Pasta With Cream Cheese {Delicious 10-Minute Meal!}

Cream Cheese Pasta is one of the most delicious pasta recipes you can make for the whole family in no time.

Babies, toddlers and super picky eaters will lick the bowl!

It literally takes minutes from start to finish to make pasta with cream cheese.

Why You’ll Love Pasta With Cream Cheese

1. You can make it with only 3 basic ingredients.
2. Add extras for more flavor and nutrients if you like (suggestions included!).
3. Cream cheese pasta is ready in 10 minutes flat.
4. Perfect for a quick dinner or lunch when you just picked up kids from school.
5. It’s simple but nutrient rich due to the 2 cheeses in the pasta sauce.
6. This recipe can be easily made gluten-free.
7. Kids cannot say ‘NO’ to pasta, so cannot adults = family fed quickly, deliciously and with no drama.

I can probably go on how this cream cheese pasta is budget friendly, how you won’t have to deal with loads of dishes to wash, how you can make it gluten-free or add protein options.

But even just those 7 points above make it an unbeatable pasta recipe you should save and use.

Cream Cheese Pasta Ingredients & Substitutes

Pasta with cream cheese requires only 3 main ingredients with lots of options for add-ons.

Pasta  – well, you cannot make a pasta recipe without pasta. Pasta type however is important.

My most favorite type of pasta for this recipe is fusilli.

Its spiral corkscrew shape helps hold the cream cheese sauce perfectly.

It’s the easiest pasta shape to chew on and to pick with the fork for very young eater.

This make it the top pasta choice the whole family can enjoy.

For younger toddlers I love to snap each fusilli in half before cooking. My 2 year old still likes to help me snap them even it’s not necessary anymore.

Other pasta shape that works great is radiatori pasta. It’s another short pasta shape that catches the sauce wonderfully. With ruffled edges it resembles radiator grill, hence the name – radiatori in Italian – radiators.

Cream Cheese is another ingredient this pasta wouldn’t be possible to make without. Use best quality cream cheese. Italian soft cream cheese like robiola, stracchino or ricotta will work too.

Parmesan Cheese adds a whole new level of flavor to any pasta dish, especially to simple one like this cream cheese pasta. It’s also one of the healthiest cheese you can feed your little ones with. It’s packed with healthy fats, rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals like calcium, vitamin A, vitamins B6 and B12, phosphorus, zinc, and copper which few cheese type can boast about.

Nutmeg (optional) – a pinch of nutmeg for serving. Can be substituted with pepper but not for kids!

Extra Add-Ons

While pasta with cream is absolutely delicious just with those 3 basic ingredients, you can always add to it an extra layer of flavor.

Peas – fresh or frozen green pees.

Ham + peas – thinly sliced or diced hams with peas.

Spinach + Corn – fresh or frozen spinach

Tuna – quality canned tuna.

Onion (or shallot) and extra virgin olie oil – these are auxiliary ingredients for the add-ons above.

See further instructions on how to add them to the cream cheese sauce.

Cream Cheese Pasta Recipe Step By Step

• Start by bringing a pot of water to boil.
• Once water is boiling add salt (optional). If you’re preparing cream cheese pasta with a baby less than 12 months old omit the salt. For adults and older kids pasta can be adjusted for salt in the plate.
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to directions on the package.
• When it’s almost ready set aside a ladle of pasta cooking water that you’ll need for the sauce. You’ll use less than that. 
• Taste pasta before draining to ensure it’s cooked and adjust cooking time if needed.

How To Make Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce

• While your pasta is cooking start preparing the sauce.
  In a bowl mix cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, mix well. Add a tablespoon of more of cooking liquid. Mix well.
  As a result you should have medium thick cream. It should be slightly thicker than you wanted it to be the final dish since once it’s mixed in with hot freshly drained pasta the sauce will thin out further.
• Drain pasta and mix it with the cream cheese sauce. 

NOTE: If you want to add one of more of those extras to your cream cheese pasta proceed the following way.

While pasta is cooking, set a pan on medium heat with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Add finely chopped onion or shallot, stir for a minutes or so, add other ingredients: ham and peas, spinach with corn or tuna. You can also mix and match the ingredients above.

Cook for a few minutes and set aside.

Once pasta is ready and mixed with the cream cheese sauce add the extra sauce from the pan and mix again.

How To Serve Pasta With Cream Cheese

Cream cheese pasta can be served plain, with a pinch of nutmeg or with a drizzle of extra virgin olive on the top.

Top Tips For Making Pasta With Cream Cheese

• Preserve ¼ -1 cup of pasta cooking liquid once pasta is almost ready. The amount depends on how many servings you’re cooking fore. If cream cheese pasta sauce turned out too runny, add more grated Parmesan cheese.
• If the sauce turned out too thick, add a little more of pasta cooking water.
• Let pasta cooking liquid cool a little bit before adding it to the cream cheese mix. Hot water might curdle the cheese and eventually create hard cheese lumps in the sauce.

Cream Cheese Pasta FAQs

What is the best Cream Cheese to use?

Any good quality cream cheese will work, including Philadelphia. Cheese produced from cow’s milk has the most delicate flavor but you can also use goat cream cheese which has a stronger flavor and more nutrients.

Why preserve pasta cooking liquid?

Waster where pasta was cooked is rich in starch which provides extra creaminess and flavor to the final dish.

What are other cheese alternative?

Pecorino cheese or Romano hard cheese can be substituted for Parmesan cheese.

If you like, fresh ricotta cheese can be substituted for Cream Cheese.

Can I make this recipe Gluten Free?

Absolutely! Just use your favorite gluten free short type of pasta.

Extra Notes

The ingredients stated in the recipe card serve 1 adult or 2 young kids.

I often make this pasta only for my toddler and I simply use ½ of the recipe.

If you need to make this pasta for the whole family simply multiply it by the number of people you need to serve. You don’t have to be super precise measuring the ingredients, just keep in mind my top tips & tricks mentioned above about the sauce.

Looking for another healthy, rich in nutrients and utterly delicious food for your little one?
Try this easy homemade Baby Broth recipe that you can use all on its own or in many different meal for your baby and toddlers.

Pin this easy and delicious Cream Cheese Pasta for later!