Easy 10-Minute Creamy Pesto Pasta
If you’re craving something rich, comforting, and full of flavor, but don’t have the time (or energy) for a complicated meal, this 10-minute creamy pesto pasta is the perfect solution. Made with just five simple ingredients and no heavy cream, this recipe uses a light white sauce to deliver a rich, creamy texture without the extra heaviness. It’s the perfect balance of fast, fuss-free, and absolutely delicious making it ideal for both busy weeknights and last-minute lunches.
✩ What readers are saying…
“Just made this – super easy and delicious!! Love the instructions and pictures!” -Sabah
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Pasta with homemade pesto is a good, classic recipe that is a staple of many Italian restaurants.
But pasta with a creamy pesto sauce is a great recipe. Adding a simple creamy white sauce elevates pesto to a whole new level.
What is pesto?
Pesto is traditionally a mixture of olive oil, basil, pine nuts, and parmesan with salt added for flavor. The ingredients have been mashed together for centuries in a mortar and pestle, though a food processor or blender does the work for us now.
There are also now many variations where the basil is replaced with other herbs, pine nuts with other nuts, and even use other cheeses.
This recipe for what I call a “frugal” pesto is a riff on the classic, replacing the expensive pine nuts with a much cheaper ingredient that I think makes it taste even better!
Pasta with Only Pesto?
Back when we were first married, 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, lol.
So when I started growing basil and making pesto to keep in our freezer all winter long (yes, really!), I had to figure out a way to have pasta with pesto that wasn’t quite so “grassy.” Well I suppose I didn’t have to, but I wanted to because it’s such an easy meal on its own, or mixed with chicken and dried tomatoes, or even as a side dish alongside chicken or sausage – and of course a kid pleaser.
Enter creamy pesto pasta – the dish we could ALL enjoy, while only adding a couple minutes to the preparation.
What is Creamy Pesto Pasta Made Of?
My solution was to create a creamy white sauce of butter, flour, and milk and then mix it with pesto. You could also just heat heavy cream until it thickened a bit and add the pesto, but I wanted a thicker sauce than that would produce, kind of like an Alfredo.
And this creamy pasta has become one of our family’s favorite dishes – and yes, even Brian.
Plus it’s one of those recipes 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 back pocket makes it easier to stick to a budget and bypass those times we’re tempted to order out.
Ingredients
- Pasta of choice (I always try to use a whole grain or healthier pasta – I really like this brand of chickpea pasta for added protein)
- Premade pesto – preferably what you’ve made and stashed in your freezer when basil was in season.
- Milk – some people have used half and half for a richer sauce. I haven’t tried this with a milk substitute.
- All-purpose flour – you can use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or potato starch to keep it gluten free – whisk it into the cold milk before pouring into the melted butter and whisk over the heat until thickened.
- Butter
- Optional variations: Add cooked protein like chicken, shrimp, or chickpeas, vegetables like spinach or dried tomatoes mixed in, or chopped fresh tomatoes served on top.
Note on Making a White Sauce
Making a white sauce is really very simple, I promise. I didn’t use to think so, back when I made everything with a can of cream-of-something soup, but once I learned how there was no going back. Especially when I realized that a white sauce has only four ingredients (butter, flour, milk, and salt) and the canned creamed soups have…well, a lot (including things I don’t recognize as food). And it goes without saying that the taste of homemade white sauce is way better!
Directions
Timing Tip: Start the water boiling first before starting the sauce, adding the pasta to the water when it’s ready as you’re making the white sauce. In this dish, it’s the pasta that needs the most time to cook. See? Really just 10 minutes!
Step 1: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and mix well over medium heat. You just want it combined and bubbly a bit like shown above, but not brown (that’s becoming a roux, then).
Step 2: Slowly add the milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens. Add a teaspoon of salt or to taste. TIP: add pasta water or more milk if sauce is too thick for your tastes (though the pesto will thin it more).
You’ve made a white sauce! How easy is that? I can’t believe I ever thought it was hard.
Step 3: When the sauce has thickened, add the pesto and stir together. This can be to your taste – I usually add one of my small containers of frozen pesto which are between 1/2 and 2/3 cup. It’s just about right for this amount of white sauce.
Step 4: Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Then add the creamy pesto sauce to the pasta and toss until the noodles are coated.
What to serve with creamy pesto pasta?
Serve as is with a salad (I love it with this orange-almond salad) or use as a base for rotisserie chicken or cooked shrimp.
This is also a great side dish or potluck option served with roasted sausages, grilled chicken, or easy mini meatloaves.
Reader Raves
“Can I say it, OMG? This was so easy and so good. I added Parm Cheese and Grilled Chicken. OMG x 2!” -Kathy
“This is so simple and so delicious! My husband also is not a fan of full on pesto, so this was a perfect compromise. 🙂 I made some turkey meatballs and let them simmer in the sauce. We enjoyed this very much!” -Mary
“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 spaghetti with pesto and it tasted like a fine restaurant meal. Will def be making your recipe again.” -Teresa
There you have it. One more easy recipe in the arsenal against the last-minute “let’s just grab something to eat” scenario – which may be your next family favorite recipe, too! Remember to let me know what you think with a rating and review!
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Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe
Equipment
- 4-6 quart stock pot
- 3-quart saucepan
Ingredients
Instructions
- Start the water boiling for the pasta. When it boils, cook as directed on the package.
