Spinach Penne Pasta, a quick and easy pasta recipe that uses just a few simple ingredients and comes together in less than 20 minutes!
You won't be able to get enough of this delicious spinach pasta. Fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes are the key ingredients, alongside olives which add a nice briny flavor. Plus, it's vegan!
This recipe is part of the Home Pasta Lunch Series, which includes easy pasta recipes designed for one person to make on their lunch break. You'll definitely want to add this recipe to your work-from-home lunch rotation!
Here are a few reasons why you should make Spinach Penne Pasta:
- The ingredients are as simple as it gets. Pasta, olive oil, garlic, spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives, and salt: you most likely have some, if not all, of these ingredints already in your fridge or pantry!
- It's easy to make. Spinach pasta can be made in a pinch. After just a few steps, it will be ready for you to enjoy.
- It's vegan-friendly. This recipe doesn't use any animal products, so it's appropriate for vegans and anyone else who chooses to follow a plant-based eating style.
Let's learn how to make Spinach Penne Pasta!
Ingredients you'll need
- Penne pasta: The type of noodle used in this dish. If you don't have penne, you can substitute it with rigatoni, bowtie pasta or rotini.
- Olive oil: Adds flavor - a staple in any Italian kitchen!
- Garlic: Our seasoning of choice for spinach and tomato pasta; you can add as much or as little as you'd like, depending on your preference.
- Spinach leaves: The spinach is combined with the pasta in the last step of this recipe. You'll mix it in with the other ingredients and allow it to wilt down.
- Cherry tomatoes: Brings some acidity to this dish, balancing out the flavor and adding a note of freshness.
- Gaeta or Kalamata olives: Gives this pasta dish a nice briny flavor. Gaeta olives are very similar in flavor to kalamata, but come from Italy instead of Greece like Kalamata.
- Salt: Finish off the flavor of the pasta by adding salt to taste.
How to make Spinach Penne Pasta: Step by Step
Cook the pasta: Bring a pot of water to boil. When it's boiling, add salt. Throw the pasta in and cook until it's just before al dente – this is important because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. Drain the pasta when it's done, but make sure to set aside about ⅓ cup of the pasta water.
Heat garlic, tomatoes, and olives: Once you've thrown the pasta into the water, heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic clove, and when garlic is fragrant, add the tomatoes. Salt them lightly
Let the tomatoes cook down until they burst, for about 5 minutes.
Add the olives in. (photos 1 & 2) Remove the garlic clove. By this time, the pasta should be ready to add to the sauce. Add the pasta to the pan (photo 3)
Mix veggies and olives with pasta: Add the pasta to the pan along with ⅓ cup pasta water. It may seem like a lot of water, but it will evaporate and add a nice consistency to the pasta. Let the pasta cook with the pasta water for about one minute
Add spinach: Toss the spinach into the pan (photo 4) Mix it with pasta, veggies, and olives until it wilts down (photo 5)
Once most of the liquid is absorbed, remove from the pan and plate. Enjoy your spinach pasta!
FAQs
Do you cook spinach before adding it to pasta? In this recipe, we didn't cook the spinach before adding it to pasta, as it cooks quickly when it's added to the pan with pasta and vegetables. You can cook it before adding it to the pasta if you'd like, but it adds an extra step.
How to store and reheat
If you have leftovers, you can store the pasta in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can reheat it in the microwave or by sauteing in a pan with a little bit of olive oil until warmed through.
Top tips
- I suggest to use either kalamata or Gaeta olives in this dish. Gaeta olives are very similar in flavor to kalamata, but come from Italy instead of Greece like Kalamata.
- Be sure to add the pasta water. It adds a nice texture and creaminess to the whole dish that you won't get otherwise.
- I removed the garlic clove because I wanted to lightly flavor the sauce with garlic (this is a common Italian cooking technique). But if you prefer a stronger garlic flavor, you can mince up the garlic and keep it in the dish.
More easy pasta recipes
Can't get enough of this spinach penne pasta? Try out my other pasta recipes in the Work-From-Home Pasta Lunch Series:
If you tried making this Spinach Penne Pasta, or any other recipe on the blog, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Spinach Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 100 grams penne or rigatoni pasta
- 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoon pitted Gaeta or Kalamata olives
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. When it's boiling, add salt. Throw the pasta in and cook until it's just before al dente – this is important because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Once you've thrown the pasta into the water, heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic clove, and when garlic is fragrant, add the tomatoes. Salt them lightly.
- Let the tomatoes cook down until they burst, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the olives in. Remove the garlic clove. By this time, the pasta should be ready to add to the sauce. Add the pasta to the pan.
- Add about ⅓ cup of pasta water to the pan. It may seem like a lot of water, but it will evaporate and add a nice consistency to the pasta.
- Let the pasta cook with the pasta water for about one minute, then add the spinach in. Let it wilt down.
- Once most of the liquid is absorbed, remove from the pan and plate. Enjoy your spinach pasta!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- I suggest to use either kalamata or Gaeta olives in this dish. Gaeta olives are very similar in flavor to kalamata, but come from Italy instead of Greece like Kalamata.
- Be sure to add the pasta water. It adds a nice texture and creaminess to the whole dish that you won't get otherwise.t
- I removed the garlic clove because I wanted to lightly flavor the sauce with garlic (this is a common Italian cooking technique). But if you prefer a stronger garlic flavor, you can mince up the garlic and keep it in the dish.
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