Giada De Laurentiis' Quick Pasta Recipe With Fresh Spinach & Creamy Spinach Garlic Sauce by Jan Mostrom

Giada De Laurentiis shares such amazing, tasty, and in this case, easy recipes! I loved this spinach pasta recipe that combines pasta with fresh, healthy spinach and a lovely creamy garlic spinach sauce. Although Giada's recipe did not include tomatoes, I had some sweet bite-size cherry tomatoes that I added, which are optional, but do add color and freshness.

To make this quick and easy Italian dinner for your family you will need the following ingredients: pasta, garlic, goat cheese, cream cheese, salt, black pepper, baby spinach, Parmesan cheese and optional fresh cherry tomatoes. Most of the work for this spinach pasta recipe happens in a food processor or blender. The only cooking required is boiling the pasta noodles.

Serve this fresh and tasty pasta for lunch or dinner with your favorite side dishes. We like to serve this with fresh and hot bread on the side.

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Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 to 12 minutes (depending on pasta)
Total Time: 17 to 27 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound (16 ounces) pasta (I used penne pasta)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• 1 ounce reduced-fat cream cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 - 2 cups fresh baby tomatoes (optional)

Helpful Products

• Food Processor
• Cutting Board
• Chef Knife
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Salt and Pepper
• Blender
• Grater
• Airtight Containers
• Pasta Pot
• Pasta Bowls
• Pepper Grinder
• Colander

Recipe Notes

• A food processor works best for this recipe.

• You can use any pasta you'd like for this easy recipe. Try penne, rotini, fusilli, rigatoni, bowties or cavatappi.

• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Here's how to make it: 

1. Place a large pot of salted water on the stove on high. When the water comes to a boil cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water for use later.
2. In a food processor or blender add garlic and chop.
   
3. Add goat and cream cheese, 1/2 the spinach leaves, salt and pepper and blend. If you are using a blender add 1/3 cup pasta water to allow the mixture to blend easily. (You can use the pasta water before the pasta has finished cooking.)
   
   
4. Put the remaining spinach into a large serving bowl.
   
5. Add the cooked pasta (remember to save the water) and the spinach sauce.
   
6. Toss to coat. Add a bit more pasta water if the mixture is too thick (if you've already added water to your blender you will use less in this step). You don't want a watery sauce but also it shouldn't be too thick. In all I used 3/4 cup of pasta water. Taste to see if more salt and pepper, if needed.
   
7. Serve in bowls topped with tomatoes, if desired, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
   

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories: 413

Total Fat: 25.9g

Saturated Fat: 16.8g

Cholesterol: 89mg

Sodium: 853mg

Total Carbohydrate: 21.7g

Dietary Fiber: 4.6g

Total Sugars: 1.7g

Protein: 28.1g

Vitamin D: 0mcg

Calcium: 752mg

Iron: 7mg

Potassium: 774mg

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. This recipe has been analyzed by VeryWellFit. However, any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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