Garlic Butter Beef Pasta with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
By Mason Brooks
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Servings
6
Level
Easy
The dinner recipe takes 35 minutes to prepare and cook. The ingredients are pasta and ground beef along with other basic sauce ingredients that can be cooked in a pan. Sauce ingredients include garlic, butter, beef broth, cream, and Parmesan cheese to serve over the pasta, plus optional red pepper.
Cook the pasta to al dente and reserve pasta water. Using lean ground beef can help reduce fat in the pan. Butter will soften chopped onions and help spread garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Beef broth can be used to make a sauce that is thickened with heavy cream and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve cooked ground beef and pasta tossed with the sauce in a pan.
The sauce should coat the pasta when mixed in the skillet, not form a layer on the bottom of the skillet. Add small amounts of pasta water as needed to the sauce. Watch the garlic cook in the butter to ensure the garlic cooks in the butter for about 1 minute to add flavor to the sauce. Stir often to prevent burning the garlic.
Top with chopped parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle more parsley on top. Leftover pasta may be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave with more broth or water. Pasta left to stand overnight in sauce will probably dry out. Adding liquid when reheating can help prevent drying.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Saves time on weeknights in about 35 minutes, Prepares pasta while beef and garlic come together with the sauce in a skillet.
- Ingredients include typical supermarket products like ground beef, butter, broth, cream, and Parmesan cheese.
- No special ingredients or cooking equipment are required to make this dish.
- Reduces dishwashing because the beef, onions, and garlic butter base and prepared sauce can all be cooked in one pan.
- Has options for other types of pasta, including spaghetti, linguine, and penne, which are listed as possible dishes to serve with Parmesan cream sauce.
- Simplifies the process of scaling a recipe both up and down, The same ingredients can be scaled to make a reduced version of the same skillet recipe with the same sauce.
- Easy to reheat with broth or water added to the sauce, which the pasta has already soaked up.
Ingredients
- •12 oz pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or penne)
- •1 lb ground beef
- •4 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- •6 cloves garlic (minced)
- •1 onion (medium, finely chopped)
- •1 tsp Italian seasoning
- •½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
- •1 cup beef broth
- •½ cup heavy cream
- •½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- •2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped, plus more for garnish)
- •salt (to taste)
- •black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- 2
Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
- 3
Drain the pasta and set it aside, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water.
- 4
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- 5
Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned.
- 6
Drain excess grease if needed, then remove the beef and set it aside.
- 7
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet.
- 8
Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
- 9
Stir in the minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
- 10
Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- 11
Pour in the beef broth and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- 12
Stir in the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese until creamy.
- 13
Return the cooked beef to the skillet and mix well.
- 14
Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat in the sauce.
- 15
Stir in a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- 16
Stir in the fresh parsley.
- 17
Taste and adjust with more salt or pepper if needed.
- 18
Garnish with extra Parmesan and parsley before serving.
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