Steak Pasta with Creamy Sauce (in 30 minutes or less!)
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This delicious steak pasta with garlic and cheese cream sauce is the perfect easy weeknight meal! Tender cooked slices of steak are mixed with a rich garlic cream sauce, and served over one of my favorite pastas…tagliatelle! And since you can make this in under 30 minutes, it is perfect for a busy evening. I can’t wait for you to try this delicious creamy steak pasta for dinner tonight!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
Comfort meal: This is one of my favorite steak and pasta recipes to make and then curl up on the couch with a blanket and a good movie.
Budget friendly: The great thing about this steak pasta recipe is you can choose the best steak for your budget. If you want to splurge on a boneless ribeye, then you can do that. But if you want to go for a cheaper cut like a strip steak or sirloin, you can do that too and still get fantastic flavor!
Crowd pleaser: Having company? Creamy steak and pasta is a great dish to feed a lot of people. Think family style dining. Make a large pot of pasta with the cream sauce, add some strips of steak to the top, and voila! You have dinner for a crowd.
Versatile: I love tagliatelle for this recipe, but any pasta will work, from linguine to fettucini, to rigatoni. Whatever you have on hand is perfect. And as stated above, the same goes for the steak. Whatever you can afford will work in this recipe.
Satisfy your creamy pasta cravings and try these other recipes; Creme Fraiche Pasta, One Pan Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta and High Protein Cottage Cheese Pasta
Ingredients
The main ingredients that make this steak and pasta recipe fantastic are the following.
Beef Steak: I like to use frozen beef strips for this recipe because they’re affordable and easy to grab out of my freezer when I want to whip this up..
Flavors: Seasonings and herbs like garlic and onion bring a lot of aromatic flavor to steak pasta dishes like this one, along with a few other bold flavors like mustard and lemon.
Pecorino + creme fraiche: The pecorino serves to give a pungent zest to the sauce. While the creme fraiche helps make the sauce velvety and rich.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations/Adaptations
Use a different type of pasta: Any pasta will work in this dish so use what you have. Linguini, fettuccine, orzo, penne, or even zucchini noodles.
Change the meat: Sirloin, skirt, flank and ribeye are all great beef steaks to use in this recipe, however you could also try this dish with chicken or fish.
Dairy free options: If you are looking for a no dairy option, you can omit the cheese and creme fraiche, or opt for vegan cheese and creme fraiche for a similar texture and flavor.
Vegetarian: Instead of steak, you could use tofu or portobello mushroom.
Add vegetables: There are a few vegetables you could add to this dish as well. I have tried broccoli, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and cauliflower. But I think asparagus would be another fantastic option
Pair this yummy steak pasta with one of these tasty side dishes; Easy Sauteed Savoy Cabbage, Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes and Smashed Broccoli with Parmesan
How to make steak pasta with creamy sauce
- Start by adding the oil into a stainless steel pan over a high heat. Add the steak and distribute evenly across the pan (Image 1).
- Allow to sear/brown and leave to fry for around 3 minutes, then stir and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan (Image 2).
3. Reduce the heat to medium/low and deglaze the pan with a splash of stock. Add the onion into the pan with a pinch of salt and lots of pepper (Image 3).
4. Gently fry for 6 minutes, adding the garlic into the pan for the last 2 minutes (Image 4).
5. Meanwhile, add the tagliatelle into heavily salted pasta water, setting your timer to the packet time minus 2 minutes (Image 5).
6. When the onions are translucent, add the creme fraiche and Dijon mustard into the pan. Stir to combine and heat through (Image 6).
7. Once heated through, slowly stir the stock into the pan whilst continuously stirring. Add the cornflour slurry and beef back into the pan. Stir to combine and allow to thicken slightly (Image 7).
8. Then pour the pasta and lemon juice into the pan. Stir to combine and season to taste, adding more salt and pepper. Top with chopped fresh parsley and dive in! (Image 8).
If you’ve got a taste for beef after trying these yummy dishes; Air Fryer Ribeye Steak, Air Fryer Steak Bites with Garlic Butter and Tender Braising Steak with Gravy
Tips for the best result
Sear your steak strips: Pasta with beef strips is best when you make sure to sear the steak strips on all sides. This helps keep them tender and juicy while also giving them loads of flavor.
Cook your steak to about Medium doneness (140-150℉/60-65℃): This is a little more difficult to do with strips of steak, but do your best to not overcook them by checking the temperature on the pieces frequently with a meat thermometer.
Add heavy cream off the heat: To make sure your cream does not split due to the heat, make sure to add your cream when the pan is off the heat.
Don’t overcook your pasta – You will want your pasta to have a bit of a chewy texture to it (al dente). You will know your pasta is overcooked if it doesn’t have that chew.
Let the steak rest: A rested steak is the best steak. Resting your meat allows all the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, making sure they don’t run out when you cut into it. This pertains to the strips of steak we are using in this recipe as well. I suggest only letting them rest a few minutes though since they are small and may get cold.