- Meanwhile, make a white sauce by melting the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until combined; cook for a couple minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add the milk and stir over medium-high heat until thickened (TIP: If too thick, add a bit of reserved pasta water or a bit more milk, though it will thin when the pesto is added, too.)
- Add the pesto to the white sauce, stir and remove from heat.
- Drain the pasta and return pasta to the pot. This is where you can add cooked protein, spinach, dried tomatoes or cheese.
- Toss the sauce with the pasta in the pot and serve.
Notes
- Add cooked chopped cooked chicken, shrimp, sausage, or smoked salmon.
- Add chopped fresh spinach along with the sauce and toss it all together.
- Add chopped dried tomatoes.
- Top pasta with fresh chopped tomatoes.
Nutrition
Creamy Pesto Pasta FAQs
You can use the method in this recipe – making a white sauce of flour, butter, and milk before adding the pesto – or use heavy cream and cook on low until it thickens slightly (it will be runnier than a white sauce).
Another option is to thicken your pesto with potato starch or corn starch and add a milk product until it’s as creamy as you wish (this is a good dairy-free alternative).
Any pesto pasta can be served on its own as a light meal. It can also be a side dish to any grilled or roasted meat or seafood.
It’s also a wonderful based to add ingredients too, like sautéed spinach, onions, and peppers, cooked chicken or shrimp, or any leftovers you need to use up.
All the things you love about pesto – the flavor from garlic, basil, and parmesan – are there int he creamy version, but just a bit lighter with less bite. The texture is smoother, too, with less of a feel of chopped herbs (for want of a better description!)
More Quick Dinners To Try
- 20 Minute Mediterranean Chicken Pesto Pasta Recipe
- Cajun Beef on Spiced Potatoes
- Sheet pan dinner: Roasted Sausages, Peppers and Onions
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in April of 2010 and updated in 2020 and 2025.
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So easy to make and super delicious! Thank you!
Thank you – I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Stephanie!
Great recipe! Thank you! The first time I made this dish I kept it all veggies. The second time around I added heavy cream and grilled chicken.
I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe – and how versatile it is. 🙂 Thanks so much for the review!
This was so delicious! Made my own pesto, added sun dried tomatoes and grilled chicken. I also used half and half and reduced the flour by 1TBSP. Such an amazing and simple recipe I will definitely make again! Thank you!
Oh, yum – that sounds great! I’m so glad you enjoyed this simple recipe like we do – thank you for the review!!
Marinated shrimp in olive oil, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Marinated cherry tomatoes on olive oil, shallots, garlic and salt. Used half and half instead of milk, but thinned the sauce with pasta water and milk. Added grated parmesan to the sauce and a little salt. AMAZING! Every one of my children….including hubby loved it! Putting this in the rotation.
Sounds delicious with those additions, Chelsea! So happy everyone liked it!
Added Romano cheese to the sauce, sautéed diced chicken in olive oil and garlic and onion powders and substituted Half and Half for the milk. The changes made this a keeper for us. 1/2 cup of the pesto was plenty.
Love your additions!
Thanks so much for the review and I’m so happy this is a keeper recipe for you!
I made this tonight. This is a keeper recipe! Easy and delicious!! Thank you for sharing it with us.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Patsy! Thank you so much for the review!
Yum!!! I’m finishing this right now, because I saw the comments of the sauce thickening, I took about a tbs of the flour out of the mix everything else the same. At the end when mixing with pasta I had set aside a cup of the pasta water and slowly added to it so it’s not so “gummy” and a clove of finely chopped garlic since the husband thinks it needed a kick of something. I think like everything is a matter of adding your own to fit your family. Thanks for the recipe 😉
So true, Marcia!
Appreciate your comment and your review!
Made this last night with homemade spinach and basil pesto, it was so delicious.
Thanks for the recipe
Great idea to add the spinach, John! Thanks for taking the time to review.
OMG what an awesome recipe, made this tonight and it is great. I had the same issue with it becomeing a roux but just added the milk and it was a sauce. Added homemade pesto and chicken breast chunks and it was delicious.
Thank You for this recipe!!+
I actually found it very hard to make the sauce. It was very gooey like thick and gummy. I did the 2 tbsp. Of flour and butter and immediately got gummy, I tried olive oil to smooth it out but it was basically inedible. The pasta dinner was ruined. Cream sauce not easy.
I’m so sorry, Mavis, I know that would be disappointing.
Not sure what could’ve happened – you can see from the photos that flour and butter usually make a classic roux that thickens sauces. 😕
Just made this super easy and delicious!! Love the instructions and pictures!
Thank you for the review, Sabah!
Can I say it, OMG? This was so easy and so good. I added Parm Cheese and Grilled Chicken. OMG x 2!
Sounds amazing, Kathy!
This is so simple and so delicious! My husband also is not a fan of full on pesto, so this was a perfect compromise. 🙂 I made some turkey meatballs and let them simmer in the sauce. We enjoyed this very much!
Oh, yum – sounds wonderful! Glad you and your husband like this. 🙂
To save time, could I use a jar of alfredo sauce to mix with the pesto? Or would it taste different? Looks so delish, going to make that tonight but with shrimp!
Probably, Reena. I’ve never bought those, so I don’t know about the flavor.
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!
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!!!
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!
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. 🙂
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.
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 this amazing creamy pasta with it for sure.