Name: Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 18 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed; 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided; 3 tablespoons pine nuts; 2 cloves garlic, peeled; 1/2 tsp kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper, each; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons butter; 12 oz fettuccine pasta

Description

This dreamy Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce is comfort food at its finest. So many amazing flavors come together in this easy homemade pasta dish!

Scale

Ingredients

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper, each
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
12 oz fettuccine pasta

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Instructions

Bring 4 quarts of water to boil, then add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 12 ounces pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside. Meanwhile, make the pesto.
To the workbowl of a food processor, add basil, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic cloves, and salt and pepper. Process while slowly drizzling in olive oil. Next add the cream and butter to a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat. Pour in the pesto, stir until well combined, and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and stir until melted and combined.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce and gently stir together. At this point you can either plate and top with hot rotisserie chicken, or if your chicken is already chopped and is cold from the fridge, go ahead and add it to the pasta and stir together for 2 minutes to heat up the chicken.