Spinach Pasta

Simple and quick, this spinach pasta is the definition of homemade comfort food for busy weeknights.

This spinach pasta dish is the ultimate weeknight dinner as it can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes. It’s that meal you need when you come home to an empty fridge after a long day of being at work and wish to have food on the table as quickly as possible. (Oh haven’t we all been there a bunch of times. ;)) Made with simple ingredients, this pasta dish is a flavorful meal that never fails to impress.

I actually didn’t plan on making this dish for the blog until next month as I have been throwing out a lot of pasta dishes lately, such as this one and this one. I’d apologize, but my love for pasta prevents me from doing so. After all, you can never have too much pasta. I mean seriously, is there anything more satisfying than digging into a bowl of creamy hot pasta? The short answer is no. But even if you aren’t as pasta obsessed as me, I think you’ll still love this dish.

Here’s why. This pasta dish is…

• Homemade comfort food
• Quick and delicious
• Inexpensive and simple
• Can be reheated well

But don’t take my word for it, try it yourself!

This pasta dish is a regular in our household and no matter how many new pasta dishes we try, we always seem to come back to this one. I believe it is vital to have a few quick and easy dinner recipes on hand because when hunger strikes, the gloves come off. Just kidding… well not really. If there is something that I have learned about marriage, it’s to always keep your husband well fed. 😉

Like any great recipe, this dish starts off with sautéing the onions and the garlic until they are soft and slightly browned. You don’t want them too dark; a nice golden brown is what we are going for. This creates a flavorful base for our sauce.

To that we are adding fresh spinach. You can use baby spinach or regular spinach as long as it is fresh. If you cannot get your hands on fresh spinach, you can use frozen as well but the measurements will be different (see recipe note down below).

It may seem like a lot of spinach when starting out but the spinach loses a lot of its volume when wilted.

Once the spinach has wilted down, we are adding the heavy cream. Don’t be tempted to substitute it with milk or something lighter as it won’t taste the same. The richness of the heavy cream is what makes the pasta so creamy.

Then all that’s left to do is cook the pasta while adding the rest of the ingredients to our sauce. A healthy dose of freshly grated nutmeg and black pepper gives the sauce a bit of a kick while the parmigiano helps to bind the sauce.

Don’t be alarmed if the sauce appears thin. Once you add the noodles and give the dish a few minutes to cool down a bit, the pasta soaks up the sauce (and all the great flavors along with it!).

If you give this recipe a try, let me know in the comment section down below. I always love hearing from you! 

Spinach Pasta

Simple and quick, this spinach pasta is the definition of homemade comfort food for busy weeknights.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 300g rotini noodles (10.6oz)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 200g fresh spinach*
• 200ml heavy cream (3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
• 70g parmigiano-reggiano (1 cup), plus more for garnishing

Instructions

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to instructions.
2. In the meantime, finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Add olive oil to a large pan and sauté both for 3 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Add the spinach and cook on medium-high until it has wilted down. (The spinach leaves will try to stick together, but separate them as best as possible.)
4. Add the heavy cream, nutmeg, pepper and salt and stir to combine. Then add in the parmigiano-reggiano, turn the heat to low and simmer until the cheese has melted.
5. Drain and rinse the noodles and add them to the sauce. Combine everything well and let the pasta cool a bit so it soaks up the liquids. 
6. Sprinkle with extra parmigiano-reggiano and serve.

Notes

*If subbing with frozen spinach use 300g (10.6oz)

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.