Strawberry Sour Cream Pasta (Printable Version)

Pasta coated in a creamy strawberry and sour cream sauce, garnished with fresh basil and pine nuts.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz farfalle or penne pasta
02 - 1 tbsp salt (for boiling water)

→ Strawberry Sauce

03 - 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
04 - 2 tbsp granulated sugar
05 - 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
06 - 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
07 - 1/4 tsp salt
08 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Creamy Component

09 - 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream

→ Garnish

10 - 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
11 - Optional: 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
12 - Optional: Extra sliced strawberries

# How To Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and set aside.
02 - In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes until strawberries soften but retain some texture.
03 - Remove the strawberry mixture from heat and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in sour cream until the sauce is smooth and pink. Adjust seasoning to taste.
04 - Add drained pasta to the saucepan with the strawberry-sour cream sauce. Toss gently to coat, adding reserved pasta water one tablespoon at a time if the sauce needs thinning.
05 - Divide pasta among plates. Garnish with fresh basil, optional toasted pine nuts, and extra sliced strawberries if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like a secret, the kind of dish that makes people ask if you're secretly a better cook than you thought.
  • Ready in under 30 minutes, so you can actually pull it off on a weeknight without losing your mind.
  • Completely vegetarian and adaptable—swap ingredients freely without breaking anything.
02 -
  • Never let the strawberry mixture boil hard or you'll cook off the fresh flavor and end up with something that tastes stewed instead of bright.
  • Don't skip the pasta water—that starch is what makes the sauce silky and helps it cling instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
03 -
  • Slice your strawberries right before cooking so they stay fresher and don't weep all their juice into a puddle.
  • If your sour cream is cold from the fridge, let it sit out for a few minutes before folding it in—it incorporates smoother and won't temperature-shock the strawberries.
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