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15 Minute Creamy Garlic Pasta Recipe

Published / Updated / 36 Comments

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This creamy garlic pasta is fast, simple, and delicious! A weeknight favorite. This easy pasta recipe can be on your table in about 15 minutes!

creamy garlic pasta in earthenware bowl

Sometimes you just want comfort food. And fast. This pasta does this trick!

There's plenty of creamy pasta recipes out there... some made with cream, and others with cream cheese or milk. You can't beat the taste of real cream, in my opinion, so that's what I went with.

This recipe isn't far off fettuccine Alfredo, so if you like that, you'll probably like this.

creamy garlic pasta in earthenware bowl with spaghetti twirled on a fork

How to make creamy garlic pasta sauce

Make a quick roux with the butter and flour, then stir in the garlic and chicken broth.

You then add the cream and let the sauce thicken. Just prior to serving, add the parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Toss with the pasta and enjoy!

Sooo easy. And that creamy garlic sauce is so tasty.

Pro tip: You could make this creamy pasta sauce with milk or half-and-half, but I haven't tested it out. You'll end up with a thinner sauce, but you will save some calories. If you do want to go that route, I suggest adding a touch more flour (but not too much more - you don't want it to taste too floury) and/or cooking it for a bit longer so it reduces.

I used chicken broth because it adds a lot of flavor to this simple dish. You could sub with vegetable broth if you really need this dish to be vegetarian, but I do personally prefer the taste when you use chicken broth/stock.

close-up of creamy garlic pasta on fork

I like this pasta as-is, but it's a great blank canvas for adding in cooked chicken or other type or protein. You could even add some veggies (try a handful of peas) if you wanted to.

I used linguine, but any kind of pasta (whatever's in stock in your pantry!) will do. Penne would work great in this creamy pasta dish.

I definitely recommend adding the parsley because it livens the dish up a bit. The freshness and touch of green is the perfect balance to the decadence of the creamy sauce.

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creamy garlic pasta in earthenware bowl on grey surface

I hope you will love this easy creamy garlic pasta recipe! Will you give it a try?

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

This easy creamy garlic pasta recipe is a fast and tasty weeknight comfort food dinner! 
4.91 from 11 votes
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Creamy Garlic Pasta

This creamy garlic pasta is fast, easy, and delicious! A weeknight favorite. This easy pasta recipe can be on your table in about 15 minutes!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian American
Keyword creamy garlic pasta
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4
Author Natasha Bull

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked pasta I used linguine
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon flour
  • 2-3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Fresh parsley chopped, to taste

Instructions

  1. Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
  2. When the pasta isn't far from being cooked, it's time to start the sauce. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and let the roux cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. 
  3. Stir in the garlic and chicken broth and let it simmer for about a minute.
  4. Add in the cream and let the sauce cook for a few more minutes until it's thickened to your liking, then add the parmesan cheese, salt & pepper as needed, and parsley. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce until well coated (add a little pasta water if you wish to thin the sauce a bit). Serve immediately. 

Recipe Notes

  • I do all the prep while the pasta is cooking, so that's why I don't put anything for prep time. 

Reader Interactions

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  1. Dee says

    5 stars
    Beautiful, I fancied creamy garlic pasta and came across this recipe. Very easy and tasted gorgeous. Big thumbs up from mom & myself ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

  2. Kate says

    5 stars
    Made this for the first time recently and really enjoyed it. Full of flavour and very easy and quick to make!

    Reply

  3. Julia says

    Hi Natasha, this was absolutely delicious. Thank you. Will become a regular on our menu with the chicken I baked. Julia

    Reply

  4. A@4U says

    Oh.My.How.Delicious! I prepared this dish one evening last week about 9 PM. It was our first week of working from home and home/crisis schooling and also taking care of my husband's 90 year old Mother. I used what I had open and on its last day of freshness. I had 1/2 box of fettuccine and a 1/2 carton of Half and Half open. I also had a few cremini mushrooms at the end of freshness and no shallot. I tossed in a sprinkle of dried minced onion just for flavor while sauteing 3 large garlic cloves & mushroom. The next day for lunch, I warmed the leftovers with a splash of chicken broth and a splash of whole milk along with a handful of leftover broccoli florets from another night's dinner and more freshly grated Parmesan. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. It was comfort food at its best.

    Reply

  6. Kelly says

    5 stars
    Wonderful recipe and easy to follow! We made this for a Christmas Eve family dinner and it was a hit! We ground up some spicy chicken sausage and added it to the dish. We also served this delicious dish with a side salad. It was perfect! Next time weโ€™ll make homemade pasta ๐Ÿ™‚ Oh and the leftovers the next day were just as delicious! Weโ€™ll definitely be adding this into our dinner rotation!

    Reply

  7. Audrey says

    5 stars
    WOW!!!! So simple yet one of the best dishes Iโ€™ve ever made!!! My 9 year old and I LOVED this! Thank you for sharing! I doubled the recipe and added crushed red peppers to my personal serving. 5 stars!!

    Reply

  8. Rebekah says

    5 stars
    Delicious! I made it for lunch because I was sick and I figured I should treat myself to something special. It tastes SO good! Five stars. ๐Ÿ™‚ (I'll be adding this to my recipe book)
    Also, you can substitute heavy cream with half and half if you don't have cream. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Aww so happy you liked it! Hope you feel better soon! Re: half-and-half, you may need to cook it a little longer or add more flour to get the sauce to thicken up the same.

      Reply

  9. Marge H says

    5 stars
    This was good! Made it for dinner last night. I used rigatoni pasta threw some broccoli into the water before pasta was done cooking. Added sauteed onions,peppers and zucchini and a little left over roasted chicken at the end. I also sliced my garlic (a little extra) and cooked it in the sauce. My picky husband raved about it.

    Reply

  10. Elizabeth says

    4 stars
    I made it with GF pasta, added 2 tbs low fat cream cheese, 2 % milk, extra garlic and fresh shrimp I sauteed in a bit of olive oil..also use fresh parm and Romano...we enjoyed it...thanks for the idea...it really brought it up a few notches ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

  11. Eliza says

    5 stars
    Yum! I made this tonight for dinner. It was a hit! So delicious & easy. Itโ€™s added to my recipe box. I paired it with peas & it was delicious!

    Reply