Creamy Garlic Butter Pasta with Spinach
Oct 02, 2019, Updated May 25, 2024
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This Garlic Butter Pasta with Spinach recipe is made with fresh spinach and bow tie pasta tossed in a creamy garlic-butter sauce.
I told you once before that we eat pasta thrice a week. Some of our favorites include Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta, Cheesy Chicken Orzo, Baked Eggplant Penne Pasta… you get the point.
Pasta Recipe with Garlic Butter and Spinach
This is my favorite pasta recipe! It’s an easy recipe for garlicky and buttery pasta with fresh spinach, and it makes for a quick and easy meatless main or healthy side dish your family will love. Mine sure does!
One of the meals I’ve made for Goce every week for the last several years is this garlic butter pasta. He is my pasta-obsessed husband, and even though he’s mainly low-carb, sometimes a boy’s gotta eat what he wants to eat. I add whatever leafy greens I can find – kale, spinach, chard – and suddenly, it looks healthier and a lot more inviting.
What sets this pasta apart from other pasta dinners is that it’s without a heavy sauce, like Alfredo. We are only dealing with butter and garlic, plus a pinch of cream cheese and milk. Clearly, in order to enjoy this, you really need to love garlic. And butter. Cream cheese, too. Did I hear a ‘HELL YEAH!’?! Of course, I did!!
How To Make Pasta with Spinach
I’m tellin’ you, never underestimate the power of a good pasta meal. This pasta with spinach dish is a once-a-week deal. As I mentioned, my other half is obsessed with garlic and even more obsessed with pasta. The man can live on spaghetti… and chocolate CAKE!
- Cook the pasta. Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box. I use Whole Grain Bow Tie Pasta and it takes about 12 minutes of boil time to get that al dente cooked pasta.
- Make the garlic butter sauce. Melt butter in a skillet; add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. (I actually just wait for the pasta to be done, then I drain it and use the same pot to melt the butter and create the sauce. Who needs another pot or skillet to wash, ya know whadda mean?
- Toss in the spinach. Add mounds of baby spinach and cook until wilted.
- Put it together. Stir in the cooked pasta, add the cream cheese and milk, and cook until creamy and hot. Then, serve!
Serving Suggestions
This 20-minute meal is completely foolproof. It’s a perfect quick dish for weeknights that will please even picky eaters. And it is the fastest Olive Garden Chef’s Special type of food you’ll ever make! To make it even more satisfying, you can serve it with grilled chicken or toss in some salmon bites. For a dang good vegetarian dinner, serve these roasted artichokes on the side.
How To Store Pasta Leftovers
Transfer cooked pasta to an airtight container; add a drizzle of olive oil and stir through. Cover and keep refrigerated for 3 to 5 days.
ENJOY!
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Garlic-Butter Spinach and Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bow tie pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings, for garnish
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Prepare pasta following the directions on the package.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet or dutch oven.
- Add garlic and continue to stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add spinach; season with salt, pepper, and basil, and cook until spinach is wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Depending on the size of your skillet, you might have to cook the spinach down in batches.
- Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the spinach mixture; add the cream cheese and milk.
- Mix and stir until everything is well incorporated, and the cream cheese is melted.
- Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Top with fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
wondering if you’ve tried this a olive oil instead of butter & what you would think of doing it that way? thanks 🙂
Hi Deb! Yes, I have done it with olive oil, and while it tastes just as great, it loses a bit of that butter-flavor. That sweet, kinda nutty flavor. BUT it’s still very, very good! 😀
Cooking it now! Looking forward to the results. I actually just threw a bunch of spinach in because the amount wasn’t enough to be considered our “veggie” for the meal. So we’ll see if it’s over spinached!! Thanks 😌
You should add a little red pepper flakes along with the garlic.
I made this today and it was simple and very yummy. I had left over meatballs so I added it. Only took like 10 minutes to make. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s wonderful!! So happy to know that you enjoyed it! Thank you!!
This pasta looks like such a great dinner! Garlic is my fave! I would not discard the garlic – I bet it is soooooo yummy!
I’d buy a hard drive.
I would split it with my sister, for my half I would check out the fall clothing line.
I would love to win this! I would buy some back to school supplies and of course some awesome kitchen stuff to cook with 🙂 Thank you!
I’d buy shoes for my little one
sounds delicious, will definitely try this one!!
this is me LOL
Such an easy recipe!!! I think I could live on this dish alone for the rest of my life. LOVE it!