Here I’ll show you a secret tip for getting truly creamy Cream Cheese Pasta without the sauce drying up. With just 5 ingredients, this easy pasta dish is a total winner!
This truly is the easiest pasta recipe of all time. Plus it’s freaking delish. If you’ve got a spare 15 minutes and your belly is rumbling, you’ve come to the right place. Follow me…
Pasta with Cream Cheese
I don’t know about you, but if you’ve ever tried cream cheese pasta before, you’ve probably felt a little lacklustre afterwards. Well, same. I’ve seen so many recipes where it’s simply just pasta and cream cheese mixed in. It’s a nice idea, but in reality it just doesn’t taste that great. I was determined to make cream cheese pasta work, so I did a little experimenting, and here’s the result.
It’s kind of like a cream cheese Alfredo sauce. Better still, you only need 5 ingredients!
Cream Cheese Pasta Ingredients
- Cream Cheese – I usually go for Philadelphia, but any full-fat quality brand works great.
- Butter – Adds richness to the sauce. I usually go for unsalted butter, just so you can control the amount of salt better.
- Parmesan – Freshly grated, not the sandy stuff!
- Garlic – Where there’s a cheesy sauce there’s gotta be garlic. It’s just the rules!
- Ham – Great because it doesn’t need to be cooked (and it’s usually what I’ve got knocking about in the fridge). I like smoked ham but you could use regular ham.
I personally don’t add any herbs or spices to this – I don’t find the need! However, you could add a pinch of fresh parsley if you’ve got it on hand. Thyme works nicely, although it’s a lot stronger. If you want a kick of heat you could add some chilli flakes.
Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce
Okay, so we’ve added some more flavour to the classic cream cheese pasta, but there’s also a second problem. By adding cream cheese straight to pasta it just ends up dry and clumpy. Even thinning it out with milk doesn’t particularly help. So, meet your new best friend.
Starchy Pasta Water
By stirring through some pasta water into melted butter you create an emulsion. This will be the base of your sauce and result in a silky, creamy sauce. A lot of traditional Italian pasta sauces actually only use pasta water and butter, purely because that’s all you need to create a creamy sauce base. But hey, I promised you cream cheese pasta, so that’s what we’re getting.
Two really important factors to consider. First is you want the pasta water to be properly seasoned with salt. This ensures it doesn’t dilute the flavour of the sauce. Second, you’ll want to scoop the pasta water out JUST before draining. This will ensure the water is nice and starchy, which in turn is what ensures the sauce goes nice and creamy.
Process shots: fry garlic (photo 1), fry ham (photo 2), melt butter (photo 3), whisk in starchy pasta water then melt cream cheese (photo 4), melt parmesan (photo 5), toss in pasta (photo 6).
Cream Cheese Pasta FAQ
If you haven’t got or don’t like ham, you can really add most things in this sauce! Here are some of my faves:
Bacon
Smoked Sausage
Mushrooms
Leftover Chicken
Roasted Veggies
Yep! I just like long-cut pasta because it’s easier to toss and create a creamy sauce. But in reality, any shape of pasta will do.
You sure could! If you’re using a garlic and herb one I’d skip the fresh garlic in the sauce.
Serving Cream Cheese Pasta
Serve right away with a sprinkling of extra parmesan, just for good measure. If you want to go wild you could add some garlic bread (or cheesy garlic bread, or even cheesy pesto garlic bread!).
This is best made fresh, but with the same token don’t waste any leftovers. Just tightly cover in the fridge then reheat on the stove using a splash of milk or cream to thin out as needed.
Right, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this cream cheese pasta shall we?
How to make Cream Cheese Pasta (Full Recipe and Video)
Cream Cheese Pasta
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Colander
- Pasta Tongs
- Fine Cheese Grater
- Mug or 1 cup Measuring Cup (for scooping pasta water)
Ingredients
- 200g / 7oz Spaghetti
- dash of Olive Oil, for frying
- 1 clove of Garlic, finely diced
- 100g / 3.5oz Ham, chopped (see notes for subs)
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 100g / 3.5oz Cream Cheese
- 20g / 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente. Right before draining, reserve a cup of starchy pasta water.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan add a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for 20-30 seconds (careful it doesn't burn), then stir in the ham and fry until it just starts to turn golden.
- Melt in 2 tbsp butter, then add about 80ml / 1/3 cup of starchy pasta water. Quickly whisk in a circular motion to create an emulsion and combine the starchy water with the butter. The water should go cloudy and thicken slightly.
- Turn the heat down slightly and stir in cream cheese until it melts, then stir in the parmesan until it blends into the sauce. Season to taste then add the cooked spaghetti. Toss the spaghetti until the sauce thickens around and clings to it. If it dries out at all just toss in more starchy water a splash at a time. If you go overboard just continue tossing the pasta until the sauce re-thickens.
- Serve with extra helpings of parmesan. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Bacon
- Mushrooms
- Leftover Chicken
- Roasted Veggies
- Smoked Sausage
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
If you’re looking for another easy cream cheese recipe check out my Cream Cheese Chicken!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties too:
Creamy Pasta Recipes
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Creamy Salmon Pasta
- Creamy One Pot Pasta
- Cottage Cheese Pasta
While “sheltering in” I was desperate to use up a half box of pasta and some leftover bacon and mushrooms. This was really simple, satisfying and will go into my recipe box for sure!
Thanks, Lee! Glad it went down well 🙂
I had cream cheese that was about to expire and wanted to make a savory dish. i am sooo happy that i came across your recipe. it was so much better than i was expecting. absolutely delicious!! i am sure i will be making this quite often in the future! thanks for the recipe!
So glad it turned out well, Amy! Thanks for popping back to leave a review 🙂
I’m a vegetarian so instead of ham, mushrooms and zucchini. Follow all the ingredients. Yummy.
Mushrooms and zucchini sound like a yummy addition! 🙂
This is the easiest and most practical way to make a pasta, but you can’t underestimate the result… my kid loved it so much she wants me to make it again for her and her friends
Since I’m not someone who loves spending much time cooking this recipe is super to me Thank you for sharing this!
So glad it went down well, Zee! I actually had this for dinner last night, reminded me how easy it is!! Thanks for popping back and leaving your feedback 🙂 Chris x
This is really awesome.
This dish was delicious and super easy to make. I used ham from thanksgiving dinner. You won’t be disappointed. ❤️
Such a good idea using leftover ham! Glad it was enjoyed 🙂
This pasta look so classic and easy yet perfect for a nicer dinner too! That sauce looks incredibly creamy and flavorful!!
Thanks Neli ! 🙂
I really like an easy to make tasty meal, ideal for busy mid-week days. This looks delicious and perfect for those days when you need good comfort food. No fussing, but always tasty.
Yes! So good for busy mid-week days!
Wow this sounds decadent!! I bet my kiddos would love this. Thanks for sharing!
Definitely kid approved! 🙂
What I love is that pasta clearly doesn’t need much else! It’s just perfect like that. Looks so creamy and delicious! (:
Yup, you’re totally right there!
We make a variation of this for our toddler and it always goes down well. You can’t beat cheesy pasta.
You’re so right, you really can’t beat cheesy pasta!