Description
A simple, creamy, and comforting pasta dish with fresh spinach, perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8oz (225 grams) pasta (penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, etc.)
- 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 handfuls of spinach at a time.
- When the spinach is wilted but still bright green, stir in the cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water (hold onto the rest in case you need to loosen the sauce).
- Add the grated parmesan cheese and nutmeg to the sauce and give a good stir. The sauce will be ready in just a couple of minutes.
- Drain the pasta, add it 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
Prep the spinach sauce in advance for a quick meal. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 350mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 40mg