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.
Aldi has canned artichokes for $1.89 now so I was excited to try this. I didn’t have hot sauce and this definitely needed it for that extra flavor kick. Needed quite a bit of salt also. I made exactly as is otherwise and I wish I would have added the canned artichokes as the sauce was simmering, they still seemed a bit tough. Sauce was almost too creamy, I think a thinner sauce would have been better. I love most BB recipes but probably won’t make this again.
Fantastic! I doubled the sauce since I was adding 4 medium sized garlic boneless skinless chicken breasts to make it a one dish meal. I didn’t have white wine on hand, so used the suggested chicken broth and also substituted lemon juice for the hot sauce. Another winner that I will make again. Thank you, Beth!
Do you think this could be reheated in a crockpot? I need something to make ahead of time and then stay in crockpot until lunch time. It looks delicious.
could you use cooking wine to replace the white wine?
Yes, if it’s a white cooking wine and not a red.
You could – but it is NOT recommended. A good rule of thumb is NEVER use a wine you would not drink! Wine helps develop flavor – so I always try to use a decent wine.
You can get inexpensive, TASTY wines without breaking the budget. Whites are usually less expensive than good reds.
This was amazing, thanks for sharing! I’ve never had spinach artichoke dip but I can just see the danger now! I made this completely vegan with soy cream, oat creme fraiche and a nutritional yeast & cashew DIY parmesan :)
OMG I loved this very delicious! We used Chicken broth and not the wine. Will have to try that next time.
Weird question, would it be okay to use moscato for the white wine? I know it’s a sweet wine… but it’s all I have. Or is there something else I can add instead of white wine? Thanks!
Yeah, I feel like Moscato would definitely be too sweet. :) I suggest chicken or vegetable broth as a replacement.
Made the dish tonight. Didn’t like the sauce, it had a bitter taste to it. Previous reply said something about the hot sauce. We ended up using a jar of Alfredo’s sauce I had in pantry. Basic recipe with artichokes and spinach was great.
What kind of white wine did you use to make the pasta? Thanks, Beth!! :-)
Unfortunately I don’t remember. That was too many years ago. :P
I LOVE most of your recipes, but I actually didn’t really like this one! The white wine paired with the hot sauce made it taste too tangy, and I thought it was just a bizarre flavor. Maybe mine needed more cheese.
LOVE IT. Will be making again soon.
Next time I am going to use fresh spinach & mushrooms in place of the frozen spinach & artichokes.
I too was curious if anyone had ever tried freezing this? I was hoping to make several at once and freeze some for later.
I tried and it was ok, but I wouldn’t freeze it again.
Would fresh spinach work in this recipe? I have some I need to use up. How would you go about getting it to wilt?
Hi Elizabeth, Yes fresh spinach would be really awesome in this. :) Luckily, it wilts very fast and easily, so all you’ll need to do is stir it in a handful at a time (to prevent it from spilling out of the skillet) until it wilts. It should only take a few seconds in the hot cream sauce. So, after you make the sauce, just stir in the spinach until wilted and then continue to add the artichoke hearts and the rest of the recipe as written.
Awesome, thank you!
Not always the biggest fan of being able to really taste sour cream, but I liked it! And so did everyone else!
This was a fantastic recipe! The whole family liked it. Thanks for sharing!