Pasta with Spinach

Quick and easy pasta with spinach and garlic. A delicious 30-minutes recipe using frozen spinach, spaghetti and other pantry ingredients.

Pasta with Frozen Spinach and Garlic

This recipe for pasta with spinach is so simple that I have difficulty finding something to say about it! Except that it is absolutely delicious. A quick dish of spaghetti with spinach and garlic using mostly pantry ingredients, like pasta, frozen spinach, and Parmesan. Even the cream can be bought as a pantry ingredient nowadays.

And another bonus when making spaghetti with frozen spinach: it takes less than 30 minutes to have dinner on the table.

Ingredients

This spaghetti with spinach recipe can be made using entirely pantry ingredients, I know I never have to buy anything extra whenever I cook it. I often make this dish on a Sunday afternoon or evening when I cannot go shopping and I don’t have much fresh stuff in the fridge anyway.

Frozen spinach:

• Frozen spinach is a super convenient ingredient, I am sure I always have one or two bags of it in the freezer. I actually use frozen spinach much more often than I use fresh spinach.
• Fresh spinach is great, but it is rarely available where I live, so I can’t plan in advance when I want to cook a spinach dish.
• Then, I really don’t like cleaning it.
• It takes ages to remove all those stems, it always comes in huge packages, that don’t fit in the refrigerator, but once you’ve cooked it down a little you are left with a handful of spinach.
• It doesn’t keep long. Unless I cook it the day I bought it or the next day tops, I am sure to throw away quite a lot of it because it is already wilted.
• So, frozen spinach it is.
• I use it for making this spinach pasta dish, for soups, for dips, for making creamed spinach, for pretty much anything except for salads.
• You can easily remove the exact amount you need from the bag or box, it doesn’t always have to be thawed before using, it is a great addition to many dishes.
• You can buy it in advance and always have it when needed.

Other ingredients:

• Pasta
• Milk and cream
• Garlic
• Parmesan
• Lemon juice
• Some spices

All pantry ingredients, including the cream. Fresh cream has quite a long life in the fridge anyway, but I always have some long-life milk and cream in the cellar anyway, especially nowadays…

Garlic also keeps well for a longer period of time. You should store it at room temperature in a room with moderate humidity, and preferably in a dark place. Here is everything you have to know about storing garlic.

Parmesan is also a kind of cheese that, when properly kept, lasts for months.

Fresh lemon juice is always best, but if you don’t have it, feel free to use a small amount of lemon juice from a bottle.

How to cook pasta with frozen spinach?

As mentioned above, you don’t even have to thaw the frozen spinach in advance, and that makes this spinach pasta dish a super quick affair as well.

• Set the water for the pasta. While the water and the pasta cooks, prepare the spinach sauce.
• Place the frozen spinach and a small amount of water in a saucepan. Stir until it defrosts. Of course, if you thought about thawing it before, you can skip this step. But I really never think about it in time…
• Once the spinach is thawed and the water almost entirely evaporated, add the milk, cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the cream, grated garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir well and let the sauce thicken for about 2 minutes.
• Adjust the taste with lemon juice, more salt, and pepper.
• Add the Parmesan, stir well and adjust the taste again.
• Mix with the cooked spaghetti and serve immediately with more Parmesan grated over.

More frozen spinach recipes

Spinach Roll – Delicate spinach roll filled with cheese and herbs, a nice, fresh appetizer for an easy brunch.

Spinach Chicken Curry – A healthier and simplified version of the famous chicken saag, this easy spinach chicken curry will definitely satisfy your curry cravings.

Beef Potato Curry with Spinach – Comforting, easy to make and flavorful beef potato curry with spinach and yogurt.

Spinach Meatball Casserole – A layer of potatoes, one of spinach, meatballs, and cheese: all combined into one dish. What could you want more?

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First published: 24 April 2017.

Last updated: 25 March 2020.

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Pasta with Spinach Recipe

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Quick and easy pasta with spinach and garlic. A delicious recipe using frozen spinach, spaghetti, and other pantry ingredients.

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Ingredients

• 400 g/ 14 oz spaghetti
• 400 g/ 14 oz frozen spinach
• 50 ml/ 1.7 fl.oz/ ¼ cup water
• 150 ml/ 5 fl.oz/ 2/3 cup milk
• 100 ml/ 3.4 fl.oz/ scant 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 garlic cloves
• some nutmeg
• fine sea salt and pepper
• 1-2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 50 g/ 1.7 oz/ 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package's instructions.
2. In the meantime place the frozen spinach in a small pot, add the water, cover and let thaw stirring often. If your spinach is already thawed skip this step.
3. When the spinach is thawed and the extra water is almost entirely evaporated, add the milk to the pot, cover and let the spinach cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the cream, grated garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste and stir for another 2 minutes, the sauce should thicken slightly.
5. Adjust the taste with 1-2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Add the freshly grated Parmesan, stir well and mix the sauce with the drained spaghetti.
7. Serve immediately with more grated Parmesan, green salad or tomato salad.
   

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1/4 of the dish
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 557Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 624mgCarbohydrates: 84gFiber: 6gSugar: 4gProtein: 22g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.