Enjoy an easy restaurant grade dish with this Cream Cheese Pasta. Knobs of cream cheese melt into a lovely sauce for penne, dotted with chopped tomatoes, shredded kale, green onion, and topped off with Everything Seasoning. This is so easy and cheap, you’ll want it on monthly repeat.
Serve this with Garlic Green Beans and Self-Rising Flour Biscuits for an easy, affordable dinner or skip the lunch line by including this Cream Cheese Pasta recipe in your next Lunchtime Meal Prep. Add a few Buffalo Chicken Bites or a Fried Egg to boost the protein.
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Cheese and pasta is one of my favorite flavor combinations. See: Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, Brie Pasta, or Cheesy Sausage Pasta in the Instant Pot.
This Cream Cheese Pasta is the newest addition to my quick and easy pasta recipes that can be made on the stove top or in the electric pressure cooker. And it’s so good, you’re gonna know this delicious pasta dish by heart in no time flat.
Why Make This
It’s quick and easy. Whether you make it in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop, this dish is super simple to make, especially since it’s a one-dish dinner. It mies up in minutes and requires very little in the way of prep.
It’s super versatile. In our family’s recipe testing, we tried this lots of ways which is part of the beauty of this recipe. There are so many different mix-in’s that you can add to make this creamy pasta dish your own. Make it as is and it’s like an Everything bagel in pasta form.
It’s cheap. Pasta is at the top of our Budget Grocery List, with cream cheese not too far behind. Choose mix-in’s from what you have on hand, and this is a great catch all meal for shopping the kitchen.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy dish:
penne pasta or other small pasta – You can use spaghetti if you like, but since the cream cheese sauce is created by stirring the pasta, I find that short noodles work best.
vegetable broth or water – The vegetable broth adds another layer of flavor to the noodles when you cook them in the Instant Pot, but you can absolutely use water, whichever prep method you choose.
cream cheese – You can use neufchatel or full fat cream cheese. Note that you won’t use the whole brick. Make some Flavored Cream Cheese with what’s left so nothing goes to waste.
kale – I like the texture that chopped kale adds to this pasta, but you can use spinach if you prefer or choose from one of the mix-in variations below.
chopped tomatoes – I love the way the acid and freshness of the tomato perfectly counters the creamy richness of the cream cheese sauce.
Parmesan cheese – A little bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese adds a nice saltiness to the cream cheese pasta sauce.
green onions – These are a natural pair for cream cheese and an easy addition since you don’t need to cook them. You can also used sautéed shallots, leeks, or onions if that’s what you have.
spice – We liked Everything seasoning in our testing, almost like a bagel pasta. You can add a bit of crushed red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper instead or in addition to those spices. Consider trying one of our Spice Mixes for another variation.
Mix-in Variations
There are so many yummy things you can add to the basic recipe. Consider adding:
- leftover cooked vegetables, meats, or cheeses
- Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions
- sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- fajita vegetables
- steamed broccoli
- Roasted Vegetables
- grilled meats, shrimp, or fish
- cooked sausage
- bacon bits
- sliced or chopped olives
- smoked salmon
- chopped red onion
- fresh herbs, such as basil or dill.
Step-by-Step Instructions
You can make Cream Cheese Pasta in the instant pot or on the stovetop. Both are super simple!
Pressure cooker instructions:
- Place the pasta in the instant pot. Add enough broth to cover the pasta, about 4 cups.
- Secure the lid and set the machine to manual. Set the minutes according to ½ the pasta’s recommended cooking time plus 1 minute.
- When the cycle is complete, do an instant pressure release. The pasta will look very soupy, but after a few stirs, it will start to thicken up.
- Add the cream cheese, kale, parmesan, green onions, and red pepper flakes. Stir well, until the cheese is melted and the kale is wilted.
- Season to taste with Everything seasoning. Serve immediately.
Stovetop Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water according to package instructions. Reserve some of the starchy pasta water, drain the rest and return the hot pasta directly to the pot.
