Creamy pasta is an easy dinner dream. Al dente pasta served with basil cream sauce is the perfect vegetarian meal and can be ready in 20 minutes.
I know a recipe is absolutely delicious when my husband asks for it continuously. I made this easy creamy basil sauce recipe one night when I I made my favorite Tomato Cream Rigatoni. He struggles with heart burn so he tries to stay away from tomatoes as much as he can. I whipped this creamy sauce up in minutes and he absolutely loved it. So did I and since then I’ve been making it weekly. It’s so simple and perfect served with al dente pasta (my fav is tagliatelle). It’s also scrumptious served over pan-seared chicken breasts, pork and salmon.
Ingredients
- Cream. Heavy / Whipping cream.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Fresh basil.
- Dried herbs. I used oregano and parsley but rosemary, herbs de Provence and sage will also work.
- Lemon juice.
- Salt and pepper.
- Pasta.
How to make basil cream sauce
- Make the sauce: Melt butter in a large frying pan set over medium high heat and add a chopped onion. Cook the onion until soft and translucent then add garlic, chopped basil and dried herbs. Cook for another 30 seconds. Pour in cream (heavy or whipping cream). Allow to simmer for a few minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon easily. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour back into the frying pan and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Finish and serve: Allow to come to a simmer then stir in cooked pasta or serve over chicken with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.
Can basil cream sauce be made ahead?
This sauce can be made a few days ahead and be kept sealed in the refrigerator. To re-heat, pour into a pan and allow to come to a simmer gently.
Creamy pasta recipes
Pasta with basil cream sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup fresh basil roughly chopped
- 1 tsp dried herbs of your choice (basil, rosemary, sage, thyme or Herbs de Provence all work well)
- 1 cup whipping or heavy cream
- 1-2 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 500 g pasta cooked
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a pan then add the onion. Cook until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic, basil and dried herbs (if using) and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Pour in the cream and allow to come to a simmer. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until the sauce covers the back of a spoon easily.
- Transfer sauce to a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and add cooked pasta or serve over cooked chicken.
Nutrition
Hello! I don’t have basil on hand usually. Can I pop in any pesto sauce I might have on hand instead?
Thank you!
Yup, that should work well.
Hi Alida, thanks for sharing this recipe! I am excited to try it. Can you recommend a substitute for cream to make this sauce vegan?
You could use cashew cream or a nut milk. It just won’t thicken as much as heavy cream so I would suggest thickening the sauce with a little cornstarch.
This sounds delicious. Can i use fresh parsley and oregano instead of dried? I have both growing.
Absolutely!
Easy and so tasty
Hi there. Is it possible to make a substitution with whole milk for the heavy cream?
The sauce won’t be as delicious or as thick since the milk won’t thicken once cooked but you could use milk if you preferred. Maybe thicken with a little cornstarch?
This is so amazing. I’ve made it three times now, one time for Christmas Eve, and everyone loves it!
So happy to hear that, Abi! 🙂
Hello! This looks delicious. Any chance I can use plain Greek yogurt as an alternative to whipping cream?
I’ve never tried it with Greek yogurt and don’t advise cooking Greek yogurt as it will split.
I just grabbed some fresh basil from my neighbors plant Alida! She’s always telling me to take some, so I think I know what I’ll be making with my stash! Looks delicious!
You’re going to love this simple sauce recipe Mary Ann. It’s so great on so many things.