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This easy creamy garlic pasta recipe is fast, simple, and delicious! The sauce is ready within the time it takes to boil the pasta, and it’s made with everyday ingredients.
You may also like my Easy Garlic Chicken Pasta or Creamy Garlic Pork Tenderloin next.
Why you’ll love it
When you want comfort food quickly, this pasta with a creamy garlic sauce does the trick. It’s kind of like a no frills, Alfredo-inspired dish that uses a few fridge and pantry staples. Garlic, freshly grated parmesan, and a little cream combine to make one tasty sauce!
You can either enjoy it as a main, for late-night cravings, or as a cozy and filling side dish that tastes restaurant quality. This garlic pasta is super comforting and kid friendly, and one lovely reader says it’s “so simple yet one of the best dishes I’ve ever made!”
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I like a longer shape like linguini, but anything works. Penne would be great.
- Butter and flour – they combine to make a quick roux to thicken the sauce
- Garlic – the savory star of the sauce
- Chicken broth – it adds more depth of flavor. Use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian.
- Heavy cream – you can’t beat the silky texture and delicious flavor of real cream
- Parmesan – for a cheesy touch. Grate your own!
- Parsley – it’s optional but highly recommended for freshness and contrast to liven up this creamy pasta
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Effortlessly mince the garlic (no peeling needed) with a garlic press, and this butter dish has handy measurement markings on it.
- This is the skillet pictured. I love cast iron! And I always use fresh parm and grate it with a Microplane.
- Store uncooked pasta in one of these airtight pantry containers for freshness.
How to make creamy garlic pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet. Add in the flour, and stir or whisk for a couple of minutes. Stir in the garlic and broth until fragrant. Whisk in the cream.
Let it reduce until it’s thickened up. Stir in the parmesan, give it a taste, and season with salt & pepper. Drain the pasta, and toss. Garnish with fresh parsley and extra parm if desired.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for anything with a lower fat content. It could curdle, will be thinner, and the taste and texture won’t be as intended.
- I like this pasta as-is, but it’s a great blank canvas for adding in cooked chicken or another protein like my Oven Cooked Bacon.
- You could even add some veggies (try a handful of peas, or stir in some spinach at the end) if you wanted to.
What to serve with creamy garlic pasta
- It makes a fantastic meatless main. Pair it with fresh crusty bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread and a side salad like my Parmesan Arugula Salad, or try spring mix with this Creamy Pesto Dressing or Homemade Olive Garden Dressing.
- As a side dish, this pasta goes great with my Baked Pork Chops, Easy Baked Chicken Breast, or Easy Meatloaf recipe.
Leftovers and storage
- I like it best fresh, but store leftovers of this garlic pasta for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Reheat slowly over a low heat (or the sauce may separate). Add a splash of cream if needed if the sauce dries out.
- I don’t recommend freezing creamy sauces.
If you made this garlic parmesan pasta recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! You can also let me know on Instagram if you made this or any S&L recipe.
Creamy Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta I used linguine
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley optional, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions.
- When the pasta isn't far from being cooked, it's time to start the sauce. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and let the roux cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in the garlic and chicken broth and let it simmer for about a minute.
- Stir/whisk in the cream and let the sauce cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's thickened to your liking.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and season with salt & pepper as needed.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce until well coated (add a little pasta water if you wish to thin the sauce a bit). Serve immediately with parsley and extra parm if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on July 14, 2018. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Oh.My.How.Delicious! I prepared this dish one evening last week about 9 PM. It was our first week of working from home and home/crisis schooling and also taking care of my husband’s 90 year old Mother. I used what I had open and on its last day of freshness. I had 1/2 box of fettuccine and a 1/2 carton of Half and Half open. I also had a few cremini mushrooms at the end of freshness and no shallot. I tossed in a sprinkle of dried minced onion just for flavor while sauteing 3 large garlic cloves & mushroom. The next day for lunch, I warmed the leftovers with a splash of chicken broth and a splash of whole milk along with a handful of leftover broccoli florets from another night’s dinner and more freshly grated Parmesan. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. It was comfort food at its best.
I’m so glad it inspired you to use up what you had in the fridge! 🙂 XO
This was so simple and tasty! Will be making these plenty of times in the future!9
Excellent!! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Wonderful recipe and easy to follow! We made this for a Christmas Eve family dinner and it was a hit! We ground up some spicy chicken sausage and added it to the dish. We also served this delicious dish with a side salad. It was perfect! Next time we’ll make homemade pasta 🙂 Oh and the leftovers the next day were just as delicious! We’ll definitely be adding this into our dinner rotation!
So happy that it was a hit, Kelly!! Love the sausage idea. 🙂
WOW!!!! So simple yet one of the best dishes I’ve ever made!!! My 9 year old and I LOVED this! Thank you for sharing! I doubled the recipe and added crushed red peppers to my personal serving. 5 stars!!
Aww I’m so glad to hear it, Audrey!! Thanks for letting me know 😀
Oh my. Gosh. Tried this tonight at 12.45am.i was craving creamy pasta. It was absolutely delicious. Restaurant quality. Definitely try it!!
So happy to hear it!! Great time to make pasta hehehe. 🙂
Delicious! I made it for lunch because I was sick and I figured I should treat myself to something special. It tastes SO good! Five stars. 🙂 (I’ll be adding this to my recipe book)
Also, you can substitute heavy cream with half and half if you don’t have cream. 🙂
Aww so happy you liked it! Hope you feel better soon! Re: half-and-half, you may need to cook it a little longer or add more flour to get the sauce to thicken up the same.
This was good! Made it for dinner last night. I used rigatoni pasta threw some broccoli into the water before pasta was done cooking. Added sauteed onions,peppers and zucchini and a little left over roasted chicken at the end. I also sliced my garlic (a little extra) and cooked it in the sauce. My picky husband raved about it.
Yay I am so happy you liked it! Love your additions.
I made it with GF pasta, added 2 tbs low fat cream cheese, 2 % milk, extra garlic and fresh shrimp I sauteed in a bit of olive oil..also use fresh parm and Romano…we enjoyed it…thanks for the idea…it really brought it up a few notches 🙂
Your adaptations sound delicious!
Can I substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth?
Absolutely!
Yum! I made this tonight for dinner. It was a hit! So delicious & easy. It’s added to my recipe box. I paired it with peas & it was delicious!
I’m so happy you liked it!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
What kind of vegetable would pair well with this?
I’d serve this with a salad. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
I did eat a side romaine, endive & radicchio salad. I used some of the last of the salad to wipe out The leftover sauce in my bowl. Tasted great. Yum.
So happy you enjoyed it, Sally! 🙂
This link popped up in my google feed! I am definitely adding this recipe to my meal plan this week. Yum! 🙂
Enjoy!! 🙂
I love this recipe but is it free able after cooking it? I like to have things already cooked then cool & put in freezer for later!
Hi Carol! Unfortunately, I don’t find creamy pastas tend to reheat that well. Freezing it will likely made the sauce separate and the pasta turn mushy.