Pasta in Spinach Sauce
Sep 30, 2025
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What starts out as an overflowing bowl of spinach always shrinks to a modest handful after cooking. But that little handful of spinach is nutrient dense and ideal for Pasta in Spinach Sauce.
The creamy pasta sauce is vibrant green thanks to the spinach and fresh basil. Creaminess from two cheeses helps this silky green pasta sauce hang onto every strand of spaghetti. This recipe is easy enough for weeknight dinner and looks stunning enough to make it an elegant offering that’s sure to impress dinner guests.
Whether you’re looking for new creamy pasta sauce recipes or want to sneak more greens into your meals, this dish delivers big flavor and visual appeal in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Baby spinach
- Fresh basil
- Cream cheese
- Gruyere cheese, or substitute shredded parmesan
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes
How to Make Creamy Spinach Pasta
Making this pasta in spinach sauce is easier than you might think. Here’s the breakdown:
Blanch the spinach. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the spinach for 2 to 3 minutes until wilted. Drain and squeeze out the extra water.
Blend the sauce. In a high-powered blender, combine spinach, basil, cream cheese, Gruyere, garlic, lemon juice and seasonings. Blend until smooth and creamy. If the sauce feels too thick, thin it out with a splash of reserved pasta water.
Toss with pasta. Pour the creamy spinach sauce over hot pasta and toss until each noodle is coated in that gorgeous green sauce.
Serve and enjoy. Garnish with an extra sprinkle of red pepper flakes for heat, or extra cheese and torn, fresh basil.
Pro Tip: Reuse the same boiling water from blanching spinach to cook your pasta while the sauce comes together. It speeds up the recipe since you don’t have to stand around waiting for another pot of water to boil!
FAQs About Creamy Spinach Pasta
Absolutely. This is one of the creamy pasta sauce recipes that is ideal for meal planning. Make it up to 5 days in advance and stir it into cooked pasta for a qucik-and-easy weeknight dinner.
Yes. Short pastas like rigatoni or penne will hold the sauce well, as does spaghetti. This sauce has a “cling” factor, so it works well with almost any pasta shape.
Spoon the creamy spinach sauce onto roasted potatoes, squash, carrots or cauliflower. It’s a versatile sauce that can even be layered into lasagna.
Of course. I like to add poached shrimp, but you can add anything you would serve with a more traditional pasta sauce.
I would not recommend freezing this sauce. When you freeze any smooth sauce that has cheese or dairy, it can separate and grainy or watery as it thaws.
This creamy pasta in spinach sauce recipe is proof simple, wholesome ingredients can make for an elevated meal in minutes. Next time you’re craving something extra creamy, reach for some vitamin-packed spinach and whip this up for pasta night.
Pasta in Spinach Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, packed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 16 ounces spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted and bright green.
- Use tongs to transfer the spinach to a colander. Drain well, then squeeze out any excess liquid with the back of a spoon or a clean kitchen towel.
- In a high-powered blender, combine the spinach, cream cheese, Gruyere, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Blend until completely smooth.
- If the sauce is too thick, add up to ¼ cup of the reserved hot water (from boiling the spinach) and blend again until you reach your desired consistency.
- Toss with freshly cooked spaghetti and serve.
Notes
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Vibrant and delicious. I love this one.
Thank you. That bright green sauce never fails.
This bright green sauce looks amazing!