Description
Creamy beef and rotini in garlic parmesan sauce brings together tender pasta, savory ground beef, and a velvety garlic parmesan cream for the ultimate 30-minute comfort dinner. This easy pasta recipe is perfect for busy weeknights and picky eaters, delivering big flavor with simple ingredients like rotini, parmesan, garlic, and cream.
Ingredients
12 ounces rotini pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pasta cooking water, as needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook rotini until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in minced garlic and cook 30 to 60 seconds until fragrant.
4. Pour in heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring to combine with the beef.
5. Add Parmesan and stir until melted and the sauce turns silky. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, adjusting to taste.
6. Add drained rotini to the skillet and toss to coat, loosening the sauce with splashes of reserved pasta water as needed.
7. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and extra Parmesan. Serve hot.
Notes
Use freshly grated Parmesan so it melts smoothly without clumping.
Salt your pasta water generously to season the pasta from the inside out.
If reheating leftovers, add a splash of milk or cream to bring the sauce back to life.
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Brown the beef well for deeper flavor before adding cream.
Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer after cream goes in to prevent separating.
Reserve pasta water every time – its starch helps the sauce cling to the spirals.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pasta, Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 640
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 820 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 115 mg