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This simple pasta with spinach sauce is fast, easy and delicious. It’s ready in less than 15 minutes and makes a weeknight meal the whole family will love.
This is one of those easy pasta dishes or one-pot pasta recipes perfect when you just need to get dinner on the table in no time. And if you loved my cream cheese pasta or white bean pasta, you’re sure to love this quick spinach sauce packed with nutrient-dense leafy greens.
It’s a winner because while the pasta is cooking, you just need to saute’ the fresh spinach in olive oil and plenty of fragrant garlic. And if the amount of spinach looks overwhelming, I assure you it will quickly wilt in matter of minutes.
Then add cream cheese, parmesan and a generous grating of nutmeg, which works so well with both spinach sauce and parmesan. The result is savory, creamy, with hints of nutmeg, and delicious bright spinach. Toss pasta with the sauce, serve with grated parmesan cheese, black pepper… and DEVOUR!
Watch how to make it
What ingredients you need
The ingredients you need for this pasta with spinach sauce are:
- Pasta
- Baby spinach
- Cream cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Nutmeg (ground or freshly grated)
- Salt & pepper
How to make it
(Note: full recipe and ingredients are at the bottom of the page)
- Cook pasta until al dente
- Saute’ the garlic in olive oil until fragrant
- Add baby spinach, season with salt, and toss until wilted
- Add cream cheese and pasta cooking water to the skillet
- Stir in parmesan and grated nutmeg
- Toss pasta with sauce until combined, and serve!
Recipe notes & tips
1. How to wilt spinach
Start heating olive oil and fresh garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. A large skillet works well since the wide surface area helps expose as much of the spinach to heat as possible, allowing it to wilt evenly.
When the garlic is fragrant, add spinach. The volume looks huge at first, but it will wilt quickly becoming more manegeable. Add the spinach a handful at a time, season with salt and stir until wilted. The whole thing takes minutes.
2. Cheese
I haven’t added tons of cheese or heavy cream to this spinach pasta. I used both pasta cooking water and cream cheese more to create the sauce, rather than making a really cheesy pasta or pasta that swims in cream.
But please, don’t skip the essential touch of freshly grated parmesan cheese, it makes the difference.
3. Pasta with spinach sauce variations
This is such a versatile pasta recipe, you can add more vegetables or protein of your choice, here are a few ideas that work perfectly with this spinach sauce:
- Vegetables: raw cherry tomatoes, cooked peas and grilled vegetables.
- Meat: grilled chicken breast, bacon or sausages. Another delicious add-on is shredded ham or Parma ham; you don’t need to cook it separately, but you can throw it in the sauce while you stir in pasta.
- Fish: grilled or steamed salmon or cooked prawns, you can skip the nutmeg in this case.
Looking for more spinach recipes?
I’m a big fan of spinach, they’re so versatile, convenient and full of nutrients:
- Lemon ricotta pasta with spinach
- Creamy spinach soup (vegan)
- Baked frittata with spinach
- Spinach pizza with feta
If you make this quick pasta with spinach sauce, leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram.
I would love to hear from you!
Pasta with Spinach Sauce
Ingredients
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 your pasta until al dente following the package directions. Before draining, reserve at least 1/2 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 1/3 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 nutmet 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 ¼with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy.
Marta
I added thin sliced onions and slightly browned them before I added the garlic an continued the recipe and as my husband is not too fond of nutmeg I added Italian herbs instead. It was a winner!!! My family loved it, and it was light. I will try it with gnocchi next, because I think that will be a marriage made in heaven!! Thank you for sharing… it made dinner tonight very easy..
Katia
I’m so happy to hear it was a winner… and gnocchi next time sound delicious! Thanks a million to share your lovely feedback, Marta.
Have a nice weekend. x
Hania
Does this work with frozen spinach? Thank you!
Katia
Hi! Although fresh spinach is best, frozen spinach is ok too. You can’t use it straight from the freezer though, but you need to thaw and squeeze it first.
