Creamy Tuscan Pasta Sauce {Quick 20-Minute Dinner}
This from-scratch, easy, creamy Tuscan pasta sauce is delicious served over pasta and comes together in less than 20 minutes!
One of our favorite meals in the history of ever, this creamy, flavorful pasta sauce is a home run. Not just because everyone agrees it’s amazing, but because it makes weeknight dinners easy and fast!
Easy Creamy Alfredo Sauce
This creamy tuscan pasta sauce is based off the ever-popular homemade alfredo sauce recipe…with a few key changes to give it a Tuscan flair:
- adding dried basil to the cream cheese/butter sauce and fresh basil for serving (can skip the dried basil altogether and add lots of chopped fresh basil to the sauce near the end of cooking)
- stirring in chopped sun-dried tomatoes
I use an entire 8-ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes for this recipe. Drain them, rinse them, chop them! They add amazing flavor to this pasta sauce!
Freshly Grated Parmesan
The Parmesan cheese helps thicken the sauce. It’s really important to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese for a smooth and creamy sauce.
Pre-shredded Parmesan won’t melt very well and most likely will result in a clumpy, grainy pasta sauce.
Pro Tip: for an even thicker sauce, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour to the butter/cream cheese mixture. Just remember to whisk vigorously to minimize lumps!
How to Serve Tuscan Pasta Sauce
We always serve this creamy, dreamy tuscan pasta sauce over bowtie pasta. But almost any pasta shape will work well here!
Highly recommended: sprinkling extra Parmesan cheese and fresh basil over each serving (diced, fresh tomatoes are delicious, too!). YUM.
Other rave reviews on this easy creamy Tuscan pasta sauce:
Alli says: This is very, very good. I have made it multiple times for company and everyone loves it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Krystyna writes: Just made this, and it was delicious! It took no time at all, but tastes like I spent hours in the kitchen. Going to make this again! Thanks! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shannon says: I’ve wanted to make this for so long and the stars aligned tonight (we had all the ingredients including fresh basil, yum!). If my husband licking his plate doesn’t indicate that we can’t get enough of the creamy garlicky sauce, then I don’t know what will! It was a hit. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What to Serve With This
One Year Ago: Brown Sugar Crackle Cookies
Two Years Ago: Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
Three Years Ago: Honey Lime Fruit Salad
Creamy Tuscan Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press (about a tablespoon)
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces
- 1 (8-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, drained and chopped
- 2 cups milk (preferably not skim)
- 1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving, if desired
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- In a medium pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to let the garlic burn.
- Stir in the dried basil. Add the cream cheese, stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Over medium heat, add the milk gradually, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency, 5-10 minutes. Serve over hot, cooked noodles.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally posted April 2013; updated February 2023 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Have you ever added in mushrooms to the sauce? I purchased some thinking it may be a nice add but wasn’t sure how it would work.
Thanks!
Lauren – I haven’t added mushrooms but I think it would be delicious.
Can the recipe be cut in half for 2 ppl or will it not come out as good?
Mimi – I haven’t tried that but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work just fine.
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I can’t even think about it without my mouth starting to water. SO DELICIOUS!
This was absolutely fabulous! Topped with grilled chicken, my whole family enjoyed it and asked for seconds. Another winning recipe! Thanks!!
Mel!! I doubled this for my hubby’s birthday dinner, and it was delicious, but today I made your fast pizza dough, and used this as a sauce on grilled pizzas. No words. It’s amazing. I wasn’t lucky enough to win the pizza oven for our new house, but grilling works!!
This sauce is so beautiful! Just made it (subbed cream for half the milk and used roasted bell peppers and peas instead of sundried tomatoes, but I do want to try the tomatoes in the future), and I didn’t have the usual problem of the sauce getting clumpy because of your good directions. It’s so smooth and silky and just delicious! Will definitely make again.
Delicious. Loved it!
This was so good! I used 2% milk and low fat cream cheese and it was still very creamy and delicious. I added Italian sausage right before serving the sauce and it was a great addition, it was so yummy! Thanks for a great pasta sauce!