Serving Suggestions
Anytime I have a pasta dish I always want garlic bread or breadsticks. I know that is a lot of carbs, but I feel like, if you are going into carb territory anyway you might as well do it right!
Salad is another good option to serve alongside pasta with steak. Especially if you decide not to add any veggies to the actual pasta dish itself. My favorite is caesar salad with this particular dish.
Don’t feel like salad? I get it, sometimes having a cold crispy salad with a warm comforting pasta dish just doesn’t make sense. So on those days, I like a nice warm bowl of cooked vegetables. Whether it is broccoli, asparagus, squash, or all three, they just seem to go better with my warm bowl of pasta.
A lighter side dish is soup. Since most pasta and steak recipes are pretty filling (including this one), opting for a light brothy soup is a great option, such as my gyoza soup
As for having a glass of wine, I am no sommelier, but I do love wine. And I believe you should drink what you like. However, with the steak and buttery cream in this dish, I think a nice light Chardonnay would pair nicely.
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
One thing to keep in mind when storing leftovers that have a creamy sauce is that normally the cream sauce will not be as creamy after being stored and reheated. In fact, you may find that the sauce breaks and turns a bit oily. Here are some ways to combat that.
When storing the pasta in the refrigerator, you can store the dish all together (steak, pasta, and sauce) or try storing the steak, sauce, and pasta separately. Storing the ingredients separately will give you more control over the reheating process and hopefully your sauce will not split. This is a great option if you plan to make this meal ahead of time.
The same is true for freezing this dish. You can freeze everything together, but a better option is to freeze all the components separately.
Whether you refrigerator or freeze, combine or separate the ingredients, store everything in an airtight container. All items will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat
When you go to reheat, you can reheat the steak in the microwave in 15 second bursts or until the steak is warmed through.
For the pasta, I recommend adding a bit of water to the pasta (maybe a few tablespoons) to make sure the pasta isn’t dry after being microwaved. Microwave the pasta until it is hot.
As for the sauce, I recommend warming it in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often until it is warmed through.
If you are reheating the dish as a combined meal (steak, pasta, and sauce all together) then I also recommend reheating in a skillet or saucepan over low heat until heated through.
Need inspiration for some main meal recipes? Try my; Shredded Chicken Tacos, Thin Sliced Chicken Breast in Oven or Thin Pork Chops in Air Fryer
FAQs
I believe the best cut of meat for pasta is the one you like best.
You can use mascarpone, cream cheese, or even heavy cream to replace the creme fraiche in this recipe.
How do you thicken a creamy pasta sauce?
To thicken a creamy sauce, try adding a ladle of pasta water and cooking on low. The starch from the pasta water should help tighten up the sauce. You can also add a thickening agent like cornstarch (corn flour).
If your pasta sauce isn’t cream it may have broken (or split). This happens when the cream is added over high heat and then it separates or curdles.
Yes, you can double this sauce if you need more.
If you tried this Steak Pasta with Creamy Sauce recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Steak Pasta with Creamy Sauce
Ingredients
- 350 g beef strips (£3.50)
- 1 onion, finely diced (£0.15)
- 3 cloves of garlic (£0.39)
- 50 g pecorino (£1.35)
- 500 g tagliatelle (£0.75)
- 200 ml creme fraiche (£0.89)
- Juice of half a lemon (£0.30)
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped to serve (£0.60)
Cupboard essentials
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Lots of pepper
- 400 ml beef stock
- 1 tbsp cornflour+ 2 tbsp cold water
Method
Note: I used frozen beef strips to make this recipe more affordable- for the best results, allow them to thaw in the fridge for a couple of hours before frying.
- Start by adding the oil into a stainless steel pan over a high heat. Add the steak and distribute evenly across the pan.
- Allow to sear/brown and leave to fry for around 3 minutes, then stir and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium/low and deglaze the pan with a splash of stock. Add the onion into the pan with a pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Gently fry for 6 minutes, adding the garlic into the pan for the last 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the tagliatelle into heavily salted pasta water, setting your timer to the packet time minus 2 minutes.
- When the onions are translucent, add the creme fraiche and Dijon mustard into the pan. Stir to combine and heat through.
- Once heated through, slowly stir the stock into the pan whilst continuously stirring. Add the cornflour slurry and beef back into the pan. Stir to combine and allow to thicken slightly before pouring the pasta and lemon juice into the pan.
- Stir to combine and season to taste, adding more salt and pepper. Top with chopped fresh parsley and dive in!
Notes
- Sear steak strips on all sides for flavor and tenderness.
- Cook steak to medium doneness (140-150℉/60-65℃) using a meat thermometer.
- Add heavy cream off the heat to prevent splitting.
- Cook pasta al dente to maintain a chewy texture.
- Let steak strips rest briefly to retain juices before serving.
Nutrition
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