Make Basic Pasta Taste Like A 5-Star Meal For Under $5 By Mixing In This Decadent Cream Cheese

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Pasta lovers who eat sauce-smothered noodles on a regular basis may eventually grow tired of classic recipes like tomato, Alfredo, pesto, and cacio e pepe, as delicious as they are. When you're stumped for pasta inspiration, you should head to the dairy aisle — not to grab milk, cream, or parmesan, but a tub of Philadelphia Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Spread. This creamy and oh-so savory, smoky ingredient can create a luxuriously flavorful pasta dish for under $5 per serving.

At Walmart, Philadelphia's salmon cream cheese is priced at just $3.97 for a 7.5-ounce tub. In our taste test and ranking of Philadelphia cream cheese spreads, it came in an impressive second place thanks to its wonderfully authentic salmon flavor (real smoked salmon is the third ingredient by weight). Combine it with some inexpensive dried pasta and one lemon (and your fave veg, like a little spinach or even frozen peas), and you can create a stunning yet shockingly affordable dish with a taste worthy of a five-star restaurant.

While you could use plain Philadelphia cream cheese plus smoked salmon, using ready-made smoked salmon cream cheese cuts down on costs while still delivering top-notch flavor. Simply cook your pasta of choice, gently heat the cream cheese in a pan, stir in some lemon zest, and toss it with the noodles in the pan. Finish your meal with a squeeze of lemon and an optional drizzle of oil or pesto, and you have a silky, rich, refreshing seafood pasta with all the flavor and zero fuss.

This easy Philadelphia salmon cream cheese pasta is amazing on its own, but also a fantastic canvas for add-ins. Fresh dill is smoked salmon's best friend and can be sprinkled into the sauce or on top of the finished dish. If you love a loaded lox bagel, try stirring a small spoonful of brined capers into the sauce or briefly simmering thinly-sliced red onion in the cream cheese mixture. For a fun, bold twist, you could even use everything bagel seasoning in the sauce.

Like your pasta with a hint of heat à la Arrabbiata? Simmer red pepper flakes in the cheese sauce or drizzle harissa onto the finished noodles. This is one of many unexpected sauces to totally elevate salmon, and its subtle smokiness pairs super well with the smoked salmon cream cheese. To bulk up your dinner, toss in veggies like green beans, asparagus, spinach, or cherry tomatoes. Saute or parboil sturdier veggies like beans and asparagus first, since this short-cooking recipe won't do much to soften them.

You can also add Philadelphia salmon cream cheese to other salmon pasta recipes, either as a replacement for costly smoked salmon or in addition to it. Our easy smoked salmon pasta becomes even simpler with salmon cream cheese swapped in for the fish. Creamy, citrusy salmon pasta would also be brilliant with smoked salmon cream cheese in place of the ricotta and heavy cream, shaving a few dollars off the cost of this luxurious dish while adding extra salmon flavor.