As the week came to a close, I realized I still needed one more quick recipe to round out our menu. Since I was determined to stick to what I already had on hand, I headed straight for the pantry. I tend to collect half-used bags of pasta, so that seemed like a good place to start. Then I spotted a couple of cans of quartered artichoke hearts that had been sitting there for ages—jackpot! Using the one-pot pasta method, I mixed things up with a few simple add-ins and came up with this delicious creamy spinach artichoke pasta.
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“Yummy and fairly simple! I used vegetable broth, which may have sacrificed some of the original recipe’s flavor, but a generous squeeze of lemon juice made the dish scrumptious. I highly recommend it.”
SUmmer
EASY CREAMY SPINACH ARTICHOKE PASTA RECIPE
I love this creamy one-pot pasta because it requires so few ingredients that I pretty much always have them on hand. The variations really are endless, so that prevents you from feeling like you’re always eating the same thing. This time around, I tossed in half a bag of fresh baby spinach and a 15 oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts. If you’re into spicy, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes would have also been awesome in this.
RECIPE SUCCESS TIPS
- Simmer gently. Simmering pasta in a mixture that contains milk can be tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it’s quite effortless. There may be a slight learning curve because every stove top is a little different, and cookware varies. The trick is to keep the liquid simmering on the lowest heat setting. If the heat gets too high, your milk will curdle, and your pasta will likely stick to the bottom of the skillet. But get the heat just right and stir every few minutes, and you’ll have a nice thick, creamy sauce in no time.
- Thaw and squeeze frozen spinach. If you use frozen spinach, thaw the spinach completely first, then squeeze out as much moisture as possible before adding it to the pasta (or else your sauce might turn slightly green).
- Any type of artichoke works. You can use artichoke hearts packed in oil or water for this recipe. You can even use marinated artichokes that are packed in oil with spices that would just add even more flavor to the pasta! Whichever type you use, make sure to drain them well and give them a slight chop to make the pieces a little smaller.
- If you use a protein pasta. Protein pasta does not release the starches necessary to thicken a sauce. You should remove the pasta once cooked, and let the sauce reduce by itself over medium heat.
Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pasta
Cost $5.96 recipe / $1.49 serving
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.20)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1½ cups chicken broth ($0.19*)
- 1½ cups milk ($0.47)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.02)
- black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.03)
- 8 oz. linguine ($0.86)
- ¼ lb. fresh baby spinach (half an 8 oz. bag, $1.35)
- 15 oz. quartered artichoke hearts ($2.44)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan ($0.24)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and add it to a deep skillet with the butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat for one to two minutes, or just until it’s tender and fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth, milk, salt, some freshly cracked pepper, and the pasta to the skillet (break the pasta in half first for easy stirring). Make sure the pasta is fully submerged, then place a lid on the skillet. Allow the skillet to come to a simmer, then immediately turn the heat down to low.
- Allow the pasta to simmer in the liquid for about 12 minutes, or until it’s al dente. Stir the pasta every few minutes to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Adjust the heat if needed to make sure the liquid maintains a gentle simmer. While the pasta is simmering, drain the artichoke hearts and then roughly chop them into slightly smaller pieces.
- Once the pasta is tender, turn off the heat. The sauce may still be slightly thin, but it will continue to thicken and absorb as the rest of the ingredients are added. Add the spinach, a handful at a time, to the hot pasta and sauce and toss it in the pasta until it wilts.
- Stir the chopped artichoke hearts into the pasta. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan over the pasta, then stir slightly to incorporate the Parmesan. Top with an additional 2 Tbsp of Parmesan then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!how to make creamy spinach artichoke pasta step-by-step photos
Cook the garlic: Mince 2 cloves of garlic and then add them along with 2 Tbsp butter to a deep skillet and sauté over medium heat for one to two minutes, or until the garlic is soft and very fragrant (but not brown).
Make the sauce: Add 1½ cups of chicken broth, 1½ cups of milk (whole milk works best, but 2% will suffice), ½ lb. linguine, ¼ tsp salt, and freshly cracked pepper. The pasta is on top of the liquid in the photo, but make sure it’s submerged in the liquid. I find that breaking the pasta in half helps with stirring the other ingredients in later.
Let the ingredients simmer: Cover the skillet and let the liquid simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, immediately turn it down to the lowest heat setting that maintains the simmer and let it cook for about 12 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir the pasta every few minutes to keep it from sticking. After about 12 minutes, the pasta should be tender and the sauce slightly thicker. It may still be a bit thin, but it will continue to absorb and thicken as you add the rest of the ingredients.
Chop the artichokes: While the pasta is simmering, drain one 15 oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts and roughly chop them into smaller pieces.
