Creamy pasta with spinach and parmesan
Ah the virtues of a super easy pasta! I can’t get enough of it. In fact my favorite kind of pasta are the ones that use usually just a few simple ingredients. This pasta with spinach is a good example of this.
Pasta with spinach
Making this pasta is pretty straightforward. I know it’s all about Christmas cooking these days around all the blogs worldwide but we also still need to eat regular meals right? As much as I would love to eat fancy dishes all month long, the reality is that I am longing for ‘normal’ these days! Especially since I basically started doing Christmas shoots somewhere in May. Yes, that is the life of a food photographer.
So this spinach is perfect for a quick weekday meal and pretty simple to make. You need a whole lot of fresh spinach to get started. Check below how to make this easy dinner recipe.
What do you need for this dish?
- Fresh spinach
- fresh garlic
- onions
- black pepper
- pine nuts
- olive oil
To make the pasta with spinach you also need a large skillet. Keep in mind that you will need to wilt all the spinach so a big sized skillet is a good idea. Even so I did have to prepare the spinach in batched. You also need a food processor or an immersion blender to puree the spinach mix.
But first you need to start cooking the pasta. I use a large pot of water and season that generously. Make sure you cook the pasta al dente. In the meantime I place the skillet on medium heat with some olive oil. I add the onions and cook them until they are done. Then add the garlic and start wilting the spinach in batches. I used a huge bag of around 400 gram of spinach for the spinach sauce.
I place it all together with the parmesan in the food processor and turn it into a creamy sauce. You can add more parmesan if you like. In fact this sauce recipe will work with other leafy greens as well. Taste the sauce and add some red pepper flakes if you want it spicier or lemon juice if you want it slightly fresher.
Now drain the cooked pasta and reserve some of the cooking water. You might need about a cup of the pasta water if the pasta appears too dry. That is optional but can be good to use
Making the spinach pasta
Now that you have all the elements complete you toss the cooked pasta and the spinach together and your easy recipe is done. You can add some fresh basil to the pasta as well. You can do that afterwards and just sprinkle the basil over the top of the pasta or you can incorporate some of the basil into the sauce.
Optional extra’s
Now this is a super easy weeknight dinner that is also pretty quick to make. It’s vegetarian but if you like you can add some chicken to it. Cooked chicken will be delicious to add. Also , if you want it creamier you can add some cream cheese or heavy cream to the sauce to make it even creamier. The amount of spinach you use here is quite a lot. I made it for two people and the spinach I ended up using was about half so I changed the recipe to be for four people. It’s a delicious dinner that will definitely win you points. Also adding more spinach to your daily menu is always a good idea. We all need more leafy greens!
Can I store the cooked pasta?
Once the pasta and spinach is combined you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge. I did find that the pasta was a bit stiff the next day. So I loosened it by adding some extra cream and/or olive oil. Heating it up will make a big difference too. If you just reheat it in the skillet for 2-3 minutes it should be fine and ready to eat quickly. Microwaving it probably works too. I don’t own a microwave so wouldn’t be able to tell you this for sure though.
Can I make this with another pasta?
Yes you can substitute the linguine I used here for a whole wheat pasta or any other pasta shape. I did find it works well with linguine or spaghetti due to the shape of the pasta. The spinach clings to that quite well. But you can make it with your pasta of choice. Remember it’s a simple pasta so feel free to add additional elements to it. Chicken thighs, lemon zest, feta and more.
The total time for making this meatless pasta dish is around 20 minutes. The cooking of the pasta is usually the longest one on the list so however long your pasta boils is the total time.
Pasta with spinach and parmesan
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 400 gr spinach
- 50 gr parmesan cheese plus extra for serving
- 300 gr pasta linguine or spaghetti
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp pinenuts roasted
- fresh basil
- Place a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta al dente.
- In the meantime heat a large skillet with some olive oil. Bake the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and bake for a few minutes.
- Now add the spinach in batches. Each time the batch has wilted add the next batch until all spinach is cooked.
- Place all the spinach in the food processor and add the grated parmesan cheese and (optional) some basil leaves. Add some cooking liquid of the pasta. Puree the spinach. Taste and add pepper and salt as needed.
- Drain the pasta (keeping the cooking liquid) and place back into the pan. Add the spinach sauce and stir it through. If it is too dry you add some more cooking liquid.
- Serve the pasta hot with the roasted pinenuts, extra parmesan cheese and fresh basil .
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
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This pasta looks delicious and so easy! I need to try it ASAP 🙂