Healthy eating in the new year is always a good thing—but it doesn’t have to be everything. It’s important to still allow yourself to indulge in your favorites. Otherwise, you’re starting off the year living miserably (because honestly, who is happy with salads every day of the week) and not treating yourself; that’s the perfect way to ruin your diet. I splurge on pasta. While mac & cheese will always be the true way to my heart, any type of cream sauce—pretty much anything involving some heavy cream and butter—is the next best thing.

I thought about making some classic fettuccine Alfredo but decided to use my cheat day as a good opportunity to create a new recipe. If you haven’t noticed, this blog is a huge fan of cheat days. I saw something similar to this on a menu when I was out recently, and thought, “How hard can it be?” The answer: not hard at all. This cream sauce is super straightforward and uses ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry. Fun fact: I still live with my parents, and I didn’t have to buy a single ingredient for this recipe (thanks, Mom).

Makes 4 servings of pasta
Ingredients
8 ounces fettuccine
4  tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup white onion
8 ounces roasted red peppers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon flour
salt to taste
1/4 cup bacon crumbles (optional)

Directions
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium pan. Add garlic and onions, and cook on medium-low heat for about 3 minutes. Add roasted red peppers and cream cheese, and cook another three minutes, stirring frequently to melt the cream cheese. (Process peppers in a food processor for a few seconds if you don’t want the chunks in your sauce.) Add heavy cream, then flour and combine. Add salt to taste. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If sauce is too thick, add more cream or a splash of milk. Add sauce to drained pasta, and serve immediately. Top with bacon crumbles if desired.