Easy Cream Cheese Sauce for Spaghetti (1950s Recipe)

Looking for a delicious and easy dinner recipe? Try this 1950s vintage recipe, cream cheese sauce for spaghetti recipe. It’s sure to be a new family favorite recipe.

You’ve likely noticed I mostly share sweet vintage recipes here. I’m trying to diversify that but to be honest, savory vintage recipes scare me sometimes. Either they use ingredients that palates are not used to anymore, like jello in savory dishes, or they lack seasoning. Well, a lot of times it’s both!

In my effort to bring more savory dishes to the site that will still appeal to modern tastes, I found one that looked interesting. The original name was fine spaghetti with green sauce. 

It is a simple recipe but it uses a reasonable amount of seasoning and feels like a pretty modern recipe. It’s also a quick dish to whip up. 

This dish was described as a “foreign food” and I’m not sure if it’s authentically Italian, it’s not a dish I’ve seen before, but it fits in that American-Italian category that was becoming popular.

While Italian immigrants had brought recipes from them in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was after WWII that American soldiers came back wanting some of the dishes they had in Europe that the trend took off. 

You do see a lot more “ethnic” recipes start to show up in homemaking magazines and cookbooks in the mid-century. I’m sure most people cringe at these recipes if they know the real recipes but at least it kicked off bringing more diverse food to the the US. 

This cream cheese sauce for spaghetti may not be very authentically Italian but it is authentically mid-century and still delicious. 

Cream Cheese Sauce for Spaghetti Recipe

This is such an easy recipe to make as a vegetarian main dish or a side dish. You will only need a few ingredients. You can also scroll down to get the full recipe, including a printable version.

• Spaghetti- You can also use angel hair posts, capellini, vermicelli, or fettuccini. 
• Dried Basil- You can substitute fresh basil if you have it but it’s still delicious with dried. 
• Dried Parsley- You can also substitute fresh parsley.
• Cream Cheese- If you can’t find cream cheese you can also use neufchâtel cheese. Make sure you soften your cream cheese.
• Parmesan Cheese- I like to grate mine fresh but if using storebought look for a high quality grated parmesan cheese. 
• Butter- You will want to make sure your butter is soft.
• Olive Oil- You can use another neutral oil if you’d like.
• Fresh Garlic- Fresh is going to be best in this recipe but garlic powder can work in a pinch. 

I like to buy my dried spices and herbs from Thrive Market. They have good prices and they are also very fresh. 

How To Make Cream Cheese Sauce for Spaghetti 

Now it’s time to make our recipe. There are only a few steps so you can have this ready in no time.

1. Cook Your Pasta: Boil your pasta in salted water until just tender. Reserve a cup of the water.
2. Make Your Sauce: Add basil and parsley to the butter. Blend in cream cheese, Parmesan, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir in pasta water and blend. 
3. Prepare the Dish: Put your hot pasta on a plate and pour over the sauce. Top with more Parmesan cheese. 

That’s all! Now you have delicious pasta dish the whole family will enjoy.

More Vintage Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this vintage recipe be sure to try some of the others here on the site.

• Broccoli with Parmesan Cheese Sauce
• Mashed Potato Stuffed Hot Dogs
• Ham and Cheese Pancakes
• Creamed Ham and Cheese Waffles

Continue to Content

Yield: 4 Servings

Cream Cheese Sauce for Spaghetti Recipe

Print

This simple no-cook sauce has a delicious flavor with minimal work required.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 oz spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons basic
• 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2/3 cup pasta water

Instructions

1. Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water just until tender.
2. Reserve one cup of the pasta water and drain the rest.
3. Add basil and parsley to the butter.
4. Blend in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
5. Stir in 2/3 cup of pasta water. Add more if needed to make the sauce thin enough.
6. Serve the sauce over hot pasta.

Notes

If you forget and drain all of the pasta water off you can use boiling water instead. It won't give the sauce starch so you may need less water for it to stay thick.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 574Total Fat: 47gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 499mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 10g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Pin for Later

Don’t lose this recipe, pin it today! Or print it off and put it in your own recipe book.