Pasta with Blue Cheese Spinach Sauce
This easy pasta with blue cheese spinach sauce combines tender pasta and fresh spinach in a rich, creamy blue cheese sauce for a delicious 30-minute meatless dinner.
Jump to:
- 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- ⭐️ Why this recipe works
- 🍅 Ingredients you need
- 📝 Ingredient notes
- 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
- 🤔 Recipe FAQs
- 🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
- 🍽️ What to serve with blue cheese pasta?
- Pasta with Blue Cheese Spinach Sauce
- 👩🏻🍳 Variations on this recipe
- 😍 Other blue cheese recipes we love!
- ⭐️ We want to know what you think!
- 🥣 Come on into our kitchen!
🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- What It Is: Tender pasta and baby spinach tossed in a creamy, buttery blue cheese sauce.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Servings: 4 servings
- Calories: 427
- Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Good For: Weeknight Dinner, Meatless Dinner, Blue Cheese Lovers, Comfort Food
⭐️ Why this recipe works
- 🧀 Blue cheese makes an instant creamy, flavorful sauce. Its tangy flavor means you don’t need a long list of ingredients to make this pasta taste special.
- 🌿 Baby spinach balances out the richness. It adds freshness, color and plenty of veggies without overpowering the pasta.
- 🍝 Short pasta catches every bit of sauce. All those curves and ridges give the creamy blue cheese sauce plenty of places to cling.
- ⏱️ It’s ready in about 30 minutes. This is an easy meatless dinner that feels much more luxurious than the effort involved.
- 💙 You control the blue cheese level. Keep it mellow or add extra crumbles on top for the serious blue cheese fans.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
Blue cheese and I have a complex relationship. I absolutely love it…in moderation. It has a strong and sassy personality, and is always the ingredient yelling “Hey, look over here at ME!” Which is why this recipe for pasta with blue cheese spinach sauce is one of my faves, because there is just enough blue cheese in it to make things interesting, but the pasta and the spinach keep it in line.
(And if you have a whole assortment of cheeses waiting in your fridge, this creamy mac and cheese with spinach will put them all to delicious use. )
So if you like your blue cheese to behave itself, this is the recipe for you. And if you are a believer in The More Blue Cheese The Better, you can toss even more of it into this dish. Either way, let’s make it!
🍅 Ingredients you need
📝 Ingredient notes
- 🍝 Short pasta: I used campanelle because all those ruffles are wonderful for catching the creamy sauce, but penne, ziti, farfalle or another short pasta will work perfectly.
- 🌿 Baby spinach: Baby spinach is my favorite here because it’s tender and can go straight into the recipe with no chopping or stemming. If you use regular spinach, remove the tough stems and roughly chop the leaves.
- 🧀 Blue cheese: Use whatever blue cheese you love best! Gorgonzola is a little milder and creamier, while Roquefort or Stilton will give you a stronger blue cheese flavor. And definitely save a little extra for sprinkling on top if you’re a serious blue cheese person.
💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
🤔 Recipe FAQs
You can! Remove any tough stems and roughly chop larger leaves before adding them. Baby spinach is especially handy because the tender leaves can go straight into the sauce.
This pasta is best served right after it is made, when the sauce is at its creamiest. Leftovers can be reheated gently with a splash of milk or cream to loosen the sauce.
Gorgonzola is a great choice because it melts beautifully and has a creamy texture, but Roquefort, Stilton or your favorite blue cheese will also work. Choose a milder blue cheese if you want a gentler flavor.
Pop your question in the Comments section under the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Cup: We love these angled cups that show the measurements on both the inside and outside of the cup.
- Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
🍽️ What to serve with blue cheese pasta?
We love a vegetable or a salad alongside this rich pasta…tomato salad and watermelon burrata salad are both great choices. Some sheet pan focaccia is always welcome, and for dessert? Let’s have a blueberry peach tart!
And that is that! Unless you like your blue cheese dishes nice and sassy, like the Southern husband does. In that case, put some blue cheese crumbles on top of those servings. It takes all kinds of blue cheese lovers to make the world go ’round!
Pasta with Blue Cheese Spinach Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 ounces short pasta (campanelle, ziti, penne, farfalle, etc)
- 8 ounces baby spinach (or regular spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped)
- 4 ounces blue cheese, plus extra for garnish if you like
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. About one minute before it is done, scoop out a cup of the pasta water. About 30 seconds before it’s done, add the spinach and stir until the spinach is just wilted. Drain.
- Return pasta and spinach to the pot and add the butter and cheese. Toss with tongs until butter and cheese is melted and everything is mixed together.
- Drizzle in just enough pasta water to make a light sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve at once on warmed plates, adding some blue cheese crumbles to the plates belonging to true blue blue cheese lovers!
👩🏻🍳 Variations on this recipe
😍 Other blue cheese recipes we love!
⭐️ We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Looking for more pasta inspiration? We’ve got you covered! 🥳 Here is our complete collection of pasta recipes.
This Recipe was inspirational -although I didnt have blue cheese or spinach ( I substituted it for feta & fresh basil) and added grated parmesean and grated garlic … was bursting with Flavor & super fast (& I kinda like what one of the replys suggested about adding dried cranberries) *2 thumbs up* Thanks ;)
Thanks Heba! Love your variations on this one!
I love blue cheese as a pasta sauce especially because it’s so big on flavor that you really don’t need that much to make a tasty sauce! Sounds so perfect with the spinach.
A hunk of blue cheese always lasts me through at least three meals – so efficiently delish!
hahaha–I don’t believe any of my ingredients ever behave themselves in my recipes…but it turns out all right in the end. And I totally think that this combo will be more than manageable :) can’t wait to give it a shot the next time I have blue cheese sitting around!
Always fun to see what our sassy ingredients are going to do! Happy weekend, Ala!
We have a tasty blue cheese made here in Iowa called Maytag Blue. I’m thinking this will be a good use for some. I like a bit of crunch with my pasta, so, like you do often, I’m going to shake things up a bit and toss in some toasted pine nuts. And while I’m being naughty, messing with your recipe, I think some sweet/tart dried cranberries have a place in there, too. Thanks for the inspiration! Now I know what I’m making for supper this weekend!
Oh, Maytag Blue! I’ve had that in the past and it IS so scrumptious. LOVE your additions to this recipe – I have some dried cranberries in my pantry too, so now you have me thinking! :)