This creamy Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce is pure comfort in a pan. It’s rich, garlicky, and smooth, with a quick-fix feel that makes busy-night dinners easy and delicious.
A simple green salad balances the richness of this dish and be sure to add homemade garlic bread to get every last drop of this delicious sauce!
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce
Flavor: Rich, creamy, and savory with a mellow garlic bite and a hint of herbs.
Why Make It: The sauce comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta, all in just one saucepan for an easy, no-fuss dinner.
Serving Suggestions: I love serving this sauce over spaghetti, penne, rotini, bowties, or tortellini. I’ll often toss in peas, spinach, or leftover chicken to make it even heartier and more satisfying.
Total Time: 10 Minutes Serves: 4 Cooking Method: Stovetop
Ingredient Notes
- Cream Cheese: Brick-style cream cheese works best for the smoothest, creamiest sauce, and cubing it helps it melt quickly and evenly.
- Broth: Chicken broth adds savory depth and helps thin the sauce without making it feel heavy or bland. Vegetable broth works for a vegetarian option.
- Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan will give you a creamier texture and better flavor than pre-shredded. To make it extra cheesy add a little more Parmesan or a sprinkle of mozzarella.
- Pasta: Any pasta shape works well, with short shapes holding onto the sauce nicely, while spaghetti or fettuccine give it that classic Alfredo-style feel.
- Variations: The sauce can be made lighter by using half broth and half milk for a softer, creamier flavor. It can also be spiced up with red pepper flakes, or turned into a heartier meal by adding cooked chicken, shrimp, ham, bacon, or Italian sausage.
How to Make Pasta Sauce with Cream Cheese
- Sauté garlic in butter. Add the seasonings, then add cubed cream cheese.
- Whisk cream cheese until melted. Slowly add broth, whisking after each addition. Continue to add all remaining broth and simmer.
- Remove from the heat, stir in Parmesan, and season.
- Toss pasta with sauce.
Save That Sauce
Keep leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze the sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks. Dairy-based sauces can separate after freezing, so thaw in the refrigerator and reheat slowly while whisking.
More Creamy Pasta Favorites
Did you enjoy this Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 8 ounces cream cheese cubed
- ⅔ cup chicken broth or as needed
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooked pasta for serving
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While pasta is boiling, cook garlic in butter in a saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add dried basil and onion powder. Whisk in cream cheese until melted and smooth.
- Add chicken broth a little bit at a time and simmer 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve over pasta.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pasta, Sauce
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This is so tasty. Easy to make and delicious. Even my fussy hubby loved it. Another keeper. Thank you so much for so many different types of recipes. I repeat lots of your recipes and enjoy trying new ones, as well.
Thank you for the kind words Darlene, this made my day! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes.
I just felt like it was too much cream cheese tasting and not much other flavors.
It does taste like cream cheese as it’s a cream cheese sauce.
Perfect answer
Wow! I was not expecting so much flavor in such a simple recipe. THANK YOU very much for sharing it :)
can you bake this like mac and cheese sauce? Thank you sounds amazing!
This could be baked if you’d like. If baking with pasta, I would suggest adding extra broth so it doesn’t dry out since the pasta will absorb some of the sauce. Let us know how it goes!
Hi ♀️,
I’m in the UK, I’ve never known cream cheese that can be cubed, could you give me an example please.
Thanks.
Joanne
Cream cheese is sold in an 8oz block like this in grocery stores in Canada and the US.
Hi there I added some smoked paprika on top and some lemon to make it pop! Tasted amazing!
That sounds delicious, Sherry!
This recipe is fantastic, it is simple to make and cooks quickly. My children are picky eaters and love it. Thank you
So happy they enjoyed it! Thank you for trying our recipe.
We used this as pizza sauce and it was spectacular. Thank you for the recipe!!
That sounds delicious, Sarah!
Do you use freshly grated parmesan or the powder in the green can? I never know which to use when it is called for in a recipe.The poster never specifies, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.
Hi Nini, this recipe uses Parmesan from the can. Sorry for the confusion!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I cooked it for a quick pasta that my daughter wanted for days and she loves it! It is simple and delicious.
Strongly recommended!
So glad she loved it!
Can I use chicken stock instead of broth
Absolutely!
Awesome!! I already had dinner planned which was ribs with pasta and a salad. I used the cream cheese recipe for the noodles and was so pleased with the taste. The left over sauce is going on the veggies tonight. I’m sure you can’t go wrong with this one.
If you haven’t tried it – do.
I had everything already in my fridge / pantry that the recipie called for. I did add a little flour to thicken the sauce and made sure it simmered to cook the flour. I made an amazing meal in minutes!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Latrice!
Can you add lemon do you think?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Mindy, but I think lemon would be a delicious addition! If you try it, I would love to hear how it turns out!
I use more broth and butter than required because if not it is very very thick and not Alfredo like. Only about 1/3 to 2/3 cup more broth. I love this recipe. Homemade stock is great in this. I used crushed garlic and sauté that in the butter until it changes color, but don’t let it get dark. I also substituted Romano cheese for Parmesan and couldn’t tell the difference.
Certainly quick, easy and very tasty. I added shrimp to the butter and seasonings before adding the cream cheese.
Hey Easy to Follow recipe, plus delicious. My husband and I are Seniors, and I’ve been the main cook for 56 years, we now share duties (I drop things in wrong places). He cooked this himself served it over Fettuccini noodles, topped it with shrimp, chopped parsley, and grated Romano cheese, and served me! Wow.
Oh yum, Marie! That sounds delicious!
Yes, that does sound delicious Marie!!! Thank you for sharing!!
This was really good! I wanted to serve it with chicken, yet keep it quick & easy. I ended up making a basic broiled chicken breast. I sliced the chicken breast and placed it on top of the pasta dish. The combination turned out great!!!
Is this cream sauce suitable for 1pound of pasta, as it is not noted anywhere, except to say pasta
Hi Patricia, depending on how saucy you like your pasta this recipe should be enough for approximately a pound of pasta.