You know how spinach artichoke dip is so good that sometimes you want to just order the appetizer as your meal and not share it with anybody? I hereby give you permission to. Well, as long as you make it yourself and turn it into this meal-worthy Spinach Artichoke Pasta instead of spending $8 for one serving dip. And I guess you can share because you’ll have enough to feed six. ;)
I started with my favorite spinach artichoke dip recipe, added some pasta to make it more meal-worthy, and then made a few substitutions to make it saucier.
The absolute best part about this Spinach Artichoke Pasta is that it literally came together in the time that it took me to boil the pasta. It seems like a lot of my recipes have been really time-consuming lately, so it was really refreshing to make something that was so quick and so delicious. It’s a WINNER!
Scroll down for ingredient substitutions and add-in ideas.
Lighten it Up
To make this Spinach Artichoke Pasta a little lighter, you can substitute neufchatel cheese for cream cheese (1/3 less fat). I also nixed the mayonnaise and mozzarella that are in traditional spinach artichoke dip and used some milk instead because I needed this to be a bit more saucy than dip-like in order to coat the pasta. You could also sub low-fat sour cream for the regular if you want. I wouldn’t suggest using fat-free sour cream or cheeses in this as they don’t do well texturally when melted or in sauces.
Can I Substitute the Wine?
I used white wine in my sauce because it’s Friday night and I know I’ll finish the bottle. Plus, it was a cheap $7.99 bottle so 1/4 cup didn’t add significantly to the total cost. If you don’t want to use wine, you can sub chicken or vegetable broth instead. But let me tell you, the wine adds a fantastic, unique flavor element.
Can I Substitute the Hot Sauce?
If you don’t want to use spicy hot sauce, I would substitute it with lemon juice. You need the acidic tang given by either the vinegar in the hot sauce or the lemon juice to brighten up the creamy sauce. I found that the hot sauce wasn’t spicy enough for me so I ended up adding red pepper flakes too.
What Else Can I Add?
Okay, one more thing. Grilled chicken, crab, or lobster meat would be EXCELLENT mixed in if you want a little more protein.
Spinach Artichoke Pasta
Servings 6Ingredients
- 12 oz. bowtie pasta ($1.50)
- 1 14oz. can quartered artichoke hearts ($2.59)
- 1/2 lb. frozen chopped spinach, thawed ($0.86)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.75)
- 1/4 cup white wine ($0.51)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.19)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan ($0.82)
- Few dashes hot sauce ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.03)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the pasta, stir, and continue to boil until the pasta is tender (7-10 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Drain the artichoke hearts and roughly chop into smaller pieces. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the thawed spinach. Set the spinach and artichoke hearts aside.
- Mince the garlic and add it to a large skillet with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat for about one minute, or just until the garlic softens. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and white wine. Stir and cook until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Whisk the milk into the sauce, and let it heat through. Once the sauce is hot again, turn the heat down to low and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Season the sauce with hot sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Stir the spinach and artichoke hearts into the sauce, then add the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or hot sauce if needed.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Spinach Artichoke Pasta – Step By Step Photos
Let 1/2 lb. of frozen chopped spinach thaw, then squeeze out the excess moisture. Drain one 14oz. can of artichoke hearts, then roughly chop them into smaller pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta, stir, and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Mince four cloves of garlic, then add them to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for about one minute, or just until the garlic softens a bit.
Add 4oz. cream cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, and 1/4 cup white wine to the skillet with the garlic and olive oil. Heat and stir until the cream cheese has melted in and the sauce is smooth, then whisk in 1/2 cup milk and heat through again. Once hot, turn the heat down to low and stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Season the sauce with a few dashes of hot sauce, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Stir in the spinach and artichoke hearts.
Finally, add the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or hot sauce as desired.
I’ve been craving spinach and artichoke dip (w/ fried bowties) all day! I wish I could make this tonight.. sigh. It will have to wait until this weekend!
A more sinful variation I think I might try: cheese tortellini instead of regular pasta! Yumm!!
I made this last night and it was delish! Thanks!!
@Alana thanks I’ll look on youtube.
hahah, Megan, I love it! I think cooking w/your man is one of the most fun/sexy things ever. I’ve had a guy cook for me on a first date and I fell HARD. hahahah. Guys definitely need to cook more.
My boyfriend, who literally NEVER cooks, made this for me! OK, so I helped him a bit, but he still did it, which was adorable. We had a blast, and it was delicious. We were really skeptical about the hot sauce, but it was perfect!
Such an amazing recipe! My mom was over for dinner the night I made this and exclaimed “this is just like something you’d order at a restaurant”. She was impressed. So darn yummy even my 11 month old ate it up.
Man, this looks amazing.
I have used this base to stuff potatoes, stir into a hash brown cassaroll, top rice, stuff into won tons, stuff into quessadias (spl?), as a base for spinach enchlidas, and as as part of the spread for a cucumber sandwhich…. sood stufffs
I’ve had a spinach artichoke dip once that had crab in it, and it was delicious! You’re right, it would definitely be good in this. Of course, chicken is more affordable, and would also be wonderful. This recipe makes my tummy growl, since it’s got many of my favorite things.
Desertdj, you can find lots of “how-to” videos on YouTube, for how to prepare the artichoke heart part of a whole artichoke. Bit extra work, but I would imagine it should work just fine.
I’m part of this veggie co-op and this week I got 2 artichokes, anyway to make this using that? Otherwise I have no idea what to do with these artichokes!
This looks amazing!!!! I am adding it to my menu for next week. :)
I would be happy eating this dish with or without the pasta! Sounds like a good (and easy) spinach-artichoke dip recipe. I’ve got this one bookmarked (as I have many of your recipes!)
Great blog!
Yum!!! This is totally dangerous!
If you don’t normally drink wine, I recommend those little bottles of barefoot that they sell in 4 packs. They’re not that much more expensive and then you can have them on hand whenever you need them, for a recipe, or for life! :)
Oh man I want to make this like now! All I need are the artichokes and cream cheese mmmmmmm.