Roasted Garlic Cream Pasta (Printable Version)

Al dente pasta in a velvety roasted garlic cream sauce with fresh Parmesan. Comfort food elegance in 55 minutes.

# What You 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 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, then squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of 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 paste and add to the skillet, stirring for 1 minute until fragrant.
05 - Pour in cream and milk, whisking to combine. Bring to a 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 the sauce, tossing to coat. Add reserved pasta water a splash at a time until sauce reaches desired consistency. Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan and parsley if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The roasted garlic becomes impossibly sweet and mellow, nothing like its raw sharpness.
  • It comes together with pantry staples but tastes like you labored over it for hours.
  • The sauce clings to every strand of pasta in a way that makes you want to lick the plate.
  • Leftovers reheat beautifully with just a splash of milk to bring the creaminess back.
02 -
  • Don't skip reserving the pasta water, its starch is the secret to a sauce that clings instead of separates.
  • Roast the garlic until it's truly soft and golden, underdone garlic will still have a sharp bite that throws off the whole dish.
  • Use freshly grated Parmesan, the pre-shredded kind has anti-caking agents that make the sauce gritty instead of smooth.
  • Keep the heat gentle once you add the cream, boiling it too hard can cause the sauce to break or curdle.
03 -
  • Roast extra garlic bulbs and keep the cloves in olive oil in the fridge, they're gold for quick weeknight cooking.
  • Toss the hot pasta in the sauce off the heat for 30 seconds before serving, it helps the noodles absorb the flavor instead of just wearing it.
  • If the sauce breaks or looks oily, whisk in a tablespoon of pasta water off the heat and it will come back together like magic.
  • Taste before you add salt, Parmesan is already salty and you might not need much more.
Return