Add spinach: Add 4 oz. of fresh spinach (half of an 8 oz bag), one handful at a time, and mix with the hot pasta and sauce until it’s wilted (it took about two heaping handfuls for me, and it wilts extremely fast).
Add the artichokes: Add the quartered artichoke hearts and stir to combine with the pasta and sauce.
Add cheese: Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan over the pasta and stir to mix it into the lower layers, then top with an additional 2 Tbsp of Parmesan. Add extra pepper if desired.
Serve: And that’s one big skillet full of insanely delicious and easy Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pasta. Finished in NO time. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Since this pasta dish is quite rich, I like to pair it with a simple side salad or this green goddess salad. For protein, I’ll make grilled chicken or prepare BBQ grilled tofu. For dessert, something light and fruity like apple pie always hits the spot.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat over the stove or in the microwave. Add a splash of water or a touch of olive oil to loosen up the pasta if it gets too thick after being in the fridge.
So good!! Will be making this again. I used marinated artichokes (drained of oil) because that’s what I had and it was delicious. Great way to use up fresh spinach.
This wasn’t out of this world, but it was good, and easy. I used protein penne, and unlike another reviewer, I found that the sauce came out perfect, after being a little thin before putting in the spinach and artichokes. I used marinated artichokes—that probably helped make it a little tastier.
A winner in our house! The kids enjoyed this recipe and are already asking me to make it again. 5 stars — though I suggest doubling the recipe to feed a hungry family of four.
Yummy and fairly simple! I used vegetable broth, which may have sacrificed some of the original recipe’s flavor, but a generous squeeze of lemon juice made the dish scrumptious. I highly recommend it.
I followed the recipe as written except for using frozen spinach as that’s what I had on hand. I expect I’d like it much better with fresh spinach, but I’m currently committed to using up ingredients I have on hand so thats what I used. I’d bought jarred artichokes for another recipe that I never made, wanted to do something with them and found this recipe. I did add about a dozen grape tomatoes to the skillet as they were going wrinkly and needed to use them up(zero food waste for the win!).They added some color to the dish. I will definitely add more spices next time as I felt it was slightly bland as written, hence the 4 stars instead of 5. But it’s a good starting point to build around. Will definitely make this with fresh spinach next time.
I took added a few things and now regret adding the carrots. Too sweet. I followed the cooking instructions but with the added ingredients I also had to add more liquid. Make sure you add the spinach at the very end otherwise it gets too mushy. Still tastes good though. Thanks for the recipe! Will make it again.
I added some rotisserie chicken and it made a very filling and delicious meal. I would advise you to have everything prepped ahead of time. Especially if you are doing anything else, like garlic bread. It all moves very fast once you get going.
Yuck. Came out looking great but the taste was something else. I love everything in the dish. I was hoping the next day would be better but it was worse. A big waste of money. Sorry, not for us.
I loved the idea of the one pot dish, but my sauce was way too thin. Perhaps because I used protein pasta?? Not sure…The flavor was good. And, I added shrimp which was nice.
Hi Angela, Protein pasta does not release the starches necessary to thicken a sauce. You might consider removing the pasta once cooked, and reducing the sauce by itself over medium heat.
Delicious. Made this nondairy with almond milk and almond “parm”. I added red pepper flakes because we like a little spice. I think the only thing that could improve the recipe would be roasted garlic to give it a little more depth. I love easy one pot meals and I will 100% make this again!
I killed the budget by adding bacon and chicken, but this was awesome.
Delicious! I didn’t have any milk, so I used 2.5 cups broth and 1/2 a cup of half and it turned out great.
I doubled the recipe, and used a smaller shape pasta. I had no problems with clumping, I did have to add more milk and broth to cover 2 lbs of pasta, but it came out delicious. Super and easy meal to make during the week.
Things I did differently:
I use onion, celery and carrot in almost every dish
I didn’t have spinach on hand, so I used bokchoy
I am a garlic girl, so I added 2 heads of garlic 🙈
I love your recipes and use them frequently, thank you so much!
I’ve always wanted to know, what is the max amount of cooked garlic you can add to a dish before it’s too garlicky. I bet it’s infinite 😂🧄
NEVER. ENOUGH. GARLIC 😬😂
It was a battle to keep the pasta from sticking together. This is not a ‘put the lid on and walk away for 12 minutes’ kind of dish. I was constantly working the pasta with tongs, fishing the sticky pasta out and separating them, but even then they wanted to clump together into tough fasci. I finally did get them to be individual strands.
I doubled the garlic and added two anchovies. I often add a pinch of red pepper flakes to pasta dishes, but since it was a creamy sauce I omitted them. The final flavor was quite nice.
I used bow tie pasta, added a bit of italian seasoning and a bit of sun dried tomatoes chopped up. Bow tie pasta took about 20 minutes to get tender. I took this to a lunch potluck and everyone loved it.