Do you have a favorite chip flavor? When I was a kid my absolute favorite was sour cream and onion. Weird, I know. Everyone else around me was obsessed with barbecue or Doritos but for me it was sour cream and onion all the way. Funny thing is, I haven’t had a sour cream and onion chip in a while. That is, until Mike and I were watching this YouTube show that we love. They did a giant snack bracket competition and the winning snack was sour cream and onion chips!
We had a little conversation about it and somehow Mike came up with the awesome idea of sour cream and onion pasta. What’s funny is that Mike doesn’t even like sour cream and onion. He’s never bought a bag and the most he’s ever had is a chip or two. He’s definitely missing out because sour cream and onion is a perfect combination. After trying this pasta he’s a convert!
What is sour cream and onion pasta?
Essentially I took all the flavors of sour cream and onion chips and put it into a pasta sauce. Sour cream and onion flavor is literally sour cream and onions so I basically made a bechamel (white sauce) with sour cream and chives stirred in. I had a little mental debate on whether the “onion” in sour cream and onion were onions, green onions, or chives and ultimately I went with chives because they have a more pronounced onion-y flavor. We tested this pasta with green onions too and it tastes just as good but I love the way chives look because they look like baby green onions.
How to make sour cream and onion pasta
1. Cook your pasta. Cook your favorite pasta shape according to the package in boiling salted water.
2. Make a roux. While your pasta is cooking, make the sour cream and onion sauce by melting some butter in a pan. When the butter is melted, stir in some flour to create a roux (see tips below).
3. Add milk. When the roux is cooked, stir in the milk and let the sauce thicken.
4. Add the sour cream. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the sour cream.
5. Add the onions. By now your pasta should be done, so drain it and add it to the sauce. Stir in the chives, salt, and pepper, and enjoy!
How to Make a Roux
The key to a really smooth creamy white sauce (béchamel) is making sure that the roux is well mixed and cooked. When you are adding the flour to the just melted butter, sprinkle it on evenly, instead of just dumping it in a clump in the middle of the pan. Sprinkling the flour ensures that all of the flour kernels are coated with butter which helps them emulsify into the sauce smoothly. When the roux is cooked – it will turn a very slight creamy color, be texture of white sand, and smell a little nutty – it will take about 2 minutes. Using a whisk, it really helps move everything around. A well cooked roux will turn into a beautiful creamy white sauce perfect for pairing with pasta.
What to serve with sour cream and onion pasta
To be honest we just ate this as is, as a bowl of creamy comforting carbs. But, if you like, you can serve it with:
– garlic parmesan knots
– focaccia
– everything bagel rolls
– dijon mustard chicken
– garlicky mushrooms
– crunchy oven baked pork cutlets
– grilled romaine salad
– coleslaw
I hope you give this sour cream and onion pasta a try. I LOVED it. It was so creamy and had the exact flavor of sour cream and onion chips. Next we’re gonna try barbecue chips pasta maybe?!?
sour cream and onion chips forever,
xoxo steph
Ingredients
- 5 oz pasta
- 1.5 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup fresh chives sliced
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions in a large pot of salted water until al dente.
- Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a frying pan over low heat. When melted, sprinkle on the flour and stir in, cooking over medium low for 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly stream in the milk while whisking. Whisk until smooth, turning up the heat to medium so that the sauce starts to bubble and thicken.
- When thick, turn off the heat and whisk in the sour cream until smooth.
- When the pasta is done, scoop it out using a slotted spoon into the sauce. Toss to coat until everything is well sauced and glossy. If needed, thin out the sauce slightly with some of the pasta water. Add the chives and mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy hot!
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-Steph & Mike
Hey guys,
Love this play on sour cream and onion chips but in pasta! Fun and original content :)
I’m a huge fan of your blog and really love the stuff you guys make.
Keep on going!
Sincerely,
A Canadian Chef in The Netherlands
Haven’t tried yet but thinking about it.
