The Amell Family Blog

This pasta was such a wonderful recipe find! We really enjoyed this recipe. The only thing I would do different when cooking it in the future is chopping the spinach so the small kids don’t notice it as much. They don’t particularly enjoy the large spinach chunks, but they certainly enjoyed this dinner dish and we hope you do too! The original recipe is linked at the bottom of the post.

Make the Pasta

Fill a pasta pot with water and place it on the stove. Boil the water over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick. Stir the water and then add the pasta to the whirling water. (Don’t argue with Gordon Ramsey’s techniques!) Cook the pasta according to your liking and the package instructions. I prefer al dente, but Josh needs the pasta cooked more. If you’re using homemade pasta, it requires less cooking time. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water because this will help the sauce we are making to thicken. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and then add the pasta back to the pot.

Start the Sauce

Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat on the stove. Add the oil, onions, and garlic. Sauté the onions and garlic until the onions turn to a clear colour and are soft. This takes about 3-5 minutes depending on your pan. Stir frequently to prevent the onions and garlic from burning.

Add the diced tomatoes with the juices, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if you want that kick of heat. Stir everything together. Add the tomato paste and the pasta water. Incorporate the tomato paste into the sauce and then turn the heat to low.

Melt in the Cheeses

Cut your cream cheese into small chunks and add it to the sauce. Allow it to melt into the sauce by stirring frequently. Once the cream cheese is melted, add in the parmesan cheese. Mix the parmesan in and allow it to melt.

Add the Spinach

If you have room in your sauce pan, add the spinach to the sauce pan. If you do not have room, then add the sauce to your pasta that is in your pasta pot and then add the spinach to that. Allow the spinach to wilt by carefully mixing in the spinach. This takes about 2-3 minutes. Once the spinach is mixed in, you can plate your pasta. Add extra parmesan on top if desired. Enjoy!

TOMATO & SPINACH PASTA

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• ½ lb. pasta
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon oil (olive oil, vegetable, coconut, etc.)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz. can)
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ cup pasta water
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• 4 oz. fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Fill a pasta pot with water and heat over high heat on the stove. Bring water to a boil. Salt your water and add the pasta. Cook pasta until desired texture or per package directions. Drain (reserve ½ cup for sauce) and set aside.
2. While the pasta is cooking, make your sauce. Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté until translucent and soft; 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the diced tomatoes with juices, dried oregano, dried basil, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to the pan. Stir to combine.
   Add tomato paste and pasta water to the pan. Stir until incorporated.
4. Turn heat to low. Cut cream cheese into small chunks and add to the pan so it melts into the sauce. Stir occasionally until cream cheese is melted. Add the parmesan cheese and stir to melt it into the sauce.
5. Add the spinach and gently stir into the sauce until the spinach is wilted; 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce into the pasta pot and mix well until pasta is coated in sauce. Top with parmesan once pasta is plated, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can use any pasta: small shell, macaroni, penne, etc. If you’re using homemade pasta, adjust cooking time to 3-5 minutes, testing the consistency as it cooks.
• If your sauce pan is too shallow to add the spinach to then mix the sauce with the pasta in the pasta pot and then add the spinach to the pasta pot; allow to wilt in the pasta pot.
• If you have small children, then consider chopping the fresh spinach so it is in smaller chunks when it wilts.

The original recipe can be found at Budget Bytes.

Watch the Tutorial Here!