Pasta with Spinach Sauce

This simple pasta with spinach sauce is fast, easy and delicious. It’s ready in less than 15 minutes and makes a weeknight meal the whole family will love. This is one of those easy pasta dishes or one-pot pasta recipes perfect when you just need to get dinner on the table in no time. And if you loved my cream cheese pasta or white bean pasta, you’re sure to love this quick spinach sauce packed with nutrient-dense leafy greens.

Pasta with Spinach Sauce

This simple pasta with spinach is fast, easy and delicious. It's ready in less than 15 minutes and makes a weeknight meal the whole family will love: creamy, packed with spinach, and convenient. Recipe yields 4 medium-sized servings.

Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 15 mins

Course: pasta Cuisine: Italian Servings: 4 Calories: 544kcal

Ingredients

Pasta

8oz (225 grams) pasta (penne, rigatoni, spaghetti...)

Spinach sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
2-3 garlic cloves, finely sliced or minced
9oz (250 grams) baby spinach, washed
¼ tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
5oz (140 grams) cream cheese
1oz (30 grams) freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
¼ tsp ground nutmeg, or ⅓ of freshly grated nutmeg, or according to taste
black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook your pasta until al dente following the package directions. Before draining, reserve at least 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add garlic and cook for about 1 or 2 minutes until fragrant (make sure you don't burn it).
Add part of the spinach and season with salt. Stir until wilted adding handful of spinach at a time.
When the spinach are wilted but still bright green, stir in cream cheese and 1/3 cup of pasta cooking water (don't add all the reserved water straight away, but save the rest in case you need to loosen the sauce when you add pasta to the skillet).
Then add grated parmesan cheese and nutmet to the sauce and give a good stir. The sauce will be ready in a couple of minutes.
Drain pasta, add to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve immediately ¼with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Notes

SEASONING: I find that 1/4 tsp of salt is fine for the sauce. Both cooking pasta water and parmesan cheese contain salt, so you're not supposed to add any salt to the spinach sauce. However, before adding pasta, taste and make sure you're happy with the seasoning.

LEFTOVERS: it keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge, stored in an air-tight container. Add a tiny splash of water to loosen up the sauce if needed and reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.

NOTE: nutritional values are estimates only.

Nutrition

Pasta with Spinach Sauce