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One skillet Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta is a weeknight winner. This dish has simple ingredients that combine beautifully when simmered down together in one pan. It’s a cozy meal that feels and tastes decadent but it’s loaded with spinach and really easy to make. It’s a vegetarian meal, however with some chicken or ground sausage it would really shine! I love this dish on a chilly night after a busy day, its warming and tastes like a hug in a bowl. The fact that it comes together in just 30 minutes makes it the perfect dinner.
This Might Be The Ultimate Pasta Meal
The most time consuming part of this dish is boiling the pasta. Everything else comes together lickity split. The ingredients aren’t fussy at all, in fact you probably have most of them sitting in your pantry already. That’s the way I want a weeknight meal, no fuss necessary! I will say when I made this recipe I found it was best with fresh spinach, so if you can, please make sure you skip the frozen leafy greens.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes. When recipe testing I found that diced tomatoes work best, I used stewed and I didn’t love the texture so make sure you get diced!
- Fresh Spinach. As mentioned above, when I used frozen spinach while testing this recipe it made the sauce watery and it just didn’t have the “freshness” I was looking for.
Simple Steps To Make Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta
Ready to cook? Let me walk you through the recipe. For your convenience, there is a full ingredient list and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card below.
- Start cooking your favorite pasta! Just boil and salt some water, this should typically take 15-20 minutes.
- Sauté the garlic, add the seasonings let them “wake up” a bit. Then add in all the other ingredients to the skillet, followed by the cooked pasta. Just before serving, add all that yummy fresh spinach in and a heavy handed sprinkle of parmesan. Let it wilt a bit and serve!
Other Cozy meals to try
Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta
Equipment
- large skillet
Ingredients
- 8 oz penne pasta
Creamy Spinach Tomato Sauce
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes, optional
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 Tbsp full-fat cream cheese
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan an cheese
- ⅓ pasta water, reserved from cooking the pasta to thin the sauce
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 1-2 cups fresh baby spinach, I would not use frozen spinach
- fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the penne according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve ⅓ cup of pasta water. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile start the creamy sauce. While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and sauté for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, and dried basil. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, to let the flavors come together.
- Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the cream cheese until completely melted, then add the heavy cream and Parmesan. Stir until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach. Cook for 1-2 minutes, just until the spinach has wilted.
- Toss with the pasta. Add the cooked penne directly to the skillet and toss until well coated. Add the reserved pasta water a little at a time as needed until the sauce is silky and coats the pasta nicely.
- Finish and serve. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm topped with fresh basil and extra Parmesan.
Notes
- If you forget to reserve some pasta water, no worries a little veggie or chicken broth will work just fine.
- Keep the heat low once you add the cream cheese, cream, and Parmesan. This helps keep the sauce smooth and prevents the dairy from separating.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze these for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
