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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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.
Another winner Beth!! Fantastic recipe. My 11-year-old rated it a 10 out of 10!!!!
I tried this the other day and it was amazing! Have you tried adding any vegetables to it? If so what would did you try? Thanks!
I really LOVED this. If you like spinach artichoke dip you will too. I didn’t have milk so I used vegetable broth and I didn’t use the hot sauce or peppers. It was super yummy.
Has Anyone tried freezing this and then baking it with some cheese on top? I think it should work…
Making this tonight! I got one of the Philadelphia cooking creme things (Italian cheese & herb flavor) on a manager’s special deal for $1.50, so I’m using that in place of the cream cheese & sour cream. Hopefully it turns out delicious!
PS- I love your blog SO much. Thank you for all the amazing recipes :)
This was delicious! Although my grocery store was out of light sour cream AND neufchatel… whoops :D. I added sun dried tomatoes because I can get those in the bulk section of my produce market for $3.99/pound, and that really kicked the recipe up a notch.
Your website has been so, so helpful to me as my husband and I are on a super tight budget in NYC. We are obsessed with the way you break down costs! So far we’ve tried three of your recipes and each one has been a hit. Thanks for being amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing! Could you please add nutrition information going forward?
Elizabeth – I haven’t tried yogurt in this one, but most of the time it works pretty well! I say go for it!
I love your blog! Thank you for taking time out your day to share your lovely recipes. Question: May I use plain yogurt in place of the sour cream?
I was thinking about making this when I saw your your recipe pinned on Pinterest Perfect timing. I have some spinach artichoke dip left over that I need to use up. I like your suggestion of thinning it with wine. I think I will also be adding chicken. I like the way you do the food costs. Pretty cool! I’ll be checking out some more of your recipes.
Absolutely delicious. Counting down the days until I make this again! Love the wine flavoring.
This was delicous. I made some changes – I put some mozzarella on top and baked for 15 minutes and then broiled for a couple of minitues. I did not add the hot sauce but added a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes. As a vegetarian, I can’t use parmesan but I did use vegan parmesan and it was still creamy. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
Um, yeah…yum. My kids both ate a huge helping without complaining about spinach. They love veggies but spinach is not usually on the top of list. Both said they would eat it again. My nearly teen daughter said it could be more cheesy, but other than that not even any suggestions! We too are using your blog for our menu over the next few weeks! I was surprised how little my cart cost despite having half of fresh foods :) Yay!
Spinach and artichoke pasta
This turned out great, although I would use a little less garlic and request from my bf less spinach lol! Thanks so much for the recipe! Good stuff!!!!