Easy Cream Cheese Pasta

A fork digging into cream cheese pasta on a white plate.

5 from 6 votes

This quick 10 minute recipe is made all in one pan with 5 main ingredients. No cooking garlic or melting oil, the cheese melts directly into the pasta.

Cook Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: people

Author: Alicia

Ingredients

16 ounces mafaldine pasta or farfalle other types of pasta can be used as well
6 oz cream cheese cut into large cubes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1½ cups reserved pasta water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest optional, but recommended
Kosher salt and black pepper

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the malfadine pasta according to package directions, then drain the pasta, reserving at least 1 1/2 cups of pasta water.
Place the hot pasta in a large bowl and add cream cheese, garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper (to taste), and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Begin stirring till the cheese melts, adding another ¼ of pasta water thin out the cheese sauce.
Continue adding ¼ cup of pasta water as needed until the desired consistency is reached (I recommend ¾-1 cup total, and then store the rest for any leftovers to be reheated). Taste and adjust any seasonings and top with fresh parsley and lemon zest, if using.

Notes

The pasta sauce will thicken as it cools, just add a splash of pasta water to loosen it, or you can add heavy cream if you forgot to save the extra pasta water.
Cream cheese without a lot of added gums/stabilizers will produce a silky smooth sauce and better flavor. My personal favorite for this is Tillamook brick cream cheese! Because this is such a simple recipe, the quality becomes more noticeable.
While lemon zest is optional, a little bit of brightness is a great compliment to the creamy sauce if tolerated. You can also add a squeeze of lemon juice over the warm pasta and stir it in.

Nutrition