This vegetarian Spinach Pasta recipe is an easy, healthy, and delicious pasta covered in a creamy spinach sauce that everyone will love. It is a favorite for kids and adults and an excellent option for gatherings or kids' lunch boxes.
Creamy Spinach Pasta is a quick and delicious dish made with wholesome spinach, heavy cream, and cheese. It's easy to prepare and works well with any pasta like macaroni or penne. Enjoy it on its own, or pair it with your favorite Italian dish.
This recipe is a great way to sneak veggies into a meal—kids won’t even realize they’re eating spinach. If you like this recipe, you may also like my avocado pasta, creamy tomato pasta, white sauce pasta, and masala pasta.
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Ingredients for Creamy Spinach Pasta Recipe
- Pasta: I used farfalle pasta. Feel free to use pasta of your choice, (like regular, whole wheat, or gluten-free). You can use pasta noodles like fettuccini, spaghetti, or linguine. For a low-carb meal, you can use zoodles or spaghetti squash instead.
- Spinach: I used fresh raw spinach to prepare the puree. You can also use frozen spinach (thawed with excess liquid removed). I did not blanch the spinach before pureeing.
- Garlic: use freshly minced garlic for the best flavor. You can also use garlic powder.
- Heavy cream (or whipping cream): I used heavy whipping cream. You may substitute heavy cream, with alfredo sauce, mayonnaise, or cream cheese to make the sauce.
- Cheese: Use mozzarella or any kind of cheese you have in hand. You may also use nutritional yeast for a nutty cheese-like umami flavor.
- Seasonings: dried oregano (or Italian Seasoning), freshly crushed black pepper, and salt.
How to Make Creamy Spinach Pasta
Cooking Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Stir in the salt.
- Then, according to the package instructions, cook 1 cup of Farfalle pasta (about 10-12 minutes), occasionally stirring, until al dente or softer according to the desired texture. I used Farfalle, but you can use your favorite pasta.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain the excess water and keep it aside. Note: Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta. The pasta water contains starches that will help the spinach sauce stick to the pasta and make the sauce extra creamy.
For Spinach Puree
Add 3-4 cups of raw fresh spinach in a high-speed blender (like Vitamix) or food processor, along with ½ cup of water. Blended to make a smooth puree. I didn't blanch spinach in this recipe. But you can also blanch and make a puree.
For Making Spinach Pasta
Then, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil (or butter) in a pan on medium flame. Add 2 garlic cloves (minced) and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.
Next, add 1 cup of prepared spinach puree and sauté it for about 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of the spinach goes away.
Note: If you use balanced spinach puree, you need not cook for long.
Add 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream (or homemade white sauce), seasonings like 1 teaspoon dried oregano, salt, and freshly crushed black pepper. Give a quick stir and cook for a minute.
Follow it by adding boiled Farfalle pasta. Add the reserved pasta water if needed, it adds silky richness and extra flavor to the sauce. Toss everything well and cook on high flame for another 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning at this stage if necessary.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Mix well.
Serve on a plate and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons mozzarella cheese over it for garnish.
What to Serve with Creamy Spinach Pasta
You can enjoy this healthy creamy spinach pasta and call it a meal, or add a side dish like stuffed garlic bread, avocado cucumber salad, or a bowl of hot tomato soup along with it.
Variations for Pasta with Spinach
- Spinach: If you don't have time to make spinach puree, you can finely chop the spinach and add them.
- Pasta: Any medium pasta variety, such as penne, farfalle, macaroni, shell, and rotini, works great. This sauce also goes well with cheese-filled tortellini or ravioli. You can also use pasta noodles like spaghetti, fettuccini, or linguine. For kids, try using whole wheat, lentils, or veggie pasta.
- Protein: You can serve green sauce pasta with crispy tofu, paneer, or tempeh. You may also add boiled chickpeas or white beans to boost up plant-based protein.
- Veggies: You can also add boiled sweet corn, green peas, cherry tomatoes, sauteed or roasted mushroom, air fryer asparagus, air fryer broccoli, bell pepper, roasted mixed veggies, to make this a healthy spinach pasta. Make sure to pre-cook the veggies before mixing them with the pasta.
- Cream: You can substitute heavy cream with half and half, cream cheese, white alfredo sauce, mayonnaise, or even coconut cream.
- Low-Carb: You may use Zucchini noodles for a low-carb option.
- Fresh Herbs: To enhance the flavor of the spinach sauce, you can blend a few fresh basil leaves, cilantro, or parsley with spinach.
Expert Tips
- Salting the Pasta water: Be sure to add salt while cooking pasta for the best flavor.
- Thick Pasta sauce: The green pasta sauce should not be too thick otherwise, after mixing the cooked pasta, the dish becomes very dry. You may add some reserved pasta water to thin it out.
- Thin Pasta sauce: If the sauce seems thin when you start to mix in the boiled pasta. Don’t worry, just keep tossing for another 1-2 minutes. The starches from the pasta will be mixed into the sauce to give a perfect consistency.
- Frozen Spinach: I prefer fresh spinach, but frozen would work, too, if it’s thawed and excess water squeezed.
- Cheese: You can also add cheese directly to the sauce. You may sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese for extra depth of flavor.
