Want to eat your greens and love it? Try this creamy spinach pasta recipe, starring chewy al dente pasta and an irresistible Parmesan garlic cream sauce! The way the creamy sauce and garlic accentuate the leafy greens makes it one of our top vegetarian pasta recipes to date. Cozy up to a bowl and it’s positively life-giving. You’ll never love spinach more!
Ingredients in this spinach pasta recipe
There’s not much that doesn’t taste amazing cooked with butter, garlic, Parmesan and cream. And this spinach pasta recipe is no exception! It’s hard to make a vegetarian pasta taste good, but this one passes with flying colors: and it’s simple! Even better, leftovers even stay flavorful in the fridge (which is my personal test for a good pasta recipe). Here’s what you’ll need for this spinach pasta:
Pasta of any shapeButterGarlicOreganoMilkHeavy creamGrated Parmesan cheeseAll-purpose flourFresh spinachKosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Cook the pasta to al dente
The most important thing to remember when making any pasta is to cook your pasta to al dente! Al dente means “to the bite” in Italian, or when it’s tender with a small white speck inside when you bite into a piece. There’s nothing worse than soft, rubbery pasta. Here are a few tips for the perfect al dente pasta:
Boil the pasta a few minutes less than indicated on the package instructions. Often package instructions make for overcooked pasta.Start taste testing early. Start taste testing and stop cooking when the pasta is just tender but you can still see a small white speck inside.
Tips for making spinach pasta
This spinach pasta recipe is so simple and straightforward, there aren’t many tips and tricks to call out. Besides cooking your pasta to al dente, here are a few things to note:
Reserve some pasta water. It’s not required, so don’t worry if you forget it! But you can add a splash to loosen the sauce at the end of cooking. You’ll add thickener after simmering the sauce. This is not a standard white sauce that starts with a roux, a mixture of flour and butter that thickens cheese sauces. But it does contain flour as a thickener: you’ll add it at the end of simmering here.
A note on serving size
The spinach pasta recipe below makes enough for 8 ounces of pasta, which is technically 4 servings. However, we find that if you eat this pasta as a main dish, it makes more like 3 servings. Feel free to double the recipe if desired: click the 2X recipe button below!
Leftovers and storage info
Spinach pasta tastes the best the day it is made. However, we were surprised to find that the flavor of this pasta tastes great as leftovers! Store leftovers for up to 3 days refrigerated. You can reheat them in a skillet on the stove, adding a splash of milk to keep the sauce creamy. Or you can simply eat them cold (they’re still good!).
More spinach recipes
Got lots of spinach? Here are a few recipes you might enjoy:
Try classic Spinach Artichoke DipGo for a Perfect Spinach Salad Try soups like Spinach Soup, Spinach Tortellini Soup or Tofu Soup with SpinachGrab Crustless Quiche with Spinach or mix up a pot of Spinach Rice with FetaTry Easy Spinach Quiche or Ultimate Spinach PizzaBlend up a Best Spinach Smoothie
This spinach pasta recipe is…
Vegetarian. 5 from 1 review
title: “Creamy Spinach Pasta” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-28” author: “James Vermillion”
We’re in the middle of autumn right now. It’s the time of the year when comfort foods enter the menu after a long break. I love pasta as much as I love soups and stews. I just can’t think of anyone who doesn’t like pasta slathered in creamy sauce, especially on a cold, rainy day. The creamy sauce is rich, made of fresh cream, Italian herbs, and a sprinkle of stock cube. If you prefer a lightened up version of this sauce, feel free to use low fat cream. And for the pasta, choose the one you like. Trust me, it’s going to be a winner!
More Pasta Recipes
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Yield: 2 Creamy Spinach Pasta Print A bowl of creamy penne loaded with spinach. Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Total Time 25 minutes Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 cups roughly chopped spinach 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves 1 cup fresh thickened (heavy) cream 1 vegetable stock cube 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning 2 ½ cups, pasta ( I used penne) Salt and ground black pepper, to season Grated cheese, to garnish Instructions Cook pasta according to the packet directions. Drain. Set aside.Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, cook, stirring for few seconds or until aromatic. Add spinach, and sauté for few seconds. Add tomatoes, and mix well. Add fresh cream and crushed vegetable stock cube. Bring to the boil. Simmer for a minute. Add Italian seasoning, and mix well. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the cooked pasta. Simmer for another 2-3 mins. Remove from heat.Divide pasta among serving bowls. Top with grated cheese. Notes If you are not a strict vegetarian, substitute vegetarian stock cube with chicken stock cube for extra flavour. Nutrition Information Yield 2 Serving Size 1 Amount Per Serving Calories 430Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 14mgSodium 240mgCarbohydrates 61gFiber 8gSugar 4gProtein 19g © Nish Kitchen Cuisine: Italian / Category: Pasta Recipes Like this creamy spinach pasta recipe? Then join Nish Kitchen on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Watch exclusive recipe videos on YouTube.
