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
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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.
Can I use frozen spinach?
You can, but the texture won’t be nearly as nice as fresh spinach for this recipe. :)
I make this at least once a month. I always add portobello mushrooms and extra spinach. Occasionally I’ll use goat cheese in place of the cream cheese because that’s what I have. Its always such a hit. I think it would be wonderful w/ blackened shrimp.
Delicious! This was a great recipe, Thank you for sharing a great recipe.
Love this Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta, seems super delicious and super excited to this delicious recipe. My kids gonna love this one.
This was a great recipe to use up some pantry staples and fridge odds and ends. My sauce turned out a bit thin when using macaroni noodles, but I suspect it is because I did not train them well enough. Still, we really enjoyed this. Thanks for another great recipe!
Adding a very belated rating to this go-to recipe. My husband and I have made this recipe every few menu cycles since we got married 9 years ago. We love it. We’ve made it with whatever greens we have on hand, different pastas; it’s all good.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! My food-picky hubby went back for seconds, saying how good it was, and he also commented how beautiful it was on the plate. I used thawed frozen spinach, but otherwise followed directions. Served with Pepperidge Farms Garlic Texas Toast. It was simple and delicious–thanks!
Just made this for dinner and absolutely loved it! I added shrimp to it and it’s even better.
Delicious! I used Neufchâtel cheese instead to reduce the fat content a bit, and cooked some shrimp with the garlic and onions for a protein source! Definitely would make again!
Something about a beautiful bowl of pasta makes it that much more exciting to eat. Love how simple this is yet it looks so delicious and like you had to spend a lot of time to make it. Score!
So good!!! Definitely try this and was super easy to make! We added extra cream cheese!
Made this the other night – was delicious! I am a vegetarian, so I cooked up some yummy Field Roast Veggie Italian sausages first with the onions and garlic (and a little red wine) – Definitely a keeper! Important (as another reviewer noted) to use good quality canned tomatoes.
Hi. Do I need to do anything special if I want to double this recipe? Thank you!
Nope, just make sure you have a skillet big enough! :)
Thank you SO much!
Beth! I love you, and I love this recipe!
I recently found out I am gluten-sensitive, and have been lactose intolerant all my life. So this weekend I got some vegan parm and cream cheese just for this recipe. Pricey, but oh so worth it!
I ended up using sliced mushrooms, frozen spinach, crushed + diced tomatoes with herbs, and this awesome yellow pea macaroni we got to try different (read: better) gluten free pasta options.
I have been missing bread SO MUCH since trying to limit my gluten intake, and let me just say….. Dairy and Gluten Free….. this tastes like PIZZA! The garlic, creaminess, mushrooms, starch… and with this fancy pasta I made it vegan with over 15g of protein! I am in LOVE!
That’s fantastic! Thank you for sharing how you made it because I’m sure that will be helpful to someone else. :)
This was amazing! My Fiance’s now favorite meal. The second time I made it I added 3 oz of the cream cheese and 1/2 freshly grated parm and it was to die for. I am a Dietitian and I am trying to portion this out for my clients with diabetes. What serving size are you basing your nutrition on, One cup? less? Thank you again!
The nutrition data is calculated based on ¼ of the finished pasta. I don’t have the exact volume of the serving because that can vary so much based on how you measure something that’s kind of bulky and awkwardly shaped like this pasta.