Pasta with Spinach Sauce

Name: Pasta with Spinach Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 12 ounces fettuccine or other long pasta; 4 tablespoons butter; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 pound baby spinach; 1 cup heavy cream; Sea salt and freshly ground pepper; ¼ cup chopped walnuts; ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

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This easy recipe for pasta with spinach sauce turns your favorite steakhouse side dish of creamed spinach into a delectable pasta topping!

Pasta with creamed spinach sauce on a plate.

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Why we love this recipe
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
How to make this recipe
Recipe FAQs
Want to round out your meal?
Other pasta with veggies recipes that we love
Could you leave us some stars?
Pasta with Spinach Sauce

Why we love this recipe

Okay, so let’s first discuss creamed spinach. It’s a decadent concoction of spinach and cream and butter, and pretty much you either love or you absolutely don’t. So obviously this for us creamed spinach lovers! 🙋🏼‍♀️

Here’s the best way I can describe this dish, which is to ask you to close your eyes and imagine a plate of creamy Fettuccine Alfredo meeting a bowl of dreamy creamed spinach. Toss in some walnuts for crunch and there you are.

It’s a decadantly delicious recipe that comes together in less than 30 minutes, but is 100% dinner party-worthy!

Ingredients you need

Pasta with creamed spinach sauce Ingredients.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Pasta: We love making this with a long, substantial pasta like fettuccine, but pretty much any pasta you have will work! The only one I would steer clear of is angel hair pasta, which isn’t sturdy enough to hold this substantial sauce.
Cream: You really do need the real thing, which is heavy cream (also sometimes called whipping cream) to get the glorious texture you want.
Baby Spinach: I buy the already washed kind in the bag (look for it in your produce section) but any kind of spinach will work. If you are using the larger spinach leaves, you’ll want to chop them up a bit before you cook them.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

How to make this recipe

STEP 1: Cook some fettuccine or another pasta of your choice according to package directions in heavily salted water. Scoop out a cup of pasta water and set it aside before you drain it.

STEP 2: While the pasta is cooking, let’s make the sauce! Put some butter and a clove of minced garlic in a large deep skillet over medium high heat until the butter is melted. Add some baby spinach and cook it up until it is wilted.

STEP 3: Pour in some heavy cream and bring it to a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese give it a few good tosses with tongs until everything is mixed together well. Drizzle in some of that pasta water until you have a nice light sauce.

Pasta with creamed spinach sauce in a pan.

STEP 4: Give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Divide your creamy dreamy pasta among bowls, sprinkle with some chopped walnuts serve it up! Creamy, dreamy pasta deliciousness!

Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different kind of pasta for this recipe?

You sure can, as long as it is a sturdy one. Thinner pasta like angel hair won’t hold up under this hearty sauce, but linguine, penne or bow-ties would all be great.

Can I use regular spinach?

Yep! You will want to give it a good chop before you cook it so that the pieces are roughly bite-sized. And definitely rinse it super-well if it isn’t pre-washed.

Can I leave out the nuts?

You can – I added them to add some crunch along with the creaminess, but they are optional (and you can also use different ones if you aren’t a walnut person).

Have a question that I didn’t cover?

Pop your question in the comments and I will answer pronto!

Want to round out your meal?

One of the things I love about this recipe is that there are veggies already included…but I am always up for more veggies. We love this simple recipe for carrots with fresh thyme, or maybe you would like a classic wedge salad on this side?

And for dessert, I highly recommend Coca-Cola Cake!

Other pasta with veggies recipes that we love

Want more pasta supper inspiration? Here is our complete collection of pasta recipes!

Could you leave us some stars?

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.