Main Dishes
Spinach and Artichoke Pasta
Prep
1 hour
Cook
10 minutes
Yield
4
🌱 Turn your favorite party dip into dinner! This creamy spinach and artichoke pasta combines rich, cheesy sauce with tender noodles for the ultimate comfort food. Make it with homemade or store-bought pasta – either way, it's pure indulgence on a plate!
This spinach and artichoke pasta is the perfect vegetarian recipe when you’re looking for a quick, creamy pasta recipe for dinner. It combines a spinach and artichoke dip with pasta (that I recommend you make homemade). It’s creamy like alfredo, and really delicious.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Spinach and Artichoke Pasta
- Versatile: Make this recipe with store-bought pasta to make it quicker. Add in kale instead of spinach, experiment with the cheeses in the sauce, go for it, and get creative.
- Easy: This recipe uses homemade pasta, but you can cut the time for the recipe down a bit if you buy store-bought. Either or, the recipe (with the homemade pasta) will only take just over an hour to create.
- Creamy: This recipe is oh-so-creamy and it’s seriously delicious and comforting.
🍲 Ingredients
Homemade Pasta – This simple recipe makes homemade, plant-based pasta in just one hour. It uses only five ingredients, and nothing beats homemade noodles. Fresh pasta has an incredible texture and flavor perfectly complements the rich, creamy sauce. The slight chewiness and ability to hold sauce make it worth the extra effort.
Spinach & Artichoke Dip – This dip is vegetarian and so good to use as your typical dip or spread, but also makes a fantastic, alfredo-like sauce. It’s creamy, has the added nutrition of spinach and artichokes, and a lot of flavor with the seasoning. When thinned with cream and pasta water, it becomes a luxurious sauce that coats every strand of pasta beautifully.
👩🍳 How to Make Spinach and Artichoke Pasta
- Follow pasta-making/cooking instructions in this recipe
- In a pot, combine spinach + artichoke dip, heavy cream, and some of the fresh pasta water over medium-high heat
- Serve over top of fresh pasta
- Garnish with basil, black pepper, and parmesan cheese
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Pasta Water: Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining – the starchy water helps bind the sauce to the pasta perfectly.
- Temperature Control: Keep the sauce on medium-low heat to prevent the dairy from breaking or curdling when combining with pasta water.
- Timing: Have your sauce ready before the pasta finishes cooking for the best texture and temperature.
- Cheese Quality: Use freshly grated Parmesan for the best flavor and melting properties – pre-grated cheese doesn’t melt as smoothly.
🗒 Variations
- Greens: Swap spinach for kale, arugula, or even Swiss chard for different flavors and textures.
- Vegan: Make this dish completely vegan by following the spinach + artichoke dip variation that is included within the recipe. Essentially it involves swapping the cheese with vegan cheese, as well as the sour cream and cream cheese with your plant-based substitutes.
- Store-Bought Shortcut: You could use store-bought as a shortcut, but making it yourself is easy and will taste more elevated. You never really know what goes into those dips in the stores, so this is a much more luxurious, and delicious experience in my opinion.
🗒 Best served with
- Brussel Sprout Caesar Salad
- Twist Bread (with Pesto & Parmesan)
- Quick and Easy Focaccia Bread
- Italian Chopped Salad
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
🤔 Common Questions
The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Cook the pasta fresh and combine just before serving for the best texture. Leftover assembled pasta reheats well but may need thinning with cream or pasta water.
Canned or jarred artichoke hearts work perfectly and are much more convenient than fresh. Look for ones packed in water rather than oil for a cleaner flavor that won’t compete with the creamy sauce.
Serve with a side of sourdough or garlic bread. A simple arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette also pairs beautifully to cut through the richness of the pasta.
Absolutely! Grilled chicken, shrimp, or even crispy pancetta would be delicious additions. Cook your protein separately and fold it in when combining the pasta with the sauce.
Use pasta water to thin the sauce gradually until it coats the pasta without being gloppy. If it’s too thin, simmer for a few extra minutes to reduce, or add a bit more cheese to thicken.
Use half-and-half instead of heavy cream, add extra vegetables like zucchini or bell peppers, or use a lighter cheese like ricotta mixed with some Parmesan instead of a heavy cream base.
Spinach and Artichoke Pasta
Ingredients
Instructions
- Follow pasta-making/cooking instructions in the post provided by FoodByMaria HERE.
- In a pot, combine spinach + artichoke dip, heavy cream, and some of the fresh pasta water over medium-high heat.
- Serve over top of fresh pasta.
- Garnish with basil, black pepper, and parmesan cheese.