I have dried Sundried tomatoes. Can I substitute them? How would you re-hydrate them?
Heather – usually you can rehydrate the dried tomatoes in hot water (submerge them in hot water for 10-15 minutes). Drain and then chop – then use them in the recipe. Good luck!
Absolutely delicious! Next time I would add sauté chicken pieces & no salt because I think the cheese adds enough salt. Taste the dish before you put it in. Also, I added steamed broccoli to the menu & it was so good mixed in with the pasta.
Huge hit with my family! In fact, every huge hit with my family comes from your website. You are my go-to source when I’m menu planning.
Made this exactly according to the recipe, just threw in some leftover grilled chicken and two cups of chopped spinach at the end (always trying to sneak in more veggies). I ate mine over sauteed shredded zucchini. Kids and hubby had it with pasta/zucchini combo. And we should have enough for some leftovers later in the week. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!
I have made this twice now and my family loves it! Mine has turned out really, really thick both times. I followed the recipe exactly except for using Neufchatel cheese. I did add grilled chicken at the end as well. I watched the cooking time very closely to make sure that wasn’t the problem with the thickness. It was still delicious, but in your picture it looks much thinner, which I would prefer. What would you suggest to thin it? Less parmesan? More milk?
Hi Andrea – I think if you added just a touch more milk to thin it out at the end, it should work just fine.
Reserve your pasta cooking water and use it as a thinner to your desired sauce consistency. Lovely recipe, thanks!
To Shannon and Mel- I made the heavy cream substitution tonight! Worked fine! I unfortunately did not have sun dried tomatoes (so bummed!) but I did have canned roasted tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano- they worked fine too-only used a cup of the heavy cream because of juice in canned roasted tomatoes. This sauce came out delicious!!! Love the flavor, wished I had had the sun dried tomatoes, will try it again with those next time! I’m pin’n this one!
I thought I had tried every pasta sauce known to man…but this one is new to me and I am so into it!! Def on my list of “must try!”
I just made this and was literally smacking myself it was so delish! My kids devoured it as did hubby and it was given 10 stars by the WHOLE family!!! Thank you!!!
Made this dish and it was a success. I added mushroom and broccoli with it and all I can say is YUMMY TO MY TUMMY! Thank you Mel for this A——MAZING recipe. It sure is a keeper in this mama’s kitchen 🙂
I made this last night. It is one of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth. The cream cheese makes it amazing. I added some bacon bits to my sauce and used some petite diced tomatoes instead of sun dried.
Thank you for this recipe, it is fantastic.
How many ounces of uncooked pasta is this sauce recipe for?
Tanvi – probably about 12 ounces to a pound depending on how saucy you like your pasta.
Yummy! I love sun dried tomatoes but my kids don’t. Usually when I make pasta I make both red sauce and Alfredo sauce because my husband likes to mix them. Some of my kids only like Alfredo and some only like red sauce. Tonight I just made this and I blended it up, hoping to disguise the tomatoes. To my surprise, all 5 kids loved it! Woot woot! They gobbled it up. Thanks for another winner!
I just made this, and absolutely love it…considering just eating the sauce like soup…yeah, that yummy!
I didn’t use heavy cream and just used the cream cheese. I am glad I didn’t. It’s was so good, and my dad loved it. Fabulous recipe.
I’ve already had dinner – and an ice cream come – now I want a plate of this pasta!! Looks so delicious!
I have a question. Instead of the cream cheese, can I sub heavy cream for the cream cheese?
Shannon – I haven’t made that substitution and so I can’t attest for the results. It will likely change the consistency of the sauce (make it much thinner) so you’ll have to experiment and see. I highly recommend using the cream cheese if you can.
This was fantastic! I had hubby grill some chicken to put on top and it was so yummy!
Loved this! Another easy, delicious dinner thanks to you! I added some grilled chicken for my “there has to be meat for it to be a meal” husband. Divine! I’m eating the leftovers right now as a matter of fact! You rock as always!
Winner! And ready to go so very quickly! Thanks Mel – this is a fabulous addition to my weeknight dinners.