Cheers x
K
Really delicious and easy lunch!!
Katia
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! I’m so please it turned out delicious. x
Kai
I’m a 21 yr old living on my own for the first time. This is the first thing I’ve ever cooked on the stove (other than Kraft mac n cheese lol). It was so quick, simple, and it tasted amazing! Even the presentation was cute — I can’t wait to show this dish off when my parents come over for dinner. (: The spinach quantity is definitely overwhelming at first but it’s impressive how quickly it shrinks. This recipe will definitely be a staple !!
Katia
Hi Kai, I’m SO happy to hear that and can’t wait for you to cook for your parents! : )
Thanks for sharing your lovely feedback. Cheers x
Sandee Harkins
Can you substitute heavy cream for the cream cheese?
Katia
Hi Sandee! I think I’ve already replied to your question on IG 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the recipe! Cheers x
Kayal
So delicious we added some cheddar cheese to it and it was fabulous
Katia
Hi Kayal! I’m so glad to hear that, many thanks for your lovely comment!
Cheers x
Ali
This recipe is so good! It is quick and easy and if you like mushrooms I highly suggest you add them! thanks for sharing!!!
Katia
Thanks for taking the time to share your lovely feedback, Ali! I’m so glad you loved the recipe, mushrooms and spinach sound SO good.
Cheers x
noa
Made this yesterday but with rocket instead of spinach and with mushrooms. Tasted average. Maybe would have tasted better with spinach instead and no mushrooms. Either way, thank you : D
Katia
Hi Noa! Thanks for sharing your feedback, but rocket and mushrooms together don’t work that well in this recipe, next time go for spinach, it will taste much better ;-).
Cheers, K.
Emilie
Really enjoyed this. It was quick and easy – and delicious! I had pasta and greens (spinach and kale) on hand, and searched for a recipe. Yours came up and I had the rest of the ingredients as well, so that was dinner!
Katia
I’m so pleased to hear that, Emilie! Thanks so much for your lovely comment.
Cheers, Katia
katie
I love this recipe so much! I ate it all myself so i would recommend doubling the recipe if you have more people. But this is so delicious i will definitely make it again for my family!
Katia
I’m so pleased to hear that, Katie! Thanks for your lovely feedback. Cheers x
Elizabeth
The flavor is fantastic! I found that the pasta water mixed in wasn’t enough to moisten the pasta enough for my taste. When I reheated it the next day I added a little bit of milk and it did the trick! I think when I make it again (and I will be making it again) I will use 1/2 cup of heavy cream in place of the pasta water to really add that creamy texture I like! Other than that, no complaints from me! Simple, easy to follow recipe that is delicious!
Katia
I’m so glad to hear that, Elizabeth! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback with us. Cheers x
Alejandra
Super delicious and quick! I’m in college and this is a really good quick recipe for a filling yummy meal. I took the liberty to add sliced mushrooms along with the spinach and I recommend it.
Katia
Mushrooms sound delicious, Alejandra! I’m so pleased, thanks for sharing your lovely feedback. x
Veronica Martinez
Easy and DELICIOUS ~ So glad I found this recipe
Katia
Thanks for your lovely feedback, Veronica! 💛 I’m so pleased you love this recipe. xx
Pilar Lopez
I followed recipe to the dot. It was creamy and delicious and super easy to make. it’s definitely going to the recipe box
Katia
I’m so pleased, Pilar! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your feedback 💛
Kristen Grant
Very good! Extremely filling,, watch portion size.. I feel it would b great with a bit of pancetta crisped up in the pan before the garlic or some bacon crumbled on top, for us meat eaters anyway but certainly.to add to the flavor profile.
Katia
Thanks for sharing your lovely feedback, Kristen! 😊 I’ve mentioned the addition of bacon as a variation, but crisp pancetta sounds great if you eat meat. x