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With our fan-favorite Marry Me sauce, this Marry Me Pesto Pasta is a quick and easy cozy dinner recipe. The sauce is creamy, flavorful, and comes together in 15 minutes – you really just have to wait for the pasta to cook. So join the Marry Me movement and enjoy this pesto pasta version of my social media famous chickpea recipe!
save this recipe!Marry Me sauce is a Tuscan-inspired sauce that combines sun-dried tomatoes with cream and basil. This classic combination packs so much flavor that it’s been known to inspire proposals!
Marry Me dishes, like my famous Marry Me chickpeas and Marry Me butter beans, share many ingredients with pesto – basil and parmesan being the most prominent. So, I thought…why not combine the two?
your new dinner obsession
- It’s super quick to make this sauce, like 10 minutes fast!
- It’s a versatile sauce that can be paired with any type of pasta you like! I enjoy it with a wide noodle like pappardelle.
- Minimal ingredients are paired together carefully for maximum flavor!
Reader rating
“That is a wonderful sauce. Your whole series of Marry Me recipes are really good. Thank You.” —Walter
here’s what you’ll need
To make this delicious pasta, you only need a handful of ingredients and some tasty spices. Jump to the recipe card for the full quantities.
- Pasta: I like to use a wide noodle (like pappardelle), but you can use any kind you like, including gluten-free. You can even use gnocchi!
- Butter: Unsalted butter is used to ‘sweat’ the spices, which helps to bloom their flavor. Feel free to grab some unsalted butter or margarine for a vegan version.
- Garlic: Garlic is why this Marry Me sauce makes people want to marry the chef! Fresh is best.
- Seasonings: Salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and black pepper are all you need for the most wonderful medley of flavors.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Sun-dried tomatoes are a staple of Tuscan cooking. The specific method of drying the tomatoes enhances their natural sweetness for the most unique and wonderful flavor.
- Pesto: I always try my very best to use freshly made pesto. It’s so simple and fast to make and even easier since pesto and Marry Me sauce share some ingredients!
- The Cream: You will need heavy cream and parmesan to bring the dish together. You can also use a vegan heavy cream and vegan parmesan. Regular milk won’t work because it can curdle under high heat.
cooking to al dente
Pasta should always be cooked to al dente, which means it’s cooked until tender but it still has a bite. This is extra important for this dish because the pasta will cook a little more once mixed with the creamy pesto sauce.
How to make Pesto Pasta with Marry Me Sauce
This dish seriously couldn’t be easier to make. To start, you’ll need to cook the pasta. While that’s going, make the sauce. Then comes marriage. This is just an overview. Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Cook the pasta and reserve some pasta water.
- Make the flavor base with butter and spices.
- Make the sauce with the remaining ingredients and pasta water.
- Finish it with grated parmesan.
why pasta water?
Adding a splash of the pasta water to your sauce infuses it with some of those pasta starches, which helps the sauce to stick to the noodles!
Why this Recipe Works
This dish seems simple, but trust me when I say it has exactly what it needs. Here’s why it works with such simple ingredients and steps.
- It’s vegetarian so there’s no waiting for a protein to cook.
- It’s versatile in that you can use any type of pasta or gnocchi or add more to it like white beans.
- The right sauce to pasta ratio means the pasta isn’t drowning in sauce and the pasta isn’t dry either.
serving ideas
You’ll need a few more dishes to make this a full Italian meal. Here’s what you can pair the pasta with!
- Bruschetta Pizza is another classic pairing – pizza and pasta, what more could you want?
- A fresh salad like this 15-minute Mediterranean parsley salad is easy to whip up and tastes delicious alongside the cozy bowl of pesto pasta.
P.S. for another marry me pasta you’ll love, try my creamy Tuscan orzo casserole!
Marry Me Pesto Pasta (In A Creamy Tuscan Sauce)
Ingredients
- 8 oz of any type of pasta, can use gluten-free, I used pappardelle, reserve ¼ cup pasta water, 226 g
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 28 g
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp each salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped, 100 g
- ½ cup pesto, 100 g
- ½ cup heavy cream, 120 mL
- ½ cup grated parmesan, 40 g
Instructions
- Pasta: Cook 8 oz of any type of pasta according to package instructions. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Flavor Base: Heat 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 4 cloves garlic, ½ tsp each salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and ¼ tsp ground black pepper in a large saute pan or pot over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes, until garlic is fragrant.
- Make It Sauce: Reduce heat to medium/low. Stir in reserved pasta water, ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, ½ cup pesto, and ½ cup heavy cream. Let cook for a few minutes, just to heat the sauce.
- Finish: Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup grated parmesan and cooked pasta. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
That is a wonderful sauce. Your whole series if Marry Me recipes are really good. Thank You.
Which kind of sun dried tomatoes? I don’t have the ones in oil right now. Could I use the dried ones and reconstitute them?
Thanks for all your recipes! I use them a lot.
Yep you can rehydrate them and use those! The recipe is intended for the type in oil though.
I’ve made this delicious dish many, many times! Thank you!!! Love it. It’s so versatile…I use a different pasta every time.
Question: Regarding Nutrition information, is 1 serving = 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup???
Can I freeze this dish?
Thank you!
One serving is 1/4 of the total recipe 🙂 And while the sauce is freezable, I wouldn’t freeze the pasta. It’ll get funky when thawing!
I absolutely love all your marry me variations. I have tried making it with light sour cream as opposed to the heavy cream and also did it with roasted cauliflower that I seasoned with garlic salt. It was spectacular and maybe a bit less guilt!
I would like to try it with Greek yogurt as well and substitute it for the heavy cream.
Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes!
Love hearing this Nicole, thanks for being here!
This was so delicious 😋