Creamy Pesto Sauce – made with just 6 simple ingredients and packed with amazing flavor! This sauce is delicious on pasta, potatoes, chicken, veggies, or any of your favorites!

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of pesto. I drizzle it on eggs and cottage cheese and pasta and salads, and you better believe I always have a jar of it in my fridge. Of course, homemade pesto is always the best… but a good store bought pesto does the trick, too.

It packs a huge punch of flavor, and I find myself using it in so many different recipes. From Basil Pesto Panzanella to Pesto Chicken Pasta to Garden Vegetable Pesto Pizza and more… I love it ALL the ways.

So much so that I recently started using it in sauces! Like Pesto Aioli and Pesto Vinaigrette and now this delicious Pesto Cream Sauce. Made with a combination of heavy cream, pesto, garlic, and Parmesan cheese, it’s creamy and flavorful and delicious in so many different recipes.

The most obvious way to use it is as a sauce for your favorite pasta, but it’s also delicious spooned over chicken or salmon or roasted potatoes or veggies. Basically any way you can imagine it… it will be amazing!

what you’ll need for this recipe

Garlic – Garlic is an ingredient in pesto, so adding a bit more of it helps bring out the garlic flavor. I used 2 large cloves, minced and sautéed in olive oil.

Heavy cream – Heavy cream is the base of this pesto sauce, giving it a silky smooth, creamy texture. I used 3/4 cup heavy cream and also added 1/4 cup water. If you’re making this as a pasta sauce, reserve 1/4 – 1/2 cup pasta water to use in place of tap water.

Parmesan – Freshly grated Parmesan cheese adds delicious nutty flavor to the sauce and pairs beautifully with the pesto. I used 1/2 cup Parmesan, but you can use more to taste.

Butter – Butter adds extra richness, creaminess and flavor. I used 2 Tablespoons salted butter.

Pesto – Pesto is what gives this sauce all its delicious flavor! I added 1/2 cup prepared pesto (my favorite is Delallo Pesto.) Homemade pesto would also be amazing!

Lemon juice – Lemon juice brightens up the sauce and adds just the right amount of acid to balance out the creaminess. I used 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.

Salt & pepper – I added 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add more or less to taste, depending on the saltiness of your pesto.

how to make creamy pesto sauce

Sauté the garlic. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add the heavy cream & water. Add the heavy cream and water and heat just until it starts to bubble.

Stir in the Parmesan & butter. Add the grated Parmesan and butter and stir until melted.

Add the pesto, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Stir in the pesto, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Use immediately or store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

pro tip

This sauce can be made thicker or thinner, depending on your tastes and how you plan to use it. The 2 keys are how much water you add and how much Parmesan you add. For a thinner sauce, add more water and less Parmesan; for a thicker sauce, add less water and more Parmesan. If you’re making this as a sauce for pasta, reserve some pasta water and add it to taste at the end.

Recipe Variations

Substitute sun dried tomato pesto for basil pesto
Add more or less pesto to taste
Make it thicker by adding less water (or omit the water altogether)
Add additional Parmesan cheese
Add lemon zest in addition to the juice
Add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or onion powder
Add a splash of dry white wine in place of the lemon juice
Adjust the salt & pepper to taste

More Sauce Recipes to Try

Homemade sauces are always the BEST sauces… and these are some of our favorites: