Pasta with Spinach, easy & quick!
This simple pasta with spinach is fast, easy and delicious, perfect for a family weeknight meal.
Equipment
- large skillet
Ingredients
Pasta
- 8 oz pasta penne, rigatoni, spaghetti…
Spinach sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more to serve
- 2-3 cloves garlic finely sliced or minced
- 9 oz baby spinach washed
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt plus more to taste
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more to serve
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg or ⅓ of freshly grated nutmeg, or according to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Cooking Instructions
- Cook your pasta until al dente following the package directions. Before draining, reserve at least ½ 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 ⅓ 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 nutmeg 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 with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy.
Notes
I find that ¼ teaspoon 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 keep well for a couple of days in the fridge, add a tiny splash of water to loosen up the sauce if needed and reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 544kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 19gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 567mgPotassium: 709mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 8527IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 259mgIron: 4mg
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