While some long to slide out of their shoes and too-tight work pants when they get home from a day at the office, I long to get in the kitchen. Busy evenings are my muse, along with pancakes, ice cream, and freshly-washed strawberries. Other topics for other days, I suppose.
So upon returning from a particularly busy day at the office, I checked the “dinner menu” hanging on the fridge as it were, and saw I’d written “shrimp pasta” on Tuesday. And who am I to go back on my word? Pasta it was.
Confession: I’ve used jarred sauces on my pasta before. Cue: shrill cries, eye rolls and stone throwing. Yada yada yada. But you have to admit, on occasion convenience wins over quality, just like every morning in high school when a pack of chocolate donut gems won over eggs and toast. Time, is, money.
Until I perfected this recipe, I went the convenience route when it came to my pasta. But once you’ve tasted homemade, you’ll never go back. In addition to this version taking only 15 minutes or less to throw together, it also requires no butter, no cream and packs a ton of delicious and zesty flavor from parmesan cheese, garlic, pesto and a pinch of red pepper flake.
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup low-fat milk
- ½ cup veggie broth (or chicken)
- 2-4 Tbsp flour
- ¼ each tsp. salt and pepper
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp. pesto (I used basil)
- healthy pinch red pepper flake (optional)
- CHEESY GARLIC CIABATTA BREAD
- 1 ciabatta bread roll
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
- sprinkle of mozzarella and parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat medium to large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and garlic, stirring quickly to ensure it doesn’t burn.
- Next, add milk and veggie broth and stir.
- Then, begin adding 1 Tablespoon of flour at a time, stirring with a whisk to reduce clumps. I recommend starting with 2-3 TBSP and adding more later if needed. You can also thicken with extra parmesan cheese.
- Add salt, pepper, red pepper flake, pesto, cheese and stir.
- Reduce heat slightly and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you notice the sauce is too thin, add a little more flour. If too thick, add a little more milk.
- In the meantime, split your ciabatta roll in half and butter lightly. Slice it into thick strips, add the parmesan, garlic powder and mozzarella and place in the oven on a baking sheet.
- Watch closely – it should only take 5 minutes to toast up. Remove from oven when lightly browned and cheese is melted.
- If you have clumps in your sauce at this point (I usually have a few), pour mixture into a blender and puree until smooth. Then return to saucepan, add your favorite pasta, toss and serve immediately.
Nutrition for 1/3 of sauce: 182 calories, 10 g fat, 3 g sat. fat, 4.5 g sugar, 14 g carbs, 7.9 g protein
Nutrition for 1 slice ciabatta (8 servings): 43 calories, 3.5 g fat, 1.9 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein.
I crave this recipe at least once a week, and for good reason. It’s creamy, flavorful, cheesy and surprisingly healthy. My favorite pastas to serve it with are penne and linguini, but it really could go with just about any shape. Of course, meat is optional, but I find chicken or shrimp the perfect additions to this dish to add a bit more protein.
Enjoy,
Dana
Katie August 3, 2012 at 8:32 am
Looks like a little creamy pot of heaven. Oh and that BREAAAD. Yes, please.
Heidi @ Food Doodles August 3, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Oooh, this looks delicious. Actually, this looks like dinner tonight, haha. Maybe I’ll sneak some veggies in to it too. Yummy!
melissa August 15, 2012 at 4:32 pm
do you mean 1/2 CUP broth?
dana August 15, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Yes! Sorry! I’ve fixed the recipe to say that. Thanks for the catch, Melissa!
Allyson Kelly August 18, 2012 at 6:32 pm
5-6 tablespoons of flour seems like too much for 1 1/2 cups of liquid. A typical “cream” sauce calls for tbls butter to 1 cup milk. I tried this recipe, changing the method, adding flour to the garlic and oil, creating a roux. Also, I added a tablespoon of my homemade basil pesto…. and scooped out at least half, as it was about to turn the sauce too green! I like the look of the dots of green basil among the white sauce. The flavor is wonderful! Also, I omitted the salt, as Parm cheese is quite salty enough.
dana August 19, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Allyson, sounds like you made this recipe your own – that’s great! I use a higher flour-to-liquid ratio because it’s the way I prefer it, and achieves the best consistency for me, personally. But feel free to make any tweaks that you prefer – glad it still came out well!
K August 21, 2012 at 2:13 am
Do you think the sauce could be made in advance and frozen? Or would that ruin the quality? Dying to try this.
Dana August 21, 2012 at 9:11 am
I think it could be made in advance and frozen. Although I do think it might lose a bit of its freshness. Give it a try though and let me know how it turns out!
Pooja Arora September 6, 2012 at 4:23 am
Saved as a favorite, I love your site! blog now ;)
Janelle January 31, 2013 at 6:18 pm
Just made this for supper, to accompany mushroom-lentil “meat”balls. Had some homemade mushroom stock in the freezer so I used that to tie in the mushroomyness. It was delicious. Hubby was walking around saying he didn’t want to stop eating. Thanks!
Lauren February 16, 2013 at 2:52 pm
I love the idea of a no butter, no cream alfredo sauce! I’m feeling a pasta craving coming and this will be the perfect sauce with it (woohoo healthy pasta!)
Kimmy April 13, 2013 at 6:02 pm
This looks delicious! Unfortunately, my son is allergic to dairy so I was hoping to try it with soy milk instead.. Is the Parmesan a must to thicken the sauce or is it possible to leave it out?
Maria April 25, 2013 at 9:59 am
Such an easy recipe and tastes amazing! I was so glad I found a way to have alfredo without all the fat! I wanted chicken alfredo so I sautéed some chicken and onions, steamed some broccoli and replaced the noodles with quinoa.
Kristin April 29, 2013 at 6:51 pm
This was so easy! I subbed a firm balsamic cheese for the parmesan and it was the perfect savory complement to our turkey, broccoli and fusilli pasta night!