Description
A quick and creamy pasta dish featuring penne or your favorite pasta tossed in a flavorful spinach sauce made with garlic, cream cheese, and Parmesan. This easy recipe balances the vibrant green spinach with a rich nutmeg-infused sauce, perfect for a comforting weeknight meal.
Ingredients
Scale
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 the pasta: 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.
- Heat the oil and garlic: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about 1 or 2 minutes until fragrant, being careful not to burn it.
- Wilt the spinach: Add part of the spinach and season with salt. Stir until wilted, adding handfuls of spinach at a time until all is wilted but still bright green.
- Add cream cheese and pasta water: Stir in the cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Save the rest of the water to adjust sauce consistency later if needed.
- Incorporate Parmesan and nutmeg: Add grated parmesan cheese and nutmeg to the sauce, stirring well. Let the sauce come together over a couple of minutes until creamy.
- Toss pasta with sauce: Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss to combine well, loosening the sauce with more reserved pasta water if necessary.
- Serve: Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and extra grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy your creamy spinach pasta!
Notes
- SEASONING: The spinach sauce uses about ¼ tsp salt, but adjust after adding pasta as the cooking water and parmesan add saltiness. Taste before adding more salt.
- LEFTOVERS: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat on the stove or microwave with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
- NOTE: Nutritional values given are estimates only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (about 1/4 of recipe)
- Calories: 400 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
