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.
This was AMAZING! My husband, my 17 month old and myself LOVED LOVED LOVED this! My toddler even got seconds, after he finished his plate and tried to grab some more out of my bowl! Also, I used fat free sour cream and didn’t notice any problems with the sauce. Thank you thank you thank you for this recipe, cant wait to try more recipes over the next two weeks (I made my 2 week menu using your blog and one other budget blog)!
Yum! My husband and I both loved this.
So super delicious!!! I made this tonight and it was a huge hit. I made my whole menu this week based on your blog! Tomorrow- turkey meatballs. I’m sure they will be delish as well!
Wow and thank you!
Thanks for sharing useful recipe of Italian Sausage with Bow Tie Pasta i will this recipe in my house on this weekend please do regular posting so that other people learn from your blog.
This recipe was an instant classic for me. I’ve made it several times now and it’s amazing (and sooo easy) every time! A local bar here in Lafayette adds water chestnuts to their spinach and artichoke dip and it’s heavenly. I’ve added them to this recipe a few times and it gives it a lovely crunch that’s a great replacement for a crunchy chip (or fried pasta) normally served with this dish. Great recipe! Thanks so much!
I LOVED this recipe! My husband and I made it tonight, it was delish! I did use Chicken Stock instead of White Wine and it was really good. I also used provolone cheese instead of parm and it was really good and creamy. Definitely making this again!
Awesome recipe even though I think I may have messed up the conversions since I was going from 6 servings to 2 servings (it was a little dry but adding a bit more milk and sour cream helped.) I also added canned tuna, lemon pepper and used lemon juice instead of white wine since I didn’t have any on hand. Many thanks for the recipe!!!
beth – i used sriracha! it was awesome. great dish! thanks for dinner the other night… and lunch the next 3 days. haha.
bohjudith – Actually, for once, I used regular tabasco! But I’m sure sriracha would be good too!
did you use sriracha for the hot sauce? thinking about making this tonight!
Made this over the weekend. Easy and a favorite. Keep doing what you do Beth!
Made this tonight, and loved it! I didn’t have any cream cheese or neufachtel, but I had some creme fraiche, so I used a couple spoonfuls of that instead. It came out a little thin, which I think is due to the lack of cream cheese, but overall delicious! Next time I would add chicken to add a little protein to it, and I love the idea of a little lemon too! Will try that next time as well. Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds very yummy! I just might make this tonight!!
I made this and substituted the pepper flakes for the juice of 1/2 lemon and reduced fat cream cheese for the neufchatel. Also, I didn’t end up using any milk, and I think I upped the garlic content by about a clove. It was delicious and made enough to cover almost a whole 15oz box of pasta! My first attempt at a budget bytes recipe and I’d say it was a success! (although I’ve sampled quite a few more via my boyfriend, all delicious!)