Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta Recipe | My Favorite Spinach Pasta (2024)

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Katerina

4.72 from 46 votes

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This Garlic Butter Pasta with Spinach recipe is made with fresh spinach and bow tie pasta tossed in a creamy garlic-butter sauce.

Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta Recipe | My Favorite Spinach Pasta (2)

My Favorite Pasta Recipe with Garlic Butter and Spinach

Easy recipe for garlicky and buttery pasta with fresh spinach. A quick and easy meatless main or healthy side dish your family will love!

One of the meals I’ve made for Goce every week for the last several years is this Garlic Butter Pasta. He is my pasta-obsessed husband, and even though he’s mainly low-carb, sometimes a boy’s gotta eat what he wants to eat. ?

I add whatever leafy greens I can find – kale, spinach, chard – and suddenly it looks healthier and a lot more inviting.

What sets this pasta apart from other pasta dinners is that it’s without a heavy sauce, like alfredo. We are only dealing with butter and garlic, plus a pinch of cream cheese and milk.

Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta Recipe | My Favorite Spinach Pasta (3)

I’m tellin’ you, never underestimate the power of a good pasta dish. No… a GREAT pasta dish! This Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta recipe is seriously amazing.

I told you once before that we do pasta thrice a week; Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta, Cheesy Chicken Orzo, Baked Eggplant Penne Pasta… you get the point.

How To Make Pasta with Spinach

This pasta with spinach dish is a once-a-week deal. My other half is obsessed with garlic. Even more obsessed with pasta. The man can live on spaghetti… and chocolate CAKE!

  • Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box. I use Whole Grain or Whole Wheat Bow Tie Pasta and it takes about 12 minutes of boil time to get that al dente cooked pasta.
  • Melt butter in a skillet; add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. (I actually just wait for the pasta to be done, then I drain it and use the same pot to melt the butter and create the sauce. Who needs another pot or skillet to wash, ya know whadda mean? ?)
  • Add mounds of baby spinach and cook until wilted.
  • Stir in cooked pasta; add cream cheese and milk; cook until creamy and hot.
  • Serve!

Clearly, in order to enjoy this, you really need to love garlic. And butter. Cream cheese, too. Did I hear a ‘HELL YEAH!’?! Of course I did!!

Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta Recipe | My Favorite Spinach Pasta (4)

This is a 20-minute meal that’s completely fool-proof and a perfect quick dish for weeknights that will please even picky eaters.And it is the fastest Olive-Garden-Chef’s-Special type of food you’ll ever make!

How To Store Pasta Leftovers

Transfer cooked pasta to an airtight container; add a drizzle of olive oil and stir through. Cover and keep refrigerated for 3 to 5 days.

ENJOY!

Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta

Katerina | Diethood

This Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta recipe is seriously good. Fresh spinach and bow tie pasta tossed in a delicious and creamy garlic-butter sauce.

4.72 from 46 votes

Rate this Recipe!

Servings : 4 serves

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces bow tie pasta
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings, for garnish
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup milk

Instructions

  • Prepare pasta following the directions on the package.

  • Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet or dutch oven.

  • Add garlic and continue to stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

  • Add spinach; season with salt, pepper, and basil, and cook until spinach is wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Depending on the size of your skillet, you might have to cook the spinach down in batches.

  • Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the spinach mixture; add the cream cheese and milk.

  • Mix and stir until everything is well incorporated, and the cream cheese is melted.

  • Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.

  • Top with fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings.

  • Serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 385 kcal | Carbohydrates: 46 g | Protein: 11 g | Fat: 18 g | Saturated Fat: 10 g | Cholesterol: 47 mg | Sodium: 201 mg | Potassium: 483 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 3 g | Vitamin A: 5882 IU | Vitamin C: 17 mg | Calcium: 112 mg | Iron: 3 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easy pasta dinner, easy spinach pasta recipe, spinach and garlic pasta, spinach pasta recipe, vegetarian dinner recipes

Did you make this recipe?Leave a Rating!

Categories:

  • Dinner Recipes
  • Pasta
  • Quick Dinner Ideas
  • Vegetarian
Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta Recipe | My Favorite Spinach Pasta (2024)

FAQs

Do you cook spinach before putting it in pasta? ›

Plunge the spinach into the water, and cook until it wilts, less than a minute. Drain quickly, allowing some water to cling to the pasta, and toss pasta and spinach in the bowl with the garlic and olive mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Can you taste the spinach in spinach pasta? ›

Remember that. The latter pasta smells really strong (sniff the box next time) and the taste is questionable (does it even pass for spinach?). Fresh spinach pasta is so light and subtle, you'd hardly know it was spinach pasta at all. On that note, please do not drown this pasta in sauce.

