Move over tomato sauce! Pasta with sour cream sauce is in town, and the pasta is calling! Try this for your next pasta supper and get ready to be dishing out seconds.
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Why we love this recipe
Sometimes when you are contemplating the inside of your refrigerator wondering what to make for supper, wonderful things can happen.
This was the case when I was contemplating the inside of my own fridge, gazing at the remains of a container of sour cream, the last couple of scallions in the bunch, a stick of butter and of course, the package of bacon that is always in there.
What happened next was pasta with a buttery sour cream and bacon sauce that is going into permanent rotation in our house!
Sweet butter, salty bacon, tangy sour cream, a little bite courtesy of a couple of scallions, and the I-don’t-know-quite-how-to-describe-it taste of some poppy seeds.
It’s a nice change from tomato sauce (which I also love!) and is ready in just about a half hour…let’s bring on the pasta with sour cream sauce!
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Pasta: Any short pasta will work – think penne, elbows, bowties, or my personal favorite, campanelle! These shapes are sturdy enough to hold up this delectable sauce.
- Bacon: We love thick cut bacon for this sauce, but regular works just fine.
- Sour Cream: You can use full fat or low fat, but we don’t recommend non-fat as it isn’t rich enough.
- Scallions: If you have someone who objects to scallions 🙋🏼♀️ parsley is a good sub…or you can just leave them out.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Make sure your sour cream and your butter are at room temperature, and cook up your bacon until it is crispy.
STEP 2: Cook the pasta and drain it, and then put it right back into the hot pasta pot.
STEP 3: Now stir in the butter and the sour cream both at the same time until they are all melted and mixed together with your pasta.
STEP 4: Stir in the bacon, scallions (or parsley) and poppy seeds…and that’s it! That’s all there is to it.
I dished mine into warmed plates, and for the next little while the only sound in our house was “Mmmmmmmm.” Creamy, dreamy, tangy pasta deliciousness.
Recipe FAQs
Yep, they are optional…but if you happen to have any, they do add a little fun zip of flavor. You can usually find them in the spice section of your grocery store.
You can! Both full fat and low fat will work. Don’t use the totally fat-free kind though – the sauce won’t have enough texture.
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
We love us some asparagus with parmesan breadcrumb sauce on the side of this pasta, and roasted green beans are a great addition as well.
And for dessert? How about some jam cake (another recipe that helps me clean out my fridge!)
Other pasta and bacon recipes we love!
Looking for even more pasta inspiration? Here is our complete collection of pasta (and pizza!) recipes!
Could you leave us a review? 😋
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below.
PrintPasta with Sour Cream Sauce
Move over tomato sauce! Pasta with buttered sour cream and bacon is in town, and the pasta is calling! Try this for your next pasta supper.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of bacon, chopped
- 10 ounces short pasta (penne, ziti, etc)
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 4 scallions, chopped (or an equal amount of parsley)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Cook your bacon until it is nice and crispy and set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Return to the hot pasta pot.
- Put the pot on the lowest heat setting on your stove and stir in butter and sour cream. Stir until both are melted and combined into the pasta.
- Stir in scallions, poppy seeds and cooked bacon.
- Serve at once on warmed plates.
Notes
- Pasta: Any short pasta will work – think penne, elbows, bowties, or my personal favorite, campanelle! These shapes are sturdy enough to hold up this delectable sauce.
- Bacon: We love thick cut bacon for this sauce, but regular works just fine.
- Sour Cream: You can use full fat or low fat, but we don’t recommend non-fat as it isn’t rich enough.
- Scallions: If you have someone who objects to scallions 🙋🏼♀️ parsley is a good sub…or you can just leave them out.
Kristina says
I was looking for a way to use up sour cream (and what’s not good when the base is sour cream?). I’m not going to lie. It sounded weird when I got to the poppy seeds, but I have a bacon-loving husband, so I gave it a whirl as written to honor the recipe. I did add some of the pasta cooking water to thin it out a bit, and I threw in some shrimp to add protein. OMG was it good. Next time I will add some tomatoes to cut the fat a bit, and maybe some mushrooms and/or peas. This is a versatile base that can really be adapted to whatever is floating around the fridge, but the scallions and the bacon really make this so flavorful. This one is a keeper!
Hi Kristina and yay! So glad you took a chance on this recipe, and I love the idea of adding tomatoes and shrimp – I am going to try that next time around. :)
Michelle says
Do I heat the cream and butter befire adding it to the pasta?
Hi Michelle! As long as you have it at room temperature it will be fine – the heat of the pasta will warm it up. Happy cooking!
Hi Hannah! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you. Let me know if there is another kind of pasta recipe you are looking for and I will try and help – one way or the other, I appreciate the feedback.