Unbelievably simple and delicious five ingredient mascarpone pasta recipe that is ready in just fifteen minutes. Creamy, rich and perfect vegetarian meal that is ideal for a date night.
Best recipes are those, that turn out amazing on an experiment! On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was casually browsing through my fridge and saw an unused pack of mascarpone cheese that I knew I had to use within the next two days. The only way I felt that mascarpone could be used, was in recipes for tiramisu - which I absolutely love but obviously I do not have the patience to make the entire dessert and let that set overnight! That is when I was on the lookout for savory options to use mascarpone cheese, which led to this delicious, easy and quick pasta recipe using mascarpone cheese. Loved how this pasta recipe turned out to be sweet, spicy, salty, garlicky, cheesy, creamy - all awesome things - all at once! Plus its so comforting, which makes it perfect for cold weather, when you want cosy meals.
I love how with just five simple ingredients, you get an incredibly creamy and rich pasta - plus its so pretty and ideal for an Italian inspired date night 😉 The entire recipe for this creamy mascarpone pasta takes less than 15 minutes and is just perfect for a busy week night, when you are on search of some vegetarian pasta recipes.
The main ingredient of this creamy pasta recipe is Mascarpone cheese - which I know is very unusual to be used for savory recipes - but I promise, you will love it as much as I did.
Lets talk a little about mascarpone cheese
- What is mascarpone cheese? Originally from Italy, mascarpone cheese is an airy creamy Italian cheese primarily used for desserts like Tiramisu.
- What does mascarpone cheese taste like? The taste of mascarpone is lightly sweeter in comparison to other creamy soft cheese like cream cheese etc. Its perfect to use for both: sweet & savory recipes.
- Texture of mascarpone cheese - The texture of mascarpone cheese is creamy and buttery, more like a spread. Its thick, light and airy, almost like whipped cream cheese - smooth and silky.
- Where can I find mascarpone cheese in India? I have been easily able to find mascarpone cheese in India at FoodHall or Modern Bazaar stores. This is the brand that love and also used for this recipe. (not sponsored!)
How to make mascarpone pasta?
5 Simple ingredients for Mascarpone Pasta:
- Mascarpone Cheese
- Garlic
- Seasoning: Salt, Pepper, Oregano
- Pasta
- Pasta Water
- OPTIONAL but recommended: Add some garlic mushrooms to your pasta to make a delicious creamy mushroom mascarpone pasta.
If you follow me for long, you may have learned how I love adding starchy pasta water to my pasta recipes. This certainly acts as a wonderful secret ingredient to Pastas making it "saucy". Pasta water is nothing but reserved starchy liquid that you get when you boil the pasta. Always reserve some and add them to your pasty recipes to make them naturally creamy.
You start by cooking pasta as per package instructions and reserving some of that liquid gold: starchy pasta water. While the pasta is cooking, heat some oil in a pan and cook some garlic (just a few seconds), now add mascarpone cheese, starchy leftover pasta water, cooked pasta, salt, pepper, oregano and mix until all pasta shells are well coated in the luscious creamy velvety mascarpone cheese sauce.
Since the mascarpone cheese that I used was lightly sweetened, I added lots of salt to my pasta - keep checking and gradually keep seasoning. Same goes for pasta water - keep adding gradually until you get a runny, yet thick creamy sauce. You would need somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pasta water for the recipe.
What to serve with Mascarpone Pasta?
- Homemade Garlic Breadsticks (DOMINOS COPYCAT)
- Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks
- Soft and Delicious Dinner Rolls (Buns)
- Fresh Arugula Salad
- Followed by some homemade Tiramisu ??
Looking for more pasta recipes? Click here to see all vegetarian pasta recipes and pasta salads on the blog.
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5 Ingredient Mascarpone Pasta
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 15
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course/ Pasta Recipe
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Unbelievably simple and delicious five ingredient mascarpone pasta recipe that is ready in just fifteen minutes. Creamy, rich and perfect vegetarian meal that is ideal for a date night.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of pasta of your choice
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1 tbsp oil
- salt, pepper
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 cup (225 grams) mascarpone cheese (room temperature)
Instructions
- Boil pasta as per package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.
- To a heated pan, add oil and garlic. Let cook for a few seconds on low flame.
- Add room temperature mascarpone cheese, starchy pasta water (see notes), salt, pepper and oregano. Mix for a few seconds until a creamy sauce is formed.
- Add cooked pasta and mix well until all pasta shells are coated with the luscious velvety cream sauce.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes on low flame and serve hot.
Notes
Pasta water: What is pasta water? Pasta water is nothing but reserved starchy liquid that you get when you boil the pasta. You would need somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pasta water for the recipe. Keep adding gradually to the mascarpone cheese (and garlic mix) until a velvety sauce is formed. It should be thick and creamy.
Keywords: vegetarian, pasta, recipe, Italian, cream, cheese
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