This Creamy Spinach Pasta is made with a super-easy cheese sauce, spinach, and lemon juice. It's incredibly delicious, nutritious, and so simple to whip up for any day of the week!
Looking for more easy pasta recipes? Try my Vodka Pasta or Classic Alfredo Sauce next!
About This Recipe
Whenever I'm looking for something comforting and nutritious, I always turn to this creamy spinach pasta. It's made with a ridiculously easy cream-based sauce flavored with a dash of nutmeg, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. One entire bag of fresh spinach fills it with nutrients, and once it's covered in the sauce, you can barely taste it.
This is such a great weeknight meal to have on your rotation. It comes together in only 20 minutes, and even the fussiest eaters will enjoy it. Speaking of fussy eaters, this is such a great way to "sneak" vegetables into your kids' diet. Of course, the spinach isn't really hidden, but with how creamy and cheesy the sauce is, it's hard to resist!
Key Ingredients
Penne pasta: For a creamy sauce like this, I love using penne pasta because the sauce clings to it very well. That said, you can use whatever your favorite pasta shape is!
Butter: I think we can all agree that butter makes everything taste a little better. If you don't want to eat too much saturated fat, you can substitute it with olive oil instead.
Garlic: Adds so much savory depth. I like to mince the garlic so that the flavor disperses everywhere. Fresh garlic is the best, but jarred minced garlic is fine here.
Flour: This helps thicken the sauce so that it clings to every bite of pasta.
Chicken broth: I use chicken stock to make this pasta, but you can use vegetable stock as well. For the chicken stock, I just combined Better than Bouillon with half a cup of water.
Heavy cream: This makes the sauce so creamy and delicious. For people outside of America, this is sometimes called whipping cream.
Spinach: I use fresh spinach because I'm always forgetful with defrosting my frozen spinach, but frozen spinach works just fine here. If you use frozen spinach, make sure to let it defrost fully and give it a good squeeze over the sink to get rid of all the extra moisture.
Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated for the best flavor, and don't even think about using the fake stuff.
Nutmeg: I love the addition of nutmeg because it cuts through the richness and gives the sauce a warm aroma.
Lemon juice: A little bit of lemon juice brings the pasta sauce to life! Taste the pasta before and after adding lemon juice, and you'll see what a difference it makes.
Instructions
STEP 1: Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water in case your pasta sauce is too thick. Drain and set aside.
STEP 2: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until it smells delicious. Add the flour and stir until mixed throughout.
STEP 3: Stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
STEP 4: Stir in the spinach, parmesan, and nutmeg. Cook until the spinach has shrunk and wilted, about 2 minutes.
STEP 5: Mix in the cooked pasta. If the sauce is too runny, let the pasta boil for a few minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and finish with fresh lemon juice.
📋 Recipe
Creamy Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces penne (or similar pasta)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir until mixed throughout.
- Add the heavy cream and chicken broth. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach, parmesan, and nutmeg. Cook until the spinach has shrunk and wilted.
- Mix in the cooked pasta. If the sauce is too runny, let the pasta boil for a few minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and finish with fresh lemon juice.
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