Creamy pasta (without the cream)

by | Jul 2, 2017 | Lunch/Snacks, Mains, One Pot, Pasta, Recipe | 6 comments

There’s no denying I love Italian food and am probably more partial to tomato based sauces but sometimes the ingredients you have on hand lend themselves to a creamy based sauce. But who’s always got cream on hand? Not me. (Probably a good thing.) This is an easy recipe for creamy pasta without cream.

With some sauces you don’t need cream, for example, a traditional Carbonara requires beaten eggs, pancetta and cheese, no cream. I had ham and mushrooms in the fridge and really felt like a creamy sauce.  This easy recipe using milk, flour and stock could be used as a base for chicken, any fish, vegetables and tossed through any pasta. This is also an ideal sauce base for a pasta bake.

Creamy Ham & Mushroom Pasta


100gm ham, chopped
handful mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs plain flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup grated cheese (I used Cheddar)
salt and pepper

  1. Gently fry onion and garlic until softened.
  2. Add ham and mushrooms. Stir in flour for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper.
  3. Add milk and stock. Stir until slightly thickened.
  4. Add grated cheese and stir until melted.
  5. Serve over cooked pasta and finish with cracked pepper and more grated cheese, if desired.

 

 
There’s no replacement for cream, really, but this is a pretty good alternative and made with standard pantry staples.

6 Comments

  1. Lee
    Lee on November 25, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    That to me is heaven on a plate! Yum.

    Might have to put that on my meal plan for the week.

    Have a lovely weekend. xx

  2. Marnie
    Marnie on November 25, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    My hips thank you.
    x Marnie

  3. Sarah Mac
    Sarah Mac on November 26, 2011 at 12:10 am

    Mmm, that's making my mouth water and I've HAD my tea (in fact it's way past bedtime!)

    I usually prefer tomato based sauces too but that looks delicious.

    I'm really glad I'm not the only one who doesn't put cream in the carbonara too – made the traditional way it's totally different and sooo much nicer 🙂

  4. Heather's Blog-o-rama
    Heather's Blog-o-rama on November 26, 2011 at 1:11 am

    HI Anne 🙂 🙂

    Oh that does look GOOD!!!!! I recently went gluten free, after my naturopath and I discovered that my body doesn't like gluten after all 🙂 🙂 Bummer…but I can totally make this dish with gluten free pastas 😉 🙂 Thanks for the yummy recipe 🙂 🙂

    Oh, I just "liked" your page on Facebook, too 🙂 🙂 That's so cool. Did you have to pay to start a FB page for your blog?

    Oh, I also moved to California at the end of August, too…lots of change happening up here 🙂 Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

  5. Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com
    Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com on November 28, 2011 at 12:55 am

    Another yummy looking recipe. I do love pasta with creams sauces too but I pretty much enjoy pasta any way.

  6. Miz Helen
    Miz Helen on November 28, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    Good Morning Anne,
    How are you doing? I hope you are having a great summer. Your Creamy Pasta looks very good. Thanks for sharing and hope you are having a great day!
    Miz Helen