Easy Cheesy Garlic and Herb Pasta

Pasta sauce recipes don't come much easier than this. Easy cheesy garlic and herb pasta is quick to make and you can vary the recipe easily to ring the changes.

Dinner on the table in about 15 minutes you can not complain about that! I've used garlic and herb flavoured cream cheese as the base of this pasta sauce. It can be stirred into pasta used to make a near instant sauce but I have added a few extras to ingredients to liven the sauce up a bit.

It's the perfect pasta sauce to make when you want dinner in a hurry by the time the pasta is cooked the sauce is ready (unless you use fresh pasta in which case the sauce takes just slightly longer than the pasta).

How to make easy cheesy garlic and herb pasta sauce. 

First sauté some onions until just soft, then add some chopped bacon and cook for a few minutes. Next, add the cream cheese and a little milk and heat gently until the cream cheese melts. The sauce is stirred into the hot pasta and its ready to serve. it really is as easy as that!

For a  vegetarian version simply leave out the bacon. 

Serve with pasta of your choice.  I really like it served with homemade pasta cut into tagliatelle

step by step

Variations

•  Saute onions with the bacon or used to replace the bacon.
•  Add some toasted pine nuts and sprinkle over the finished dish.
• Use a plain cream cheese and add your own garlic and fresh herbs.  Chives would be good.
• Add a little spice with some dried chilli flakes.
• Replace the onions with sliced leeks.

Need some more really quick and easy pasta sauces? – Try one of these

• Avocado spaghetti with lemon and chilli - Searching for Spice
• Broccoli pesto pasta – The Petite Cook
• 5 minute lemon butter sauce –Recipes from a pantry
• Creamy pasta with asparagus and bacon – Recipes Made Easy
• Tagliatelli with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella - Recipes Made Easy
• Cheesy tuna pasta – Fab Food for All

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Easy cheesy garlic and herb pasta

A quick and easy pasta sauce

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: International

Keyword: cheese sauce, pasta sauce

Skill Level: very easy

Servings: 4

Calories: 625kcal

Author: Jacqueline Bellefontaine

Ingredients

metric - US cups

• 400 g pasta
• 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 175 g garlic and herb cream cheese
• 100 ml milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan cheese to serve (optional)
• chopped fresh parsley to serve (optional)

Instructions

• Cook 400g (14oz) pasta in plenty of lightly salted boiling water for about 10-minutes or as directed on the packet.
• Slice 6 rashers of bacon into small pieces, chop one small onion.
• Heat the oil in a small saucepan and fry the onions until just beginning to soften. Add the bacon and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in 175 g (6 oz) cheese and 100ml (3½ floz) milk and heat gently stirring until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Drain the pasta and stir in the cheese sauce. Serve immediately sprinkled with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 625kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 348mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 282IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 2mg

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