Creamy Pesto Sauce

Creamy Pesto Sauce is the perfect sauce for an easy summer dinner.  This sauce comes together fast using the convenience of already prepared pesto sauce and a few basic ingredients. And maybe you’ve done a better job at watering your garden than me and even have some basil in the yard to turn into a homemade pesto for this sauce? Somehow I manage to kill my veggie garden every.single.year. Next year will be different – haha!

Creamy Pesto Sauce is really good spooned over any pasta, but I drizzled this batch over cheese tortellini and sautéed some summer veggies in olive oil as a side.  I hope you’re able to give this one a try soon!

Start by melting some butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add a few cloves of garlic and cook briefly until fragrant (about 1 minute). To the garlic and butter, add cream, milk, salt, parmesan, and cream cheese.

Let simmer over very low heat (do not boil) until the cheese is melted and then whisk in 1/3 cup of prepared pesto sauce. Homemade or store bought pesto works great.

These are the MVP’s of my easy summer dinner!

Serve this sauce over any sort of cooked pasta, it’s delicious!

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole or half and half milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (Parmigiana Reggiano) cheese
2 ounces cream cheese
1/2 teaspoons table salt
1/3 cup prepared pesto sauce (store bought is great!)

Directions:

In the bottom of a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook garlic briefly, until fragrant (about 1 minute). Turn the heat to low and add the cream, milk, grated cheese, cream cheese, and table salt. Let simmer over low heat until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/3 cup of prepared pesto and whisk until smooth. The sauce thickens as it sits. Serve over any pasta or tortellini. Pairs really well with sautéed veggies, smoked salmon, or sausages. (PS The smoked salmon recipce is comin up next!)