Man, I love me some Pizza Ranch though. Where I moved, we are lacking. But this recipe looks awesome and is definitely going into the queue.
YUM. I have been scouring your site for a couple of days and made this (my first Mel recipe) last night. Best pasta sauce I’ve ever made, hands down! I can’t wait to try many more of your recipes!
This looks good and easy to make. My only concern is the cream cheese. The cream cheese has to take this meal off the healthy chart big time!!
We loved this. I used just a small bag of sun dried tomatoes, and it still worked wonderfully. We served it over regular pasta and GF pasta (for me). Delicious!
Made this last night. Tossed in some grilled chicken and it was so yummy. Maybe I haven’t eaten out in a while but I thought this sauce was better than anything I have eaten in a restaurant in quite some time! Husband and BIL agreed! Fast and easy to whip up. My kids didn’t make a peep while eating and asked for seconds.
Keeper! I think I like this even more than the pure Alfredo version, and I make that a lot. This was delicious and came together so quickly. I think it would be a nice side for a more-than-20-minute-dinner night with your lemon garlic chicken and some green beans. I’ll just have to make sure to always have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes on hand now . . .
Made this last night and it was wonderful! I’ve never used sun dried tomatoes before, and because my family won’t eat tomatoes if they can see them (sigh), I used my P.C. chopper to chop them up really small…worked like a charm!
Mel! I love you! I made this today and everyone loved it! My hubby said he’ll take this over his favorite (time-consuming) steak Gorgonzola pasta any time. Thanks!!
Delicious! I have some of the sauce left over which is a huge plus. My husband and 1 year old also loved this.
Thanks for this recipe! I made it today and added braised, shredded short ribs. So tastey!!!!!!
Made this tonight and we have no leftovers!!! I loved that I truly was in and done in about 20 minutes and it was so tasty. We used some dried tomatoes I have kept in the freezer. Perfect. All the kids gave a thumbs up to making it again. I am not a fan of alfredo sauces in general but this one is a BIG exception. Thanks so much!
Yup! made it last night and it went straight to my recipes we liked board on pinterest. Thanks! I love quick, easy, and yummy recipes like this!
Thanks! Just have to say you blog looks great but I like when you can see the full version of the newest recipe instead of having to click to read more.
Mel, this looks so mouthwatering! Funny you posted this. I added cream cheese to my usual pasta sauce recipe recently, and it took it to a WHOLE other level! So amazing. Thanks for sharing!
I cry when I think about making your creamy alfredo sauce, it is so easy and delish! I think I’ll give this one a shot too!
I think I must make this tonight! Thank you!
You always come through. Just this morning I was thinking how I need to expand my pasta sauce repertoire! Thanks!
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it.
This looks yummy and very easy. We’ll probably serve it over cavatappi. (Not like it matters to you, Mel, but my husband shudders every time he hears the word ‘noodles’ in connection with a pasta dish. He says “The Chinese have noodles, the Italians have pasta.”)
Christine, if you have a Costco or similar near you it’s a great place to buy Parmigiano Reggiano (super authentic, out of this world taste, Parmesan cheese) in wedges. I usually grate the whole thing at once, then put the cheese in a zip bag in the freezer and take out what I need.
That picture, that description….sold! Thanks again!
This looks so easy and delicious! My husband isn’t a fan of sun dried tomatoes. Think it would have enough flavor without them? Would you substitute with anything else? Love the updated website!!!
Hi Leslie – you could leave them out but it would be more like the classic creamy alfredo sauce on my blog (which is still delicious).
Love quick meals, especially when the look as delicious as this one!
This sounds so yummy! I’d love to try to make it tonight. I do have one question, on the Parmesan cheese. When you say grated, is that the kind that is in the green container by Kraft?
Hi Christine – I use freshly grated Parmesan cheese from a wedge of Parmesan.
Story of my life. Northern Vermont winters can be long and brutal. We are just starting to see buds on the trees. Yay for spring!
Your 20 minutes dinners always save me! And they’re always delicious!