This spaghetti with spinach sauce recipe is a super simple pasta sauce that’s quick, healthy, and really flavorful. This vibrant sauce is made with grated cheese, giving it a creamy, delicious taste.
Serve with warm, Homemade Garlic Bread and a simple salad for an easy weeknight dinner.
Pasta With Spinach
If you’re after some hearty comfort food on a budget, this vegetarian pasta is just the thing.
Why This Recipe Works
- Using sliced fresh garlic instead of minced adds a punch of flavor without being overwhelmingly garlicky.
- Blending the sauce with the salted pasta water adds a silky texture as well as seasoning.
- Using fresh spinach instead of frozen packs this dish with extra nutrients you don’t get with frozen vegetables.
- Using fresh Parmesan cheese adds creaminess and depth of flavor.
A Versatile Spinach Pasta Recipe
This is also a very versatile dish. I’ve had readers report back that they’ve used anything from salmon to pistachios as variations. Don’t be afraid to add your own personal touch to this easily adaptable recipe.
This spaghetti with spinach sauce is not only delicious, but it’s really healthy too.
Spinach Buying Guide
- When buying fresh spinach, look for leaves that have a dark green color. Avoid any with yellowing color or wilting.
- Avoid spinach with slimy leaves or have a sour, musty odor.
The Health Benefits of Eating Spinach
Spinach has so many health benefits. It’s high in iron, as well as vitamins A and C. Spinach is loaded with not only nutrients, but it’s also rich in antioxidants.
It’s said that eating spinach can benefit eye health, reduce stress, help prevent cancer, and reduce blood pressure levels. So, I eat it often and this dish is one of my favorite ways to prepare it!
Cooking Perfect Spaghetti
- Don’t add oil to the cooking water. Adding oil to the water to keep it from sticking will cause the sauce to slip off the Spaghetti.
- Salt like you mean it. The cooking water should taste like the ocean. This is the only time you’re able to season pasta and keep it from tasting bland.
- Wait for a rapid boil. Starches in the spaghetti absorb water instantly and so you want the water as hot as possible to begin cooking properly. Adding the spaghetti too soon may cause it to cook improperly.
- Stir during cooking. Occasionally stirring the spaghetti while cooking will keep it from clumping together.
How To Make Spaghetti With Spinach Sauce
Start a pot of water for the pasta and cook the spaghetti until just undercooked.
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté.
Add the spinach to the pan.
Sauté with the garlic. Once wilted, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Before draining the pasta, reserve a cup of the pasta water.
Drain the pasta, and set aside.
Add the spinach and garlic mixture to a food processor ( or blender).
Add the cheese and half of the reserved pasta water.
Puree until it forms a sauce (adding more pasta water if needed).
Add the sauce back into the pan.
Add the par-cooked spaghetti.
Stir to combine and heat through, adding more pasta water if needed.
Once the spaghetti is cooked through, taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve sprinkled with extra grated cheese.
A Healthy Recipe For Kids
The lovely, leafy spinach in this spaghetti with spinach sauce recipe makes for a flavorful and intriguing bright green pasta that even kids will want to dive into!
Case in point:
Every time one of my son’s close friend comes over, he always asks me what we were having for dinner. Followed by ‘Can we please have that green spaghetti you make? That’s so good; I love it!’
How could I say no to that? Luckily, it’s so easy to make!
This recipe is the perfect example of how you can hide veggies in food to trick the kids into eating them because otherwise, he wouldn’t touch a bowl full of spinach!
Erren’s Top Tips
- Work fast with the garlic. Garlic burns easily, especially when chopped or sliced. If you’re worried it may burn, keep a little water handy and add a tablespoon or two before adding the spinach to the pan.
- To puree the sauce, I use a food processor, but a blender would also work if you add the pasta water in before blending.
- I use fresh spinach, but frozen would work too if it’s thawed and squeezed of excess water.
Other Great Pasta Dishes
Did you make this?
Stay Updated
Receive new recipes & dinner ideas straight to your inbox!
Let’s Make Spaghetti with Spinach Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 16 oz fresh baby spinach washed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ½ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese plus more for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large deep frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook to soften, but not quite brown.
- Add the spinach and sauté with the garlic until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining. Drain, and set aside.
- Add the spinach and garlic mixture to a food processor or blender with the cheese and half of the pasta water. Puree until it forms a sauce (adding more pasta water if needed).
- Add the sauce back into the pan to combine and heat through, again adding more pasta water if needed.
- Once heated through, taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve sprinkled with extra grated cheese.
Tips + Notes
- Work fast with the garlic. Garlic burns easily, especially when chopped or sliced. If you’re worried it may burn, keep a little water handy and add a tablespoon or two before adding the spinach to the pan.
- To puree the sauce, I use a food processor, but a blender would also work if you add the pasta water in before blending.
- I use fresh spinach, but frozen would work too if it’s thawed and squeezed of excess water.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in April of 2014, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, tips, and a video August of 2018.
Edgi says
Sooo tasty! I added broccoli… thank you 🙂
Erren's Kitchen says
That sounds amazing, all the green vegetable goodness, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Jadzia says
Can I omit the Parmesan cheese?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, yes you can but it may need extra seasoning 🙂
Chelsea says
This was so simple yet delicious. Perfect for an easy dinner when you don’t really feel like cooking.
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Chelsea, I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Jessie says
What an amazing recipe. So nutritious!! I modify it by adding MORE spinach plus a meat of some sort. Tonight I’m adding beyond sausage crumbles. The best part is my little one devours it every time.
Erren's Kitchen says
Wow, that sounds amazing Jessie, I’m glad you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Crystal McIntosh says
So easy and tasty! Add some red pepper flakes, powder garlic, a little chicken seasoning before blending and it will really make the dish!
Erren's Kitchen says
That sounds delicious, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
amna says
so easy to make and tastes amazinggg
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Amna, I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Petra says
This was quite a hit and will be making in the future quite a bit as it’s much easier than classic pesto and tastes great although classic pesto will never be replaced. My bunch of spinach was a little insubstantial so I also chopped up a sizeable bunch of parsley and added feta. So easy to blend with the immersion blender when the vegetables are slightly cooked and you’ve added the pasta water.
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Petra, it sounds like you adapted the recipe beautifully, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
wuiestion says
How long can we store this ?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, you can keep this in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container, I wouldn’t recommend freezing the cooked dish, but you could freeze the sauce separately in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. I hope this helps
Dian says
So simple & delicious! I used cheddar (that’s what i had in the fridge)😆 still turned out absolutely yummy! Even my picky 7yr old son who hates green veggies, ate an entire bowl! Thank you for the recipe… definitely a keeper💯
Erren's Kitchen says
I love to hear this Dian, thank you 🙂
Sandy F says
This is an awesome, delicious, easy weeknight meal that’s actually fun to make! I used an immersion blender to blend the sauce right in the pot, and my 12-year-old son joined in the fun! My 10-year-old who also would never TOUCH vegetables actually liked this dish! So grateful for this awesome easy recipe 🙂 Happy cooking!
Erren's Kitchen says
Amazing! I love to hear this 🙂
Aayushi says
Thanks Erren❤️ This is really healthy, delicious and super quick.
I added corn to it. Loved it!
Love from India.✨
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Aayushi, I’m so happy you liked it 🙂