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.
It’s Delish but any suggestions on making the sauce a little sweeter?
Try stirring in a teaspoon or so of brown sugar (add it to the sauce before the noodles are added). That will also help neutralize the acid from the tomatoes.
Delish! I made this tonight & used ricotta instead of cream cheese & added fresh basil at the end! :)
so when i’m measuring out the dry pasta, how many cups is that?? thanks.
I usually buy 1 lb. (16 oz.) packages of pasta and then just estimate half of the package instead of trying to measure it out, but if you wanted to do cups, it would probably be about 2 cups of dry pasta. The measurement is different for each shape of pasta because they fit differently in the measuring cups, but I found this really great chart on the Barilla website that gives conversions!
Thanks! This was so delicious! My 9 year old son didn’t even complain about eating spinach. I love the cream cheese addition. Yummy!
Sounds exactly like my favorite dish at Noodles!! Can’t wait to try it!
Made this tonight and it was awesome. Tastes just like the Penne Rosa from Noodles! Next time I’m going to add mushrooms.
I just tried this pasta as part of my meal plan this week and it rocks! Thanks for the recipe!
Had this tonight – oh my gosh, so good and SO EASY for someone who’s a terrible cook. I used only half an onion (not a big onion fan) and fresh basil from my plant, and it was great. Can’t wait to make for friends and family.
This was delicious! The sauce was a little bland for me, so i added garlic powder, onion powder, Penzeys pizza seasoning, and a dash of marjoram. But overall, this was a hit, and my guy doesn’t normally enjoy creamy tomato sauces. I on the other hand love them, so I’m thrilled that he said I could make this again! Thanks!
This was YUMMY! thank you!
About how many cups is one serving. Trying to plan for a certain amount of people…kids and adults.
Looking forward to making this! Thanks! :-)
It made about 5-6 cups, so the servings were about 1.25 to 1.5 cups each.
Thanks! That helps. :-)
Hi Beth!! I’m going to try this recipe for the fam tonight, but will definitely need more than 1/2 lb of pasta…for 1 – 1.5 lbs, do you suggest doubling all the ingredients? or more of some less of others?
I’m also going to add some sautéed mushrooms, I think it would work really well!
Yes, I would multiply all of the ingredients by the same factor so that you end up with the same thing, just bigger volume :)
This was so quick and easy! Used what I had on hand, so medium shells instead of penne, tomato soup paste mixed with a jar of sun dried tomato pesto, all the fresh ingredients, and mascarpone…SO good!! Thanks for the idea, I will have a great couple of lunches this week!
I made this last night for me and my boyfriend (who usually hates those kind of pasta sauce) and it was a real success! Because tomatoes were on sale this week at my local grocery store, I actually switch the can tomatoes for some real italian tomatoes. I loved how the tomatoes became veggies in the pasta rather than just a part of the sauce!
Would adding some italian sausage taste OK with this recipe? Thanks!
Yes, I think that would be delicious!
I was just thinking the exact same thing, as my boyfriend’s a carnivore and I was trying to figure out how I would get him to eat this. I’ll be trying this tonight (half with sausage for him)!
I’ve made this recipe before and it was always great, but tonight I added some italian sausage and it took it up to the next level. Great suggestion!
Made this just the other night, love it when I happen to have every ingredient on hand! This was so tasty and so easy to whip up! Perfect for a filling and hearty meal that takes no time after work! The boyfriend loved it – thank you!