I wonder, though, what your thoughts are on making a roux or any milk-based sauce with Lactaid or another lactose-free milk. I tend to find they never quite thicken up – and some recipes don’t work at all with them. Any tips or tricks?
It’s hard to justify buying “normal” milk for one or two recipes when both of us in the house can’t drink it.
hi cody,
i did a quick google and it looks like people successfully use milk based sauces with lactose-free milk – i haven’t experimented much with lactaid but i suspect that if you up the ratio of the flour to butter it might help thicken it up. what did the other sauces that didn’t thicken up look like? did they thicken at all or did the milk not whisk in?
It tends to stay thin. It makes me think about dough with/without gluten and how temperamental it can be if you overwork or underwork or don’t have the right amounts of gluten/yeast/etc.
I may try again, but play with the ratio like you suggested as well as the heat.
I have found that fairlife, another lactose free milk brand has worked better for me. I find that other lactaid tends to go sweet in my sauces but generally does thicken up. Fairlife doesn’t have this issue, which works when I am making something for family that can’t have lactose.
there wasn’t any addition of onion in the recipe part
do we add sautéed onions?
do we add sautéed onions?
hi parth,
there are no sautéed onions in this recipe, but that sounds like a great addition. since it’s a take on sour cream and onion chips, the “onions” are actually chives :)
I made mine with garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. I added chicken and broccoli in there as well as raw green onion. It was really good!
Is this recipe suitable for freezing ?
unfortunately the sauce won’t hold well frozen!
Delicious recipe! I used non dairy milk and non dairy sour cream and it came out great!
Thank you for this comment. I’m looking to make it for my vegan girlfriend and was wondering about how it’d come out.
Appreciate this comment! Was hoping to find someone who made it with non-dairy. Will be making tonight for dinner!
Just cooked it. It is delicious and easy recipe. Thank you
I loved this simple recipe. I made a few changes to ratios, and added some extra veg and chicken to make this a nice complete meal. We have kids with severe lactose intolerance so we are able to make a nice creamy pasta dish with lactose free products with this receipe! :) thanks!
Simple and delicious. I used spinach also.
Great noodle base. Followed exactly, except i omitted the salt and used unsalted butter. Added onion powder, black pepper,shredded chicken breast and mixed veggies. Very good.
Super easy to make. I added broccoli and carrots.
I just made this tonight. I don’t use or buy regular milk so I made it with oat milk and Greek yogurt. I added grilled chicken and sautéed onions. Served with grilled asparagus it was a great hot summer night meal.
What about adding parmesan before serving?
you definitely can add some into the sauce after it’s thickened!
This is pretty good! For more protein, I fried chicken in cajun seasoning. Goes well with this sauce.
Gonna try this, it looks delicious and I also love sour cream and onion chips. Would ready made bechamel work? Or is it better to be made?
i haven’t tried with ready made béchamel, i would just make the recipe as is :)
Love this! I made it for dinner a few nights ago and making it again this week! I used almond milk and green onions. I also added some garlic powder into it. We used pasta we had on hand which was spaghetti, will be using penne this week to see how it is. Spaghetti wasn’t a bad pasta to use. I used may be 3/4 cup of water as well but I used way more than 5oz of pasta, but it did not lose flavor or dim it down at all!
This will become a staple, honestly tastes better leftover and reheated. I think the green onions really permeated the sauce the more it sat and soften up. A few days afterwards was the best! I always wonder what to do with barely used sour cream and it goes to waste half the time.
I just came home from a trip and found myself with no veg in the fridge except some Italian torpedo onions which have gorgeous green stems albeit a bit tough, so I sliced them and boiled them along with the pasta to soften them, and then made this recipe with some additional seasonings in the sauce (Worcestershire sauce, MSG, garlic and onion powder, drop of mustard), and it was so moreish! Will def be a regular when I’m down to pantry staples in the future, and might try it with some chive cream cheese mixed in as well!