Easy wins again! I’m on day 6 of an 8 day work week, so that means two things: I’m tired and I’m hungry. Quick skillet pasta dishes like this Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta are perfect for such an occasion. They require only a few ingredients, cook up super fast, and leave me feeling full and happy! :)
Anyway, tomorrow is Monday (again) and the week will be long, so I hope this recipe helps make dinner time a little faster, easier, and more enjoyable for you this week! Enjoy!
What to Serve with Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta
This Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta recipe is kind of a meal on its own, but you may want to add a side dish, like crusty Garlic Bread, No Knead Focaccia Rolls, or a light Simple Side Salad. You can also beef up the recipe by adding some Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breasts, or browning some Italian sausage in the skillet in the beginning, before the onion and garlic.
Can I Substitute the Cream Cheese?
This version of Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta uses just a touch of cream cheese and Parmesan to make a regular tomato sauce ultra-rich and creamy. If you’re not into cream cheese, you could also add a splash (1/4 cup or so) of half and half or heavy cream to achieve a similar effect.
Can I Use a Different Pasta?
I used regular pasta, but whole wheat would actually be pretty good in this and would add some extra fiber and nutrients to make it a more well rounded meal. You can also switch out the shape for another short pasta, like bowtie pasta or rotini.
Can I Use Frozen Spinach?
I was lucky enough to get spinach on sale for $0.99 per bag (score!), but if fresh spinach is just out of your price range, you can add about 8oz. frozen spinach that has been thawed and squeezed of its excess moisture. This would also be really good with sliced mushrooms. Just cook the mushrooms along with the onions and garlic in the beginning. Or, hey, you could always do a plain creamy tomato sauce. Nothin’ wrong with that!
Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. penne pasta ($0.75)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.28)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.59)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.08)
- 2 oz. cream cheese ($0.20)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.31)
- 4 oz. fresh spinach ($0.65)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and continue to boil until tender (7-10 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the creamy tomato sauce. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (3-5 minutes).
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), oregano, basil, crushed red pepper, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine. Add the tomato paste and a 1/2 cup of water to the skillet and stir until the tomato paste has mixed into the sauce.
- Turn the heat down to low. Cut the cream cheese into a few pieces and then add them to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Use a whisk to stir the sauce until the cream cheese has fully melted and the sauce is creamy. Add the Parmesan to the skillet and stir until it is melted into the sauce.
- Add the fresh spinach to the skillet and gently stir it into the sauce until it has wilted (2-3 minutes). Add the pasta and stir until it is well coated in the creamy tomato sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Video
Love this dish? Try our Spinach Tortellini Skillet!
How to Make Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add 8oz. penne pasta. Boil the pasta until tender, then drain in a colander. You’ll prepare the creamy tomato sauce while the pasta is cooking.
Dice one onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add them to a large skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add ½ tsp dried basil, ½ tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, a pinch of crushed red pepper, some freshly cracked pepper, and one 15oz. can diced tomatoes (with juices) to the skillet and stir to combine.
Also, add 2 Tbsp tomato paste and ½ cup water to the skillet. This will help make the sauce thicker and with a more tomatoey punch. Continue to stir and cook over medium heat until the tomato paste has been mixed into the sauce.
Turn the heat down to low. Cut 2 oz. cream cheese into chunks and add it to the skillet. Stir or whisk the sauce until the cream cheese has melted into the sauce. It will look a little clumpy at first, but the cream cheese will eventually melt and the sauce will smooth out.
Once the cream cheese has melted in, add ¼ cup grated Parmesan. Stir until the Parmesan has melted into the sauce.
Add 4 oz. fresh spinach to the skillet. Stir the skillet until the heat from the sauce wilts the spinach (1-2 minutes).
Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet and stir to combine.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Shown garnished with another pinch of Parmesan and freshly cracked pepper.
This is my favorite recipe! I wish I could make it in double batches, but I don’t have a skillet large enough.
It makes a great leftover, and it’s almost as good cold as it is hot.
I made this for my family tonight and it was delicious!! My husband likes mushrooms so I chopped some and added them as well. The flavors were so good together. And, this was so easy! Thank you for such a yummy dish.
My family is Italian, so we make/eat pasta constantly, but this was on another level entirely!! Thank you so much; this dish is absolutely fantastic.
Great tasting recipe for such inexpensive ingredients. I doubled the recipe to feed my family. Would add more red pepper flakes next time.
Has anyone tried Kale with this instead of spinach? Looks delish!
Yes! We frequently switch out kale for spinach depending what’s on sale at the store and it’s yummy either way :)
I made this yesterday for my family. I doubled the recipe, fed a family of 5 and still had some leftovers for lunch. Kids loved it, but suggested adding chicken next time. Thank you!
So quick and soo yummy My go-to meal if I’m in a time crunch and need something fast but delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hey Beth this recipe is awesome! Since i’m a poor student I literally eat this at least 3 times a week. But I never get tired of it because I love it so much. Sometimes I add way more red pepper flakes to spice it up.
Wonderful! Even my four picky kids gobbled it up. Thank you so much for this creative & healthy recipe! It will be a staple in our home.
My dog wouldn’t eat that slop. Fucking amerikans know nothing about food.
Sounds like a pretty ungrateful and spoiled dog.
That’s a way classier reply than he deserved.
I agree, Scott!
And. op, why such a rude comment? Don’t like the recipe then move on! Sheesh!!
Wow, how funny. You can’t even spell ‘Americans.’ How about using your time Learning how to spell instead of bashing the way different people cook. You sound extremely ignorant and uneducated. I think this recipe looks delicious!
Sounds like you don’t know anything about culture and can’t appreciate new dishes. Not every person cooks the same. To each their own but leave the negativity out of here!
I can’t wait to try this one out!!
My !!like I always told my kids you dont have anything nice to say you say nothing
I just tried this recipe and the end result was awesome! I had all the ingredients already and I had a great lunch. Looking forward now to taking some on a picnic later.
Made this tonight and my family loved it. Will make again. I veganized the recipe by substituting cashew cream for cream cheese and omitting the parmesan cheese.
amazing recipe, I ate it over the course of a week! So good. However, I have one issue, and that is why I am giving 4 stars. taste Wise: 5 STARS.
Price wise: 2/5 stars. You claim just a little over $3.00 for the entire recipe. I paid $15.00 dollars for the entire recipe (this was excluding the spices which I already had at home).
How do you calculate the price of you recipes? They do not seem accurate to me. Thanks
Hi Max, here is a quick tutorial on how I calculate recipe costs. I calculate only the cost of the amount of each ingredient used, assuming the remainder of the product cost will be accounted for when it’s used in another recipe. Of course, ingredient costs vary quite a bit from region to region.
have u calculated the calories in this dish? just curious. I used about a tablespoon of Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese.
No, I haven’t :(
I imported the recipe in myfitnesspal and it turned out to be only 353 Kcal per portion (4 portions).
How did it turn out with Greek yogurt?
Beth, I love your web site. Your cooking is down home and great. Thanks for sharing!
We made this last night for meatless Monday, and it was REALLY good! We run the gambit of veggie lovers, ranging from can’t stand to doesn’t eat anything but! The veggie hater even ate a few pieces of spinach, and that’s saying something! Thanks for helping us meet our tight grocery budget this month, we’ll be using your recipes more often! As a matter of fact, I’ll be writing about you on my blog! (Not that I have many followers yet… LOL)