Easy Spinach Tomato Pasta
In my opinion, this is one of the best pasta dinners ever.
This easy spinach tomato pasta is the kind of meal that makes sense on busy weeknights. Fresh tomatoes and wilted spinach go well with perfectly cooked pasta to make a dish that is both light and comforting.
Garlic and olive oil are mixed in, and then parmesan cheese is sprinkled on top. The cheese melts right into the warm noodles. A few fresh basil leaves give it that extra touch that makes it feel special.
This recipe is easy to follow and works well for both family dinners and casual get-togethers with friends.
Why You Will Love This Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes
- One-pot meal: You only have to clean one pot, so you have more time to enjoy your evening.
- The heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes make a sauce that is smooth and rich. It coats every bite of pasta perfectly.
- Quick dinner option: This pasta dish is ready in just 35 to 45 minutes, making it a great choice for busy weeknights when you want to make something from scratch but don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.
- Balanced flavors: The sweetness of sun-dried tomatoes, the earthiness of spinach, and the richness of cream all work together to make a pasta that is both tasty and filling.
Time to Get Ready: 10–15 Minutes
Time to Cook: 25–30 Minutes
Time to Complete: 35–45 minutes
How hard it is: Medium
Things that go into it
- 14 ounces of penne pasta
- Four cups of chicken stock
- 1 medium onion, cut up
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Fresh spinach, 4 to 5 ounces
- 1 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
- 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon of oil from sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/3 cup of tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes
- Five cloves of garlic, chopped up
- Fresh basil, 1/4 cup
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
Step 1: Cook the vegetables in a pan.
Put 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato oil in a pot and heat it over medium-high heat.
Add the chopped onion to the oil once it is warm and cook until it is a little brown.
Then, add the minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the pot. Stir them often for 2 to 3 minutes to keep the garlic from burning.
Add the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes, stirring all the time.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
Slowly pour the chicken stock into the pot, stirring it in to deglaze the pan and mix with the tomato paste.
Once everything is well mixed, add the heavy whipping cream and mix well.
Add the black pepper, kosher salt, and red chili flakes, and stir until the seasonings are fully mixed into the sauce.
Third step: Cook the pasta
Put the penne pasta in the pot and stir it into the sauce.
Set the heat to low-medium and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Keep an eye on the pasta to make sure it cooks to about 75% done and has the right texture.
Step 4: Add the vegetables and finish cooking.
Put the fresh spinach and basil in the pot and let the spinach wilt.
If the spinach seems to be soaking up too much liquid, you can add a little more water or chicken stock to make it thicker.
Stir in the freshly shredded parmesan cheese after the spinach has wilted nicely. This will melt the cheese and spread it evenly throughout the dish.
Step 5: Finish and Serve
Mix everything together until it is well combined and creamy after turning off the heat.
Put the creamy tomato spinach pasta in bowls to serve.
You can add grilled chicken on top for a more filling meal if you want.
Enjoy your tasty, creamy pasta!
Nutrition Estimate
Here is the estimated nutrition for the entire recipe (without any optional ingredients):
- Calories: 2100 to 2300
- 85 to 95 grams of protein
- 150–160 g of fat
- 130–140 g of carbs
What Type of Pasta Should I Use?
You can use any medium-sized pasta shape, like rigatoni, fusilli, or farfalle, but penne is a good choice for this creamy dish. Penne, fusilli, or rotini are great short pasta shapes because their ridges and curves help hold onto the rich sauce. If you can’t find penne pasta, regular durum wheat pasta is fine. Just make sure to get the ones with texture or ridges instead of the smooth ones. When you cook your pasta, don’t forget to save a cup of the starchy water before draining it. It can help thin out the sauce if you need it to, and it will make your final dish creamier.
Choices for Replacements
You can change this pasta dish in a lot of ways depending on what you have in your kitchen:
- Any kind of pasta works well here, like rotini or fettuccine. Just remember to change the cooking times according to the package directions.
- For a lighter version, use half-and-half or whole milk with 2 tablespoons of butter instead of heavy whipping cream. Coconut cream is a good dairy-free option, but it will add a hint of coconut flavor.
- Fresh spinach is best, but frozen spinach will work too. Just thaw it and squeeze out any extra water before using. You can also use Swiss chard or kale, but they need to be cooked for a little longer than spinach.
- You can use roasted cherry tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes instead of sun-dried tomatoes. Just make sure to drain them well. Use regular olive oil for the oil.
- If you don’t have parmesan cheese, you can use Romano or Pecorino cheese instead. Nutritional yeast can give you a cheese-like flavor without using dairy.
- If you don’t have any fresh basil, you can use 1 tablespoon of dried basil instead. You could also use fresh oregano or Italian parsley for a different but tasty twist.
Be Careful Not to Make These Cooking Mistakes
- The worst thing you can do when making spinach tomato pasta is to overcook the pasta. Instead of following the package directions, cut the cooking time by 1 to 2 minutes because the pasta will keep cooking in the sauce.
- If you put cold cream straight into a hot pan, it can curdle. To avoid this, let it come to room temperature first and stir it in slowly while the heat is on medium-low.
- You should only add fresh spinach at the very end of cooking, 1 to 2 minutes before serving. If you do it any sooner, the spinach will get mushy and lose its bright color and nutrients.
- Don’t rush the process of sautéing the garlic and onions. Let them cook slowly until the onions are clear and smell good. When you add the chicken stock, make sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. These bits have concentrated flavors that will make your sauce taste even better.
What goes well with spinach tomato pasta?
This filling pasta dish goes great with warm, crusty garlic bread or plain Italian bread to soak up all the sauce. I like to keep the sides simple because the pasta is already full of vegetables. A light Caesar salad or some mixed greens with a lemon vinaigrette would be good. You could add some grilled chicken or shrimp on the side for extra protein if you’re feeding a lot of people. A medium-bodied red wine, like a Chianti or Sangiovese, would go great with this meal.
How to Store
Keep: If you store this pasta dish in an airtight container, it will stay good in the fridge for up to four days. After a day or two, the flavors get even better as everything mixes together! Just remember that the pasta may soak up more of the sauce as it sits.
You can freeze parts of this pasta in containers that are safe for the freezer for up to three months. Keep in mind that cream-based sauces can sometimes separate when frozen and thawed, but they are still safe to eat.
Warm Up: When you’re ready to eat your leftovers, put them on the stove over medium-low heat and stir them every so often. If the sauce is too thick, just add a little cream or chicken stock to bring it back to life. Set the microwave to medium power and stir every 30 seconds to make sure the food heats evenly.