Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce with Poblano Relish

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Creamy Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

I love making this garlic cream sauce for pasta because it reminds me of the make your own pasta bowl from the Macaroni Grill.   You could say this is my version of a copycat Macaroni Grill roasted garlic cream sauce recipe — but my version is a dairy-free option, as I used a creamer made from from almonds and coconut cream.  So if you’re looking for a Roasted garlic sauce without cream – this is a great option for you.  This df cream tastes like the real thing – I use it as a milk or cream replacement for ALL of my recipes! 

The best part of this ‘make your own pasta bowl’ is that you can add any toppings and protein that you want.  This recipe is my personal favorite combination and regular order, back in the day, at the Mac Shack.   This recipe has sliced sausage, roasted garlic(in the sauce and whole on top), and caramelized onions.  The roasted garlic cream sauce is light and creamy and coats the bow tie pasta perfectly.  My thoughtful additional to this old classic is the roasted poblano relish dolloped on top. It brings an earthiness and bright element that is unique and delicious.

The two major tricks to making a good roasted garlic cream pasta sauce is blending some of the roasted garlic into the cream and then thickening the cream with a roux.  Roux is a mixture of butter and flour. It is used to thicken sauce or gravy.  I used plant-based Miyokos butter (so good and tastes just like the real thing) and cassava flour, which is gluten-free.  I have found that cassava flour works amazing for roux to thicken sauces. 

This recipe is a great replacement for roasted garlic alfredo sauce recipes.  Typically alfredo sauce has egg yolks and can be a bit more complicated of a cooking process.  This recipe is super simple, easy and comes out delicious every time.  I know you will love this roasted garlic cream sauce recipe!

Ingredients:

• Bow tie pasta
• Garlic
• Sweet onion
• Sausage
• Cream
• Butter
• Cassava flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Optional additions: goat Cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach
• For the poblano relish:
• Poblano peppers
• Lime
• Sea salt

Ingredients Notes:

Bow tie Pasta- Any pasta will work, choose whatever you love or have in the pantry. I used brown rice, gf bow-tie pasta from the brand Jovial.  This pasta needs to be reheated properly if eating as leftovers because it gets very hard when it cools down.  Always generously salt the boiling water before adding the pasta.  1-2 boxes should work fine, I find that 1 box is about 2.5 servings. 

Garlic- 3 full heads of garlic.

Sweet onion- Yellow or white onion will work.  Choose a medium-large sized onion. 

Sausage- This recipe used 1 package of sausage links that were fairly large in size and had 4 of them per package.  I used a locally made spicy fennel sausage but you can use whatever you like and have access to. 

Cream- I used 32 oz of dairy free Nut Pod’s creamer, you can use whatever cream you typically use.

Butter- This is for making a roux to thicken the cream into a nice sauce consistency.  I used 1 Tbsp  of cassava flour – the is the other half of the roux.  I added 2 Tbsps to the butter to make the roux for this cream sauce.

Salt- Sea salt to taste, I used about 1/2 Tbsp for the boiling pasta water.  I used 1/2 tsp for the cream sauce and 1/8 tsp for the poblano relish.

Pepper- Freshly ground black pepper at the end to finish.

Poblano peppers- I roasted 5-6 large peppers to make the relish.

Lime- 1 lime to juice for the poblano relish.

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Instructions:

