Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pasta


Some ingredients are soul mates, just absolutely meant to be paired together, and spinach and artichoke are definitely two of those ingredients. I know I’ve made something similar to this before, but when Carrie raved about it on her blog, I just knew I had to try this version. I’m so glad that I did. This pasta is creamy, spinachy-artichokey, cheesy deliciousness. The boys just loved it, and didn’t even mind the flecks of green in their pasta. Joe and I really enjoyed this too, and found it to be a hearty, flavorful, meatless meal. And, it seriously only takes about 15 minutes to make. A win-win-win!

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pasta
adapted from Carrie’s Sweet Life

12 ounces penne pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 13.5-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 10-ounce package chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1. Preheat the broiler.

2. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Drain, return to pot, and keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and artichokes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the onions are tender and translucent. Add the garlic; cook and stir 1 additional minute. Add sour cream, cream cheese, and parmesan and heat through until completely melted. Stir in spinach.

4. Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese to the sauce mixture. If the mixture seems to dry, add reserved pasta water a bit at a time.

5. Pour pasta into a greased baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Broil 3 to 5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and cheese is melted.

4 comments:

Sarah - The Home Cook said...

I REALLY wish my husband liked artichokes.

The Daily Smash said...

lol I have to agree with the home cook. I really wish my husband liked artichokes also lol. This looks so good I will need to make on a day he is working late for work.

Sarah said...

Okay, I am going to try this one tonight. I was searching online for a spinach artichoke bacon pasta I made years ago and can't find it. So, I am going to try this, adding bacon. I'll post back and let you know how it turns out. :)

Henna said...

I made this to use up a jar of marinated artichoke hearts for my son and me, and we loved it! I made a few changes, like increasing the pasta to 1 pound (we prefer a drier pasta), and swapping out the cream cheese with additional sour cream. Totally delish!
Here's my blogpost on it:
http://myninjanaan.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/spinach-and-artichoke-pasta/