Is spinach pasta healthy? ›

The amount of freeze-dried spinach that is added to the noodles is enough to make it green, but that's about it. There isn't enough to provide any nutritional benefits compared to regular pasta. Your decision to eat refined, whole wheat, green, red, long, short or bow-tie noodles won't have much of an effect anyway.

What can I add to pasta to make it more interesting? ›

  1. Breadcrumbs can transform plain macaroni and cheese into a tasty pasta bake. Baked mac and cheese with breadcrumbs. ...
  2. Olives add a Mediterranean flair to an otherwise simple pasta dish. Pasta with olives. ...
  3. If you have lemons hanging around your kitchen, they can instantly add zest and acidity to simple pasta dishes.
Sep 26, 2023

How do you keep spinach from clumping in pasta? ›

As Neil and Jonas have pointed out, slicing the leaves will more evenly disburse the spinach evenly throughout the pasta (when tossed), leaving less to stick together. I also like to saute the sliced spinach with other goodies like thinly-sliced portabello mushrooms, red onions, red (or green) bell peppers.

Does spinach and baby spinach taste the same? ›

Baby spinach is harvested only 15-35 days after planting. The smaller leaves are more tender and have a sweeter flavor than those of mature spinach. The stems are also more tender, making them ideal for salads. The nutrition values of baby spinach and mature spinach are basically the same.

Is canned spinach precooked? ›

Store-bought canned spinach is fully cooked. To cook, simply place the spinach, along with the liquid from the can, into a saucepan and cook until heated through. Drain and serve.

How do you get rid of the weird taste in spinach? ›

Test #2- Lemon Juice

I'm not a huge fan of lemon, so I was a little hesitant to try this method. But, according to Jim Correll, a professor of plant pathology at the University of Arkansas, the ascorbic acid found in lemon juice can help dissolve the oxalic acids in spinach.

What is the best pasta to eat for weight loss? ›

In fact, whole wheat or whole grain pasta is the best option for weight loss as whole wheat pasta takes longer to digest than pasta made from refined flour. Slower digestion means blood sugar will rise slowly after consumption, preventing your body from storing excess fat.

Can diabetics eat spinach pasta? ›

Diabetics can eat any kind of pasta; however, it is important for people with diabetes to consider the amount and type of carbohydrates found in their pasta to maintain control of their blood sugar.

What is the healthiest pasta to eat? ›

6 Healthy Noodles You Should Be Eating, According to a Dietitian
  • Whole-Wheat Pasta.
  • Chickpea Pasta.
  • Veggie Noodles.
  • Red Lentil Pasta.
  • Soba Noodles.
  • White Pasta.
Jul 13, 2023

What not to do when making pasta? ›

8 Pasta Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Meal
  1. Using a pot that's too small.
  2. Not salting the cooking water properly.
  3. Adding oil to the cooking water.
  4. Breaking the noodles.
  5. Not checking the pasta often enough.
  6. Not saving any pasta water.
  7. Rinsing the pasta.
  8. Not considering the combination of pasta shape and sauce.
Jan 26, 2023

What to put on pasta when you have no sauce? ›

Cheese is an excellent way to add flavor to your pasta without having to rely on sauce. Try mixing your angel hair pasta with goat cheese, and toss in sun-dried tomatoes to make an amazing meal with just a few ingredients. Garlic butter is a terrific way to season all types of noodles.

Does spinach have to be cooked? ›

The researchers concluded that the best way to get the most lutein from spinach is to not cook it. While eating raw spinach is good, it's better to chop it in a blender — for instance, by making a smoothie — or in a juicer, as this releases more lutein from the leaves, according to the researchers.

Should you boil spinach before blending? ›

Highlights. Spinach is a green leafy vegetable that we all know to be really healthy, due to the presence of high levels of antioxidants in it. However, the best way to eat spinach is not after blanching or boiling it, but rather adding it to your smoothies or juicing it, says a new study.

Do you need to boil spinach? ›

Thankfully, there are ways to eat the veggie without giving up taste or nutrition. Instead of boiling spinach, Jessica Cording, R.D., suggests steaming or microwaving it so you get more nutritional value in every bite. She likes to keep baby spinach on-hand to add into smoothies, soups, or omelets.

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