- Add the cream cheese, kale, parmesan, green onions, and red pepper flakes. Stir well, until the cheese is melted and the kale is wilted. Add a bit of the pasta water if needed to help create a pasta cream sauce.
- Season to taste with Everything seasoning. Serve immediately.
FAQs
Cream cheese melts but not as quickly or in the same was as shredded cheese. Cream cheese melts into a lovely sauce, particularly when a little other liquid is present and the cheese is chopped into small cubes.
Cream cheese can be a more affordable substitute for heavy cream in some pasta dishes. It will bring a bit of tang to the dish, but will taste great in many applications. Be sure to chop the cream cheese in small bits so it can more easily melt.
Pasta will soften further in the freezer, so you can freeze it, but be sure to cook it al dente or even a little underdone if you plan to freeze it. Chill the prepared pasta completely prior to storing in the freezer. To serve: thaw in the refrigerator and reheat.
Recommended Proteins to Add
Cream Cheese Pasta
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb penne pasta or other small pasta
- 4 cup vegetable broth or water
- 8 oz cream cheese cut into cubes
- 2 cup kale chopped
- 1 to 2 tomato chopped
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded) (½ cup)
- 2 green onions chopped
- Everything seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Place the pasta in the instant pot. Add enough broth to cover the pasta, about 4 cups.1 lb penne pasta, 4 cup vegetable broth
- Secure the lid and set the machine to manual. Set the minutes according to ½ the pasta's recommended cooking time plus 1 minute.
- When the cycle is complete, do an instant pressure release. The pasta will look very soupy, but after a few stirs, it will start to thicken up.
- Add the cream cheese, kale, parmesan, green onions, and red pepper flakes. Stir well, until the cheese is melted and the kale is wilted.8 oz cream cheese, 2 cup kale
- Add the tomatoes, parmesan, and green onions. Stir well.1 to 2 tomato, 2 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded), 2 green onions
- Season to taste with Everything seasoning. Serve immediately.Everything seasoning
Notes
- leftover cooked vegetables, meats, or cheeses
- Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions
- sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- fajita vegetables
- steamed broccoli
- Roasted Vegetables
- grilled meats, shrimp, or fish
- cooked sausage
- bacon bits
- sliced or chopped olives
- smoked salmon
- chopped red onion
- fresh herbs, such as basil or dill.
Tabitha Griffith
Looks tasty! I’m hoping to try this next week. I’m a little confused though—do you choose between using steps 4 OR steps 5 and 6? Step 4 says serve immediately, so I wasn’t sure.
Jessica Fisher
Sorry for the confusion. I messed up copying and pasting the instructions from my notes. Should be fixed now.
Angie
Had this for dinner tonight. Only made 1/2 a recipe because I wasn’t sure my teens would like the cream cheese. It was a hit! I used chicken broth, frozen kale and sun dried tomatoes as those were what we had on hand. Was able to use up things for our pantry challenge and didn’t need to get anything from the store. Will add to our go to recipes!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad to hear it was a hit! It sounds weird, but it totally works and is such a great way to use up the bits and bobs.
Heather M
I made this! So good! I cooked it on the stovetop and used vegetable broth to cook the pasta. I added some of said pasta/broth water to the pasta to help melt the cream cheese. I also used spinach in place of kale. And I didn’t measure spinach, tomato, or green onion amounts but for sure used more than the recipe calls for. It’s very forgiving that way. I topped it with crisped up parma ham (like prosciutto). So delicious! Also, was able to prep all the add-ins while the broth came to a boil and pasta cooked, so it was super fast. 🙂
Heather M
This recipe just helped round out my meal planning for this week! I needed 2 more dinners planned to get through Sunday and here we are with one! I have spinach so will use that in place of the kale. And, I have a small package of prosciutto which I’ll crisp up to “top” the pasta with. Ooooo this is going to be yummy. I’ll tag you on insta when I make it. 🙂