Creamy Pesto Shells

The most epic pesto cream sauce ever! Fresh, vibrant, and creamy. Served with pasta for a quick family favorite meal!

New Year, New You pesto cream sauce here!

Made with a fresh basil pesto, heavy cream, mozzarella and Parmesan, we have the creamiest, most rich and velvety sauce of your life.

And you don’t have to feel guilty about eating all of this.

Why? Because the pesto has some hidden secret broccoli in it! Broccoli that you can’t even taste.

And the blistered cherry tomatoes are also an added veggie.

The shaved Parmesan, however, is not a vegetable, but it is a very important garnish that cannot be skimped if you have some leftover Parmesan. Never let anything go to waste, right?

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Creamy Pesto Shells

The most epic pesto cream sauce ever! It’s fresh, vibrant, and amazingly creamy. Served with pasta for a quick family favorite meal!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces medium pasta shells
• 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ½ medium sweet onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the pesto

• 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach
• 1 ½ cups broccoli florets
• 1 ½ cups packed fresh basil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chicken stock

Instructions

• To make the pesto, combine spinach, broccoli and basil in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With the motor running, add chicken stock in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside.
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to burst and have softened, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
• Gradually whisk in chicken stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.
• Stir in pesto and heavy cream until heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in pasta until well combined, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella and Parmesan until melted, about 1 minute.
• Serve immediately, topped with tomatoes.