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Creamy Bowtie Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes
Bowtie Pasta tossed with a garlic sundried tomato cream sauce with artichoke hearts and parmesan cheese and crunchy toasted walnuts. A quick 20-minute weeknight meal.
School is back in session around here and for some reason, my kids ask me what is for dinner every single night. My go-to easy dinner usually revolves around some type of quick pasta dish. I am looking for 20-30 minutes or less in the kitchen and I am a happy mama.
This Creamy Bowtie Pasta is literally made in less than 20 minutes. It is a rich parmesan cream sauce with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts tossed with bowtie pasta. I am telling you what…you will want to lick the bowl.
It is packed with flavor and we are even sneaking in some spinach so that is always a plus! This Creamy Bowtie Pasta is made by sauteing garlic in olive oil and adding heavy cream and cream cheese for the base of the sauce. Parmesan cheese is added in to give it a nutty richness. To give it an extra depth of flavor, chicken broth is added. Then you throw in marinated sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and spinach to give the sauce an amazing fresh flavor. A little sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a subtle spice and toss with bowtie pasta. You can top it with a little crunch by adding toasted walnuts.
This is such a versatile recipe and you can even throw in some grilled or sauteed chicken for some extra protein. You could also serve this alongside some marinated grilled chicken or steak which would be fabulous.
This recipe was inspired by Joanna Gaines Magnolia Table Cookbook. I just changed up some of the ingredients and amounts by adding chicken broth, reducing some of the heavy cream, adding red pepper flakes for spice, added more garlic, using spinach instead of kale, and omitted the chives.
How to make 20-Minute Creamy Bowtie Pasta:
- Start by boiling water in a large pot. Add a generous amount of salt. Add bowtie pasta, also known as farfalle pasta. Cook according to package instructions. Drain and add to the sauce (below).
- While the water is getting ready to boil, saute the garlic in olive oil. Add heavy cream, cream cheese, and chicken broth and stir together. I prefer to use full-fat cream cheese in this recipe for extra creaminess. Let the cream cheese completely melt and stir often.
- Use high-quality parmesan cheese. Add the parmesan cheese only 1/2 cup at a time. This allows it to fully melt into the sauce without seizing up. Add in spices. I love to use dried red pepper flakes for flavor and subtle spice. You can always reduce the amount in half.
- Add marinated sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. You can do a rough chop on them or finely dice depending on preference. Add in baby spinach. If you want smaller pieces, tear apart the spinach with your hands before adding it to the sauce.
- Toss with drained pasta. Serve with extra parmesan cheese and toasted walnuts for crunch.
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Creamy Bowtie Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- 1 lb. Bowtie Pasta (aka farfalle)
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
- (1) 8-ounce pkg. Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 1/2 cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Marinated Sun-Dried Tomatoes, in oil (chopped)
- (1) 12-ounce jar Marinated Artichokes (chopped)
- 4 to 5 ounces Baby Spinach
- 1/2 cup Walnuts (toasted)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous amount of salt to the water. Once boiling, add pasta and cook according to package instructions.
- As the water is heating, heat another pot over medium heat. Add oil and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Be careful to not cook longer or the garlic can burn.
- Stir in heavy cream, cream cheese, chicken broth, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir well until cream cheese is melted. May want to reduce heat to medium-low.
- Add parmesan cheese 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. This keeps it from clumping together. Fold in sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and spinach.
- Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Drain the pasta and add to the pot of sauce. Fold together. Add more chicken broth if you want a looser sauce. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Toast the walnuts in a skillet. Garnish with toasted walnuts and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this recipe and we loved it so much! Great flavor, so creamy. I didn’t have any artichokes but I added spinach and it was delicious. Loved this recipe. Thanks Melissa!!
Hi! This sounds amazing! Yuuum!!
I want to make it for company, do you think it’d be good to make ahead of time and then bake in oven for heating?
Hi Stacie, I’m wondering if you made this and had success with reheating? I’d like to do the same.
I usually don’t love pasta but I find myself making this dish ALL of the time- it is so creamy and so flavorful!!
Such a yummy combination of flavors. Super easy too!
I am a sucker when it comes to amazing Italian dishes, you hit it out of the ballpark with this one. I love the sundried tomatoes they really add a lot of flavor to the dish. Really easy to make and just as great the second day. When re-heating out of the fridge i always put the microwave on 50% power so it re-heats and doesn’t re-cook and change the consistency.
My family of 7 LOVED this (ages from 5-16 years). It is absolutely delicious. Definitely in my dinner rotation.
OMG…Such yummy goodness, marry me chicken was always my fave and now it has been replaced. This was delicious. Thank You for all the good recipes!
Insanely delicious. All the flavors go so well together. Made Marry Me Chicken to go with this.
I can’t wait to make this bow tie pasta dish. bow tie is one of my most favorite pastas anyway. My 2 sons are in Alaska right now on vacation with their dad. They have been gone for a week now and will be gone for 3 more weeks. I guess I will have to wait and make this for when they come home. They are having a ball up there. I can’t wait to see my boys again and make them a beautiful pasta dish. They love pasta as much as I do. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It looks so good.