1. Prepare the roasted garlic by cutting the root side off, so the ends of the cloves are barely sliced and exposed.  Drizzle olive oil on the open ends of the garlic and place them down in a baking pan and cover them with another metal pan or ramekin (if you don’t have a clay garlic roaster). Roast the garlic for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees F. When the garlic is done, remove it and allow it to cool. Using a roasted garlic removing tool, fork or knife, remove each individual roasted garlic clove and place in a side dish. Drizzle olive olive over them to keep them from drying out. 
2. Prepare the carmelized onions by cutting off the ends, removing the outer layers.  Cut the onions in half the long way, end to end, then cut into skinny strips.  Place onions in a pan and separate them. Drizzle olive oil and mix them well.  Sprinkle salt and let them cook for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees.  Stir them occasionally to make sure they are evenly cooking.  You want them to be uniformly turning a caramel golden brown color. Cook them at the same time as the garlic. 
3. Prepare the poblano relish by slicing the poblanos down the center and placing them on a pan for roasting.  Roast them at 350 degrees F for about 35-40 minutes or until fully cooked and soft.  The outside skin should become brown in some spots.  When they are fully cooked remove and allow them to cool.  A trick is to put them in a plastic bag which will help you to remove the skin more easily.  Either way, after they are cooled, scoop out the center seeds and vein, stems and discard. Then peel off as much of the outer layer of skin as possible.  Mostly the skin that has become separated or is crumbling off.  You don’t have to be too picky here, it is okay if some skin is still on the outside.  Then cut the poblanos into strips and then again into small squares.  Place them in a bowl and juice 1 lime over and add the sea salt.  Mix this together, this is our relish topping that will be placed in the center of the pasta bowl.
4. Prepare the roux: add 1 Tbsp of room temperature butter and 2 Tbsps of cassava flour to a ramekin and mix well.
5. Cook the sausage on medium high allowing outer sides to get a nice dark rich brown color. Place a cover over the pan if you have one to help steam the insides, they will cook faster and get nice and plump. Remove when fully cooked, allow them to cool and then slice them into 1/2 inch medallions.
6. Make the sauce: pour the 32 ounces of cream into a sauce pan and bring to simmer.  To make the roasted garlic cream — take a few cups of cream from the saucepan and add it to a blender with 1/2 of the roasted garlic. Blend the cream and roasted garlic and then replace it to the sauce pan with the rest of the simmering cream. Add the salt and add in the roux to thicken the sauce.  Allow sauce to simmer for about 3 minutes, and then remove from the heat. If you have chosen to use the optional goat cheese ingredient you can either add it to the sauce at this stage and allow it to melt into the sauce. Alternatively, you can crumble it over the top at the finish. If you chose to add the additional ingredient, fresh spinach, add in now and stir until it is gently wilted then allow the sauce to cool slightly before serving.
7. Bring the salted pasta water to a boil in a large pot and follow instructions for your chosen pasta.  
8. It’s time to bring all the components together.  Add the pasta and enough sauce to coat the pasta to your liking. Add the caramelized onions and sausage slices and mix all together.  If you chose additional sun dried tomatoes bring them in at this time.
9. Plate the food and leave the roasted garlic to place over the top at the end as mixing it all together can smush the garlic and you will loose the full cloves appeal. 
10. Finish with freshly ground black pepper.  If you have any fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, rosemary or oregano you can sprinkle those over the top or use a few whole sprigs in the center for garnish.
11. Add a large spoonful of the poblano relish to the top center of the pasta bowl.
12. Enjoy!

Notes:

-For reheating leftover brown rice pasta: add a few tablespoons of water to a pan and cover it with a lid to help steam the pasta so it returns to its soft and flexible state. 

-Addional toppings could include: goat cheese, grated parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh diced tomatoes or fresh herbs such as, rosemary, thyme or parsley. 

-You may swap out the onions for shallots if you prefer them or have them on hand. 

-This sauce is also called roasted garlic crema and can be made thicker to become more of a crema than a sauce.  Add more roux and less cream for a thicker more crema like consistency. 

-If you’re going for a roasted garlic parmesan cream sauce, you can add in parmesan cheese to this recipe.  If you are trying to keep this dairy-free but still am looking for that classic parmesan cream taste, try adding in the df grated parmesan from Violife.  It comes as a block and grates just like parmesan cheese and it is super tasty! 

This is a great recipe if your looking for a roasted garlic cream sauce for pizza – if you’re looking to make a white pizza, add in some raw garlic to make it extra punchy! If you’re looking to make a roasted garlic cream sauce for steak, I would recommend adding a cheesy component —either the goat cheese I recommended in the instructions, blue cheese, gorgonzola or the vegan violin parmesan cheese.  Also add in raw garlic in the sauté process of the sauce making. 

If you have ever had the Noodles and Company garlic cream sauce this is similar tasting to that but this has just four ingredients including the roux sauce thickener.  

I know you will love this roasted garlic cream pasta sauce, it is easy and simple and perfect for a night where you need a quick meal but still want to make a from scratch dinner. 

This is a great recipe to try if you’re a fan of creamy sauce for pastas, pizza or steak. If you do try this easy creamy roasted garlic cream sauce please rate it or comment below and if you made any alterations. I would love to hear about it!  If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest I am always thankful.  Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.

Looking for a dessert to follow this dinner recipe? Check out my latest post: Flan & Chocolate Mug Cake Mashup!

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tags : Roasted garlic cream sauce macaroni grill