The most epic creamy pesto sauce recipe ever! It’s fresh, vibrant, and amazingly creamy. Served with pasta for a quick family favorite meal!
New Year, New Youpesto cream sauce here!
Made with a fresh basil pesto, heavy cream, mozzarella and Parmesan, we have the creamiest, most rich and velvety sauce of your life.
And you don’t have to feel guilty about eating all of this.
Why? Because the pesto has some hidden secret broccoli in it! Broccoli that you can’t even taste.
And the blistered cherry tomatoes are also an added veggie.
The shaved Parmesan, however, is not a vegetable, but it is a very important garnish that cannot be skimped if you have some leftover Parmesan. Never let anything go to waste, right?
Creamy Pesto Shells
Yield: 4- 6 servings
Prep: 10 minutesminutes
Cook: 20 minutesminutes
Total: 30 minutesminutes
The most epic pesto cream sauce ever! It’s fresh, vibrant, and amazingly creamy. Served with pasta for a quick family favorite meal!
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½medium sweet onion, diced
4clovesgarlic, minced
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
2tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1cupchicken stock
½cupheavy cream
1cupshredded mozzarella cheese
½cupfreshly grated Parmesan
For the pesto
2cupspacked fresh baby spinach
1 ½cupsbroccoli florets
1 ½cupspacked fresh basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1cupchicken stock
Instructions
To make the pesto, combine spinach, broccoli and basil in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With the motor running, add chicken stock in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to burst and have softened, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in chicken stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.
Stir in pesto and heavy cream until heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
Stir in pasta until well combined, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella and Parmesan until melted, about 1 minute.