Last updated on May 16th, 2024
Are you looking to bring your next weeknight meal from ‘blah’ to ‘wow?’ You can, with just one simple ingredient!
After over a decade living in Italy, I’ve picked up tips and tricks from my Italian mother-in-law, sister-in-law and extended Italian family. Of all of the expert advice I’ve received, my favorite trick is also my most used and easiest to implement!
So what is it? Mascarpone cheese! Just a spoonful of this creamy, smooth, everyday Italian cheese takes any Italian pasta, rice or soup to the next level, making even the most simple dishes stand out.
This is my favorite trick for getting my kids to eat their vegetable soup, to making a seemingly boring pasta al pomodoro silky and rich, and to turning any recipe into dinner-party-ready without any extra effort.
Jump to Section
What Is Mascarpone Cheese?
Mascarpone cheese is a soft, thick cow’s milk cheese from Lombardy made with more cream than milk, making it almost sweet and very creamy.
The Secret Ingredient To Making Amazing Pasta Sauce
Mascarpone cheese is what I add to any pasta sauce to take it up a notch and really make it shine (literally and figuratively). What I like about it more than cream is how thick it is. Cream tends to thin out pasta sauces too much but mascarpone never does.
When I make pasta, I like to control exactly how thick or thin the sauce is, which I can do by setting aside 1 cup of starchy pasta water from cooking the pasta. I slowly add it into the pasta sauce until I get the right consistency.
Adding a spoonful of mascarpone cheese will add a creamy element, depth of flavor and also shine without thinning out the sauce too much or keeping the sauce from sticking to the pasta. Rather, it helps the sauce actually adhere to the sauce.
Cooking Pasta: Trouble with your pasta cooking skills? Get expert advice in How To Cook Pasta Like an Italian – Step-by-Step and What Does ‘al Dente’ Mean? Plus the Trick to Make Perfect Pasta Every Time!
How To Add Mascarpone Cheese To Pasta Sauce
The rule for adding mascarpone cheese to any pasta sauce is easy:
Add 1 spoonful (or more) of mascarpone cheese directly to the hot pasta with the pasta sauce and mix well. Add a bit of starchy pasta water if need be to thin out the sauce.
It’s better not to add the mascarpone cheese directly over heat as it can curdle. Rather, do it off the heat.
My Favorite Pasta Sauces To Dress Up With Mascarpone Cheese
You can really add a tablespoon of mascarpone cheese (or more) to any pasta sauce but here are my Italian families favorite sauces to combine with it:
- mascarpone and tomato sauce
- ragù (meat sauce) with mascarpone
- with parmesan, butter and lemon
- with sausage and mushrooms
- with spring peas and asparagus
- primavera sauce
- boscaiola sauce
Other Ways To Use Mascarpone Cheese
Mascarpone cheese is a popular cheese to use for desserts in Italy because of how creamy it is. It’s best for tiramisù and to make into a cream for serving with cake, cookies and panettone but it can also be added to any other savory dish.
Here are my favorite ways to use mascarpone:
- risotto – stir it in at the end with parmesan cheese and butter for an extra creamy finish
- vellutata – a pureed vegetable soup. Use just a spoonful at the end, just before serving
- lasagne – add into the sauce and layer in with mozzarella and bechamel sauce
- sauteed chicken – add a bit right before serving to dishes like chicken marsala, chicken piccata or any other pan seared chicken dish.
- mashed potatoes – use similar to sour cream to doctor up any potato dish
- on baked goods such as scones, muffins or on toast with jam for a sweet treat
- mascarpone cream – a topping for cakes and used to make Italian desserts
