The Pioneer Woman’s Top 10 Creamy Pasta Recipes of All Time

Ree’s Top 10 Creamy Pasta Recipes of All Time David Malosh

Pasta always has a way of showing up exactly when you need it. Long day? Make Alfredo. Feeding a crowd? Cook up some carbs with extra cheese on top. Want something that feels a little special but still totally doable on a weeknight? There’s an easy recipe that can make that happen.

Over the years, The Pioneer Woman has given us more than a few pasta recipes that fall squarely into the creamy, dreamy, totally comforting category. There’s the tomato cream sauce she calls her “favorite pasta sauce in the whole world.” (Which is high praise coming from someone who has cooked as much pasta as she has!) There’s more than one recipe that she promises would make anyone who eats it “pledge their eternal admiration and support for you.” And then there are the Alfredo pasta recipes, the baked macaroni dishes, and the skillet dinners that come together in one pan with butter, garlic, cream, and a very generous handful of grated cheese.

There are almost *too* many delicious options to choose from, so we pulled together The Pioneer Woman’s top 10 creamy pasta recipes of all time. These are the ones readers return to again and again—the cozy classics, the slightly saucy standbys, and the dishes that somehow feel both weeknight-easy and company-ready. Grab a pot, grate some Parmesan, and take a look. Just don’t be surprised if one of them becomes your new favorite!

Pasta alla Vodka

“Pasta alla vodka is a weakness of mine,” Ree says. And this dish will help you understand why! It seems fancy, but it’s really just a smart little sauce: onion and garlic cooked in butter and olive oil, vodka in the pan, tomato puree, then heavy cream to bring it all together. Red pepper flakes give it a little kick and parmesan makes sure nobody leaves the table sad.

Get Ree’s Pasta alla Vodka recipe.

Caitlin Bensel

Mushroom and Black Pepper Pasta

Mushroom fans, pull up a seat! This simple pasta dish features not one, not two, but three different types of mushrooms—and they’re all wrapped up in a creamy, peppery cheese sauce.

Get Ree’s Mushroom and Black Pepper Pasta recipe.

Ed Anderson

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This one has a little kick to it! It’s fettuccine tossed with chicken, bell peppers, red onion, and tomatoes—then everything gets pulled together with white wine, chicken broth, and heavy cream so it turns super saucy and delicious. “Easily one of my favorite things to eat, period,” Ree says.

Get Ree’s Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe.

Will Dickey

Bow Tie Chicken Alfredo

This is the creamy, dreamy pasta for that very specific moment when it’s late-afternoon and everyone’s hungry right this instant. “Boy, is it delicious—and easy,” Ree says. And she’s right! All you need is bow-tie pasta, sliced chicken breasts, and a skillet Alfredo made with butter, garlic, white wine (or broth), half-and-half, heavy cream, and parmesan.

Get Ree’s Bow Tie Chicken Alfredo recipe.

C.W. Newell

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Here’s an incredibly easy cream sauce to whip up any time a pasta craving hits. As Ree points out, you can add chicken, shrimp, veggies, or anything at all to this recipe. “But sometimes I like to enjoy things in their most basic, stripped-down state,” she says. “It’s reassuring that such simple things can be so divine.”

Get Ree’s Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce recipe.

Ralph Smith

Marry Me Chicken Pasta

This one is unapologetically extra in the most lovable way. Mix together shell pasta, Italian-style smoked chicken sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, and a silky half-and-half sauce that starts with chicken broth, tomato paste, and garlic, before thickening it up with flour. Then Ree goes all in: parmesan, mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta, and burrata torn over the top. “Make it for your sweetheart and you might just get a proposal!” she says.

Get Ree’s Marry Me Chicken Pasta recipe.

Will Dickey

Fettuccine Alfredo

All you need is four ingredients and a dream to whip this one up! “This fettuccine Alfredo is one of the simplest yet dreamiest dishes in existence,” Ree says. Parmesan, butter, heavy cream, and pasta get tossed together right at the table—chef’s kiss!

Get Ree’s Fettuccine Alfredo recipe.

Will Dickey

Chicken Carbonara

“This chicken carbonara takes everything I love about pasta night and makes it even better,” Ree says. It’s filled with crispy bacon, juicy chicken, and a rich, parmesan-packed sauce that clings to every strand of long noodles—which are her very favorite type!

Get Ree’s Chicken Carbonara recipe.

Will Dickey

Creamy Pasta Primavera

This one of Ree’s favorite pasta recipes in the world, because it has a history. “Mom used to make this all the time,” she says. The delicious sauce includes all the usual suspects: white wine, heavy cream, cheese, butter, garlic, and more. But a toss of mint at the end keeps it from feeling heavy!

Get Ree’s Creamy Pasta Primavera recipe.

Will Dickey

Macaroni and Cheese

Ree’s baked mac is the real deal: macaroni, a buttery roux, whole milk, dry mustard, and a big pile of grated cheese. And as with all good macaroni and cheese recipes, this one features an unexpected secret ingredient. “Adding an egg to the sauce makes it smooth, velvety, and heavenly rich,” Ree says.

Get Ree’s Macaroni and Cheese recipe.

Ralph Smith

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