do have every other kind so we heated several handfuls of walnuts in the skillet then added this to the basil and also added lemon basil in the food processor. It is very good. This was the first time I ever tried lemon basil and I will surly plant that again next year.
Oh, lemon basil sounds like it would make a wonderful pesto, Diane, I’ll have to try that!
Oh my goodness…why didn’t I think of this…I make white sauce, and love pesto but haven’t thought about putting them together!! YAY!!!
~Amy @ http://www.thecheapandchoosy.blogspot.com
I made this tonight and it was wonderful. Two days ago I made the homemade pesto from your recipe and froze some of it. I saved some for tonight for the white sauce, then I added sautéed shrimp to my thin spagetti with pesto and it tasted like a fine restaurant meal. Will def be making your recipe again. I actually love all your recipes that I have tried from this site:)
Thanks
Teresa
Thank you so much, Teresa! It’s such a simple and good tasting recipe – and I bet it went great with the shrimp, I’ll have to try that!