Episode 032 Pesto Cream Sauce Pasta

Intro: Welcome everybody to another awesome episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can always get on the table. Promise. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich. 

Susie Weinrich: Back in episode 16, we talked about making a fresh basil pesto, that is so delicious. But today we are talking about making a 15-minute pesto cream sauce that is so good and perfectly tossed with pasta for dinner. There are a ton of different options when you are buying pesto. Of course, your very, very, very best option is going to be to make your own fresh basil pesto, just like we did in episode 16. Of course, I will link that recipe right in the show notes here for this episode so you can find it.

Tips and Tricks: You’re going to need about one cup of basil pesto. If you don’t want to make your own. If you want to keep this super simple, you can absolutely use store-bought pesto. However, the quality of pesto ranges drastically. Your best bet for a store-bought pesto is going to be from the refrigerated section, absolutely, hands down. Now if your store doesn’t have that option and you need to get something shelf stable, your best bet is to turn over the bottles and look at the ingredients. You’re going to find that the shelf-stable pestos use a lot of fillers, and some of them don’t even have basil as one of the first ingredients, which is wild. Try to find one that uses Basil as one of the first ingredients. And doesn’t have a lot of fillers like potato starch, and spinach. Those are my best tips for finding a good pesto.

Pesto Cream Sauce Recipe: Let’s go ahead and get into making this recipe. If you plan on serving this overcooked pasta, then I recommend going ahead and getting your pasta boiling and just cooking it to al dente per the package instructions. Then take a large, non-stick skillet and pop it over medium-low heat. You’re going to melt two tablespoons of butter, and then you’re going to add two minced garlic cloves and just saute them for about one minute, so you can start to smell that delicious garlic flavor. Then you’re going to add one teaspoon of dried basil. My tip here with any dried herb that you add is, to measure it out, put it in the palm of your hand, and then take your fingers and just kind of rub it into the palm of your hand. What that’s doing is releasing those essential oils and bringing them to life again. So add that one teaspoon of dried basil, half a teaspoon of kosher salt, and then saute it for an additional 30 seconds with that garlic.

Here’s where your pesto comes in. You’re going to add one cup of good-quality pesto and one cup of heavy cream. Stir to combine everything, and then just simmer that over medium-low heat for about three minutes. Finally, remove that pan from the heat and stir in half a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

That’s it. That’s the whole recipe. You’re going to let the sauce cool and thicken for just a couple of minutes and then serve it tossed with your cooked pasta. You want to have a creamy and super decadent pasta dish that only took about 15 minutes to make, which is excellent.

If you like to grill, I highly recommend adding a little bit of grilled chicken on top, but it’s totally not necessary. I also have a recipe for a big Italian salad that would be great on the side if you want more of a big dinner. Then, of course, garlic bread. Who doesn’t love garlic bread? 

You could store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days. But when you’re reheating this, you have to be a little careful because just like when you reheat Alfredo, It can kind of separate, the oil and the cream can separate a little bit, so you want to reheat it in portions just for 30 seconds at a time. Give it a good stir. You may want to add a little more milk. Give it a stir. 30 more seconds and it should reheat okay. 

That does it for this episode of Let’s Make Dinner. As always, I will link all of the recipes right in the show notes for you to find when you’re ready to make dinner. 

If you’re enjoying these episodes, I would love to have you rate and review this show in your favorite podcast player.

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner Makes your dinner time a little easier.