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.
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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 was easy to make and absolutely delicious! I sautéed chicken sausage before cooking the onion and it was so good! I saved about a cup of pasta water before draining it and used a little bit in my sauce before adding the pasta back in. I will definitely be making this again!
When I make it it doesn’t come out as saucy as the picture. What am I doing wrong?
Are you adding the ½ cup water in step 3?
I was always taught to save a cup of pasta water before draining. That way you can add it to the final dish if needed.
I can’t thank you enough for this wonderful recipe… My husband ain’t a big time fan of pasta items but this was a game changer for him too… Now he is hooked to this recipe & it never disappoints in making a perfect weekday lunch/ dinner
This pasta was sooo good and sooo easy. It’s the perfect weekday dinner. I will absolutely make this again.
Used elbows instead of penne and omitted the tomato paste (because I had none) but this recipe was still amazing. It’ll def go into my rotation when I need to use up a bag of spinach.
I make this frequently and it’s delicious! It’s great leftover as lunches as well. I recently made a bulk batch of homemade sauce and froze it, and I just made this again but used that sauce instead, and it came out just as good. One of my favorite easy pasta recipes!
Just made this for dinner tonight…SO GOOD! Some recipes are giving me meals that are every bit as good as paying high prices at restaurants, and this is one such recipe. Will save and make again…only change I might make would be to use half as much onion, and finely chop it. Otherwise, great meal!
Had everything right in the fridge for a quick and easy dinner! It’s so delicious 😋
Made this for lunch with some minor tweaks (added 4oz button mushrooms, upped the parmesan) and it was straight up delicious. Definitely keeping this one bookmarked,
This recipe was amazing!! Simple recipe yet tasted so good! My husband, who doesn’t typically enjoy pasta dishes, gave it a 10/10. It was a hit with my kids too which is a win! Will definitely add this to my rotation!
I just made this and I must say it’s on o the easiest recipes I have ever made. I added chunks of chicken to mine.
I loved it!
Made it with fresh chpped tomatoes and added chicken pieces and bell peper. I also used frozen spinach instead of fresh. Thank you so much for the inspiration.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Highly recommend.
I have no less than 70 of your recipes saved in my AnyList app (which is a great app by the way) and while I haven’t come close to trying them all, the ones I have tried are wonderful. Your emails are the ones I check first, and I’m not even a budget cook! Thanks for sharing your talents!
Delicious!
My daughter and I have been doing date night Sat nights during this Covid time.
We pick a new recipe to try, dress up, make it and rate it.
My daughter picked this one for last night and definitely a 5 star!
We follow the recipes to the tee the first time, then change/add after that if we want.
This was not only a 5 star because of the wonderful flavour but also for how easy it was to make!
We made a small “Olive Garden” salad and garlic bread with cheese on the side and mmmmmm!!
Thank you very much for this recipe. Will definitely make it again and again!
Cynthia & Jordyn.