Creamy Pasta with Parmesan
Tender pasta in a creamy, cheesy, parmesan-spiked sauce. Add sweet sun-dried tomatoes, and bright green peas and you have a winning meal for any night of the week.
There’s so much flavor in this incredible dish! And the ingredient list is short, which makes meal prep that much easier! Most of the flavor in the sauce comes from the parmesan cheese, plus a little garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. The sauce is salty, nutty, cheesy, and completely amazing.
This dish is healthy too! Yes, it’s a cream sauce, but you can use fat-free half & half and achieve a rich, velvety sauce with very little fat! You seriously can’t tell the difference when using fat-free half & half. If you want to use milk, that’s also an option, but note that the sauce will be a bit thinner.
What type of pasta should you use? I used elbow macaroni but you can use small shells, rigatoni, penne, wagon wheels, etc. Virtually any pasta shape will work here, including spaghetti (I suggest you break longer strands of pasta into smaller pieces before cooking; just don’t tell my Italian family I said that).
Creamy Pasta with Parmesan
Ingredients
- 16 ounces pasta of choice, I used elbow macaroni but you can use shells, rigatoni, penne, wagon wheels, etc.
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup half & half, regular or fat-free, I used fat-free
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas, kept frozen until read to use
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- Fresh basil for serving, optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisk in the half & half, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and bring to a simmer. Fold in the cooked pasta, parmesan cheese, peas, and sun-dried tomatoes.
- If necessary, add some of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Top with basil and serve.