Spinach Penne Pasta

Spinach Penne Pasta, a quick and easy pasta recipe that uses just a few simple ingredients and comes together in less than 20 minutes!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Servings person

Calories 667kcal

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!

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.