Roasted Garlic Cream Pasta (Print version)

Silky pasta with roasted garlic cream sauce and Parmesan. A comforting, vegetarian Italian dish ready in under an hour.

# What You'll Need:

→ Roasted Garlic

01 - 2 whole garlic bulbs
02 - 2 teaspoons olive oil

→ Pasta

03 - 12 ounces fettuccine or spaghetti
04 - Salt for pasta water

→ Cream Sauce

05 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
06 - 1 small shallot, finely chopped
07 - 1 cup heavy cream
08 - 1/4 cup whole milk
09 - 2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
10 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
11 - 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
12 - Pinch of nutmeg, optional

→ Garnish

13 - Extra Parmesan cheese for serving
14 - Chopped fresh parsley, optional

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice the tops off garlic bulbs to expose cloves, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast for 35-40 minutes until soft and golden. Allow to cool completely, then squeeze out roasted garlic cloves.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
03 - Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and sauté until softened, approximately 2 minutes.
04 - Mash roasted garlic into a smooth paste and add to skillet, stirring for 1 minute until fragrant.
05 - Pour cream and milk into skillet, whisking to combine. Bring to gentle simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
06 - Stir in Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using. Simmer gently until cheese melts and sauce becomes velvety.
07 - Add drained pasta to sauce, tossing to coat completely. Add reserved pasta water a splash at a time until sauce reaches desired consistency.
08 - Transfer to serving bowls immediately. Garnish with additional Parmesan and fresh parsley if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The roasted garlic becomes sweet and mellow, nothing like its sharp raw counterpart, and it melts into the cream like a dream.
  • Its fancy enough for guests but forgiving enough for a weeknight when youre too tired to fuss.
  • You only dirty two pans, and the sauce comes together while the pasta cooks, so timing is blissfully simple.
  • Leftovers reheat beautifully with a splash of milk, making next day lunch something to actually look forward to.
02 -
  • Reserve that pasta water before you drain, I forgot once and had to add plain water, and the sauce just didnt come together the same way.
  • Dont skip cooling the garlic before squeezing it out, I burned my fingers the first time and learned that patience really is a virtue.
  • Grate your own Parmesan from a block, the pre shredded kind has anti caking agents that make the sauce gritty instead of smooth.
  • If the sauce looks too thick, add pasta water a tablespoon at a time, it has starch that helps everything emulsify into creamy perfection.
03 -
  • Roast extra garlic bulbs and keep the cloves in olive oil in the fridge, theyre perfect for spreading on toast or stirring into soups.
  • Use a microplane to grate the Parmesan, it melts faster and more evenly than chunks from a box grater.
  • Start your pasta water before you begin anything else, that way everything finishes at the same time and you are not standing around waiting.
  • Taste the sauce before adding the pasta, its much easier to adjust seasoning when its still in the pan and not tangled with noodles.
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