Also check my Kids Lunch Box Recipes Posts
Creamy Spinach Pasta + Caramel Makhana + Raspberries
Frequently Asked Questions
Half and half, cream cheese, or white alfredo sauce, are great choices to substitute heavy cream.
Yes, You can use frozen spinach, make sure it has been thawed, and excess moisture is squeezed out before blending.
You can use other leafy greens like kale or chard. However, it is recommended to wilt the kale in the water before blending it.
If you like spinach, then check out more Spinach Recipes
Creamy Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried farfalle pasta (1.5-2 cups cooked farfalle pasta)
- 1 cup spinach puree (made from 3-4 cups of raw spinach and ½ cup water). I dint blanch spinach in this recipe.
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream (or cream cheese, alfredo sauce)
- 2-3 tablespoons mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or butter)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- salt to taste
Instructions
Cooking Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Stir in the salt.Then, according to the package instructions, cook the pasta (about 10-12 minutes), occasionally stirring, until al dente or softer according to the desired texture. I used Farfalle, but you can use your favorite pasta.Once the pasta is cooked, drain excess water and keep it aside. Note: Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta. The pasta water contains starches that will help the spinach sauce stick to the pasta and make the sauce extra creamy.
For Spinach Puree
- Add 3-4 cups of raw fresh spinach in a high-speed blender (like Vitamix) or food processor along with ½ cup of water. Blended to make a smooth puree.
For Making Spinach Pasta
- Then, heat olive oil in a pan on medium flame. Add minced garlic and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Next, add prepared spinach puree & sauté it for about 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of the spinach goes away.
- Add in the cream or homemade white sauce, seasonings like dried oregano, salt, and freshly crushed black pepper. Give a quick stir and cook for a minute.
- Follow it by adding boiled Farfalle pasta. Add the reserved pasta water if needed, it adds silky richness and extra flavor to the sauce. Toss everything well and cook on high flame for another 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning at this stage if necessary.
- Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Mix well.
- Serve on a plate and sprinkle some cheese over it for garnish.
Video
Notes
Variations
- Spinach: If you don't have time to make spinach puree, you can finely chop the spinach and add them.
- Pasta: Any medium pasta varieties like penne, farfalle, macaroni, shell, and rotini work great. This sauce also goes well with cheese-filled tortellini or ravioli. You can also use pasta noodles like spaghetti, fettuccini, or linguine. Try using whole wheat, lentils, or veggie pasta for kids.
- Protein: You can serve green sauce pasta with crispy tofu, paneer, or tempeh. You may also add boiled chickpeas or white beans to boost up plant-based protein.
- Veggies: You can also add boiled sweet corn, green peas, cherry tomatoes, sauteed or roasted mushroom, asparagus, broccoli, bell pepper, roasted mixed veggies, to make this a healthy spinach pasta. Make sure to pre-cook the veggies before mixing them with the pasta.
- Cream: You can substitute heavy cream with half and half, cream cheese, white alfredo sauce, mayonnaise, or even coconut cream.
- Low-Carb: You may use Zucchini noodles for a low-carb option.
- Fresh Herbs: You can blend a few fresh basil leaves, cilantro, or parsley along with spinach to enhance the flavor of the spinach sauce.
Tips to Make the Best Spinach Pasta
- Salting the Pasta water: Be sure to add salt while cooking pasta for the best flavor.
- Thick Pasta sauce: The green pasta sauce should not be too thick otherwise, after mixing the cooked pasta, the dish becomes very dry. You may add some reserved pasta water to thin it out.
- Thin Pasta sauce: If the sauce seems thin when you start to mix in the boiled pasta. Don’t worry, just keep tossing for another 1-2 minutes. The starches from the pasta will mix into the sauce to give a perfect consistency.
- Frozen Spinach: I prefer fresh spinach, but frozen would work, too, if it’s thawed and excess water squeezed.
- Cheese: You can also add cheese directly to the sauce. You may sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese for extra depth of flavor.
Nutrition
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Jennifer Vazquez
You mention to reserve a quarter cup of pasta water, but don't mention when to add.
Bhavana Patil
Hi Jennifer, will update the post soon. In case you feel pasta dry, you can some reserved pasta water while mixing the spinach puree into the cooked pasta. Makes it more saucy.
Bliss
This is a great recipe I will use again! My kids had no idea their “pesto” was actually spinach. I did add basil and next time I will add more garlic and more cheese. Definitely a keeper!
Bhavana Patil
Yayyyy, thank you Bliss 🙂 I am super glad to hear that your kids loved it, Have a great day 🙂
Geri
Hi! I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but can’t wait to try it. I’m excited about using less ingredients and into hiding veggies in my kids foods especially my toddler. I had a question. If I have some leftover sauce would it freeze well and for how long? Thank you!
Bhavana Patil
Hey Geri ,I havent tried freezing the sauce though.But if you want to do so i would recommend freezing without adding cream and it should be good for atleast a month.I have tried refrigerating the sauce for 2 days.Hope this helps.If you give a try let me know how it turned out.Another Pasta that i would recommend is Avocado spinach pasta https://www.indianveggiedelight.com/creamy-avocado-pasta/