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.
I made this simple and tasty dish with just the suggested ingredients added….it was delicious and I am so glad it lasts for 5days in the fridge because its going to be my lunch with a few vegetable crudites like slices or red and yellow capsicum pepper, cucumber and celery just to freshen the mouth after a few spoonfuls of this lovely and healthy pasta dish. Spot on and many thanks!!!
That’s great to hear! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Made this tonight for my girlfriend and I. I decided to cook some shrimp and add it in as well. I’m happy I did because, while very delicious, this seems like it would need some texture without it.
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Super good.. I’d definitely double the spinach for my family. One person mentioned mushrooms and now I’m so excited to make this again soon.. We used fettuccine for pasta too 😋 made this is bbq chicken and baked sweet potatoes and it was a big hit.
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Lovely dish, I made this for the family, I had some uncooked bacon and mushrooms which I cooked before adding to the pasta. Wow it was something else, even my 4 fussy teens loved it.. best thing was, its so simple and quick to make.
Thank you for this recipe
That’s great! I am very happy you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I make a vegan version that I’ve made multiple times. I use vegan butter and 1/3 cup of vegan cream (nut pods) I pretty much double the amount of spinach. Strongly recommend to my vegan friends.
What do you substitute for the cream cheese?
Love the recipe and have been using it for ages now but has it changed? I don’t recall cream cheese or milk.
Made this today & had to make more!! My family loved it! I cooked the spinach separately & served it with the pasta on top & some grated parmesan cheese.
I made this recipe this afternoon and it was good. I minced the garlic and left it in the dish (I’m a HUGE garlic lover). Some modifications I’ll do in the future is to add shrimp, some lemon zest with a splash of lemon juice.
My husband and I are not fans of cooked spinach. Could I leave it raw in this recipe?
Hi!
Sure, you can definitely leave it out or eat it raw, if you like.
How would I go about adding chicken to this delicious recipe?
Hi Jessica! Before preparing the spinach, and while cooking the pasta, I would suggest to first, take about 12-ounces of chicken breasts and cut them up into cubes and season with salt and pepper. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add cubed chicken pieces and cook until chicken is browned on all sides and cooked through, stirring occasionally; this shouldn’t take more than 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and then continue with the recipe, beginning at step 2 in the instructions. I hope this helps! Let me know. Have a great Sunday!
Just made this! I added mushrooms which I cooked right before adding the spinach. Thank you for this simple and yummy recipe! My mum and I loved it.
I made this wonderful recipe today and I loved it!! It’s so simple and it doesn’t take a long time to make! Thank you!
Thank you, Cece!! I’m so happy to know that you enjoyed it!