Craving rich, flavorful pasta without the fuss? This one pot, 9 ingredient Philadelphia Cream Cheese Pasta recipe is just the ticket! Creamy, cheesy, and ready in mere minutes, this pasta sauce is perfect for busy weeknight dinners or anytime you need a quick, yet satisfyingly cozy meal.
3-4TBSFresh Flat-leaf Parsley – plus more for garnish
Instructions
Sauté Aromatics: Melt the butter in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, Italian seasonings, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are soft, about 2-3 minutes.
Deglaze the Pan: Add the wine and increase the heat to medium-high. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the wine has mostly evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.
Add Broth and Pasta: Pour the broth into the skillet. Add the pasta, arranging the noodles so they lay flat in the skillet, submerged in the broth. Season the broth with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring Contents to a Boil: Increase the heat to high and bring the broth to a slow boil. As soon as the broth starts to boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Stir the pasta once.
Cover and Cook the Pasta: Cover the skillet and let the pasta cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, give the pasta a good stir. Return the lid and continue to simmer for 6-10 minutes, or until pasta is almost al dente.
Add Cream Cheese: Reduce the heat to low and add the cubes of cream cheese to the pan. Whisk the cream cheese into the broth.
Add Milk and Parmesan: Once the cream cheese is completely melted, add the milk and parmesan cheese. Stir the pasta until a smooth, creamy sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a bit of milk until desired consistency is reached. (Note: Pasta will thicken as it sits!)
Garnish and Serve: Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta cream cheese. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with extra cracked black pepper and shaved parmesan. Enjoy immediately while warm!
Notes
Italian Seasoning: You can use homemade or store-bought Italian seasoning. Alternatively, you can use any combination of the following dried herbs in a pinch - basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and/or sage.
Wine: White wine adds complexity to the pasta and the alcohol will diminish significantly during cooking. But, if you prefer to leave the wine out, you can! Simply omit that step from the recipe. However, please note, the wine adds acidity to the pasta. Therefore, if you omit it, I recommend finishing the pasta with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving.
Pasta Shape: You can use any type of pasta you love in this recipe – just adjust the cook time accordingly.
Fettuccine: If your pan is narrow, break the fettuccine in half so that it will lay flat in the skillet, submerged in the broth.
Cream Cheese: While not mandatory, it is best if your cream cheese is at room temperature! Room temp cubes of cream cheese will melt and meld more seamlessly into the broth-y sauce. Tip: I recommend removing the cream cheese from the refrigerator and cubing it before you start gathering and preparing the other ingredients.
Milk: The milk is used to thin the cream cheese sauce. The amount needed will depend upon how thick and creamy you like your pasta sauce.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and the nutrition facts are an estimate based upon 4 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.