Sour cream and onion is a perfect combination for more than just chips, it works on pasta too.
Sour cream and onion
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 havenโt 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. Whatโs funny is that Mike doesnโt even like sour cream and onion. Heโs never bought a bag and the most heโs ever had is a chip or two. Heโs definitely missing out because sour cream and onion is a perfect combination. After trying this pasta heโs 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 โonionโ 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
- Cook your pasta. Cook your favorite pasta shape according to the package in boiling salted water.
- Make a roux. While your pasta is cooking, make the sour cream and onion sauce by melting some butter in a pan.ย When the butter is melted, stir in some flour to create a roux (see tips below)
- Add milk. When the roux is cooked, stir in the milk and let the sauce thicken.
- Add the sour cream. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the sour cream.
- 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 (bรฉchamel) 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 โ it will turn a very slight creamy color, be texture of white sand, and smell a little nutty โ 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 weโre 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!
Hey guys,
Love this play on sour cream and onion chips but in pasta! Fun and original content :)
Iโm a huge fan of your blog and really love the stuff you guys make.
Keep on going!
Sincerely,
A Canadian Chef in The Netherlands
Ummโฆ.Your sour cream and onion chips are actually a play on this.
Cheers
Havenโt 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 โ and some recipes donโt work at all with them. Any tips or tricks?
Itโs hard to justify buying โnormalโ milk for one or two recipes when both of us in the house canโt drink it.
hi cody,
i did a quick google and it looks like people successfully use milk based sauces with lactose-free milk โ i havenโt 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 didnโt 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 donโt 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 doesnโt have this issue, which works when I am making something for family that canโt have lactose.
there wasnโt any addition of onion in the recipe part
do we add sautรฉed onions?
do we add sautรฉed onions?
hi parth,
there are no sautรฉed onions in this recipe, but that sounds like a great addition. since itโs a take on sour cream and onion chips, the โonionsโ 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 wonโt 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. Iโm looking to make it for my vegan girlfriend and was wondering about how itโd 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.