Try this Cream Cheese Veggie Pasta on a special weeknight when the lack of time should not warrant a proportionate detriment in the quality of your meal. 

I had a little cream cheese leftover from making these Mini Chocolate Cheesecake Bombes and I wanted to make something savoury with it. Last pasta night, I was inexplicably a little short on marinara, so to save the pasta from being too dry and flavourless, I substituted the remaining marinara with cream cheese, and that’s how this Cream Cheese Veggie Pasta was born.

I just cannot think of enough things to do with my special homemade 5-min Spicy Marinara – here it joins with rich and gooey cream cheese to create a unique sauce blend that coats the pasta like silk! Seriously, it’s really comforting to sit with a warm bowl of this pasta, tucked in on the couch, watching TV on a cold day with the lights turned off! Hmm….

Use whatever vegetable you fancy, these are what I had – frozen spinach, cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, carrots, cabbage, jalapenos and onions. Chop the hard vegetables in bite-sized pieces, it gives a nice crunchy contrast to the soft pasta.

Once the pasta has cooked al dente, add the chopped carrots to the water and let it sit for a couple minutes until cooked. Then drain.

Sauté the vegetables in butter/oil, add cream cheese, this awesome 5- minute marinara, add seasoning and cooked pasta. Toss well to combine. You may serve at this stage, or go the extra mile and top it with some well needed heaping of shredded cheese. Bake in a preheated 400°F/200°C oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and coats the pasta in a velvety blanket.

Serve hot, with a final sprinkle of freshly chopped herbs – mine is cilantro. I can never have enough cilantro in my life, ever! If cilantro ever becomes extinct, I’d probably kill myself!

Dig in while it’s still hot! And try not to think about the carbs – we don’t need that kind of negativity in our lives when there’s so much good on the plate! And don’t forget to share the recipe around! 🙂

[Click image below to get the super-awesome 5- minute homemade Marinara recipe ]

Enjoy!

When you make these (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here and will share it with pride on my social media feeds. 🙂