What to cook with penne? Here are 12 of my favourite penne pasta recipes perfect for speedy family dinners and delicious meatless meals. Thiscreamy spinach tomato pasta makes a wonderful pasta dish that is full of flavor, a breeze to make andtastes so luxurious.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Total Time15 minutesmins
Course: pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: creamy spinach tomato pasta
Servings: 4
Calories: 415kcal
Author: Katia
Ingredients
Pasta
8oz(225 grams)Penne (or your fav pasta shapes)
Creamy spinach tomato sauce
1tablespoonextra virgin olive oil (olive oil or butter are fine)
2garlic cloves, minced
¼teaspoonchili flakes (optional)
14 oz(400 grams)tomato passata (or puree or canned crushed tomatoes.
¼ heapedteaspoonfine salt
⅛teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
½teaspoondried basil (or 1 Tbsp of chopped fresh basil)
½ cup(100 grams)full-fat soft cream cheese
½ cup(50 grams)grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup(60 ml)pasta cooking water
5 oz(150 grams)fresh spinach, washed
Instructions
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted until al dente (follow the package directions). A couple minutes before draining, scoop out approx ½ cup of pasta cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and when it starts shimmering, add garlic, chili flakes, and sauté for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Add in the tomato passata, salt, pepper, stir and let the sauce cook for about 5 minutes (it should be gentle bubbling, so you may need to turn down the heat).
Stir in the cream cheese, parmesan, dried basil and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir until well combined and emulsified.
Add the spinach, a handful at a time, and stir and cook for about 2 minutes or until wilted. Taste the tomato spinach sauce and adjust the seasoning to your liking (I add only ¼ tsp of salt because aged parmesan is quite salty, but you might want to add more salt or freshly ground pepper).
Drain the pasta, add it to the skillet, toss to coat (it takes about 10 seconds).
Turn the heat off and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Storage: you can store this creamy spinach tomato pasta leftovers in airtight container in the fridge for up 3 days. Reheat it before adding to cooked pasta, and toss well until combined.
Nutrition facts: the nutrition values are for one serving and they are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. Please see my disclosure policies.