Creamy Spinach Pasta Dish (Printable)

Tender spinach and pasta in a rich, garlicky cream sauce perfect for easy, comforting dinners.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne or fettuccine pasta
02 - Salt, for boiling water

→ Sauce

03 - 2 tbsp olive oil
04 - 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
05 - 7 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped
06 - 1 cup heavy cream
07 - ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
08 - ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
09 - ¼ tsp black pepper
10 - Salt, to taste

→ Garnish

11 - Extra grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
12 - Freshly ground black pepper

# How to Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
03 - Add chopped spinach to the skillet and cook, stirring, until wilted, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - Reduce heat to low and pour in heavy cream, stirring to combine. Let simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes.
05 - Stir in grated Parmesan, nutmeg, black pepper, and salt. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly over 2 to 3 minutes.
06 - Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat evenly. If the sauce is too thick, gradually add reserved pasta water until the desired consistency is achieved.
07 - Plate immediately, garnished with extra grated Parmesan and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's genuinely restaurant-quality but takes less time than most weeknight decisions.
  • The nutmeg is your secret weapon—just a whisper of it transforms everything into something unexpectedly elegant.
  • You probably have most of this already, which means no excuses for a beautiful dinner tonight.
02 -
  • Never skip reserving pasta water—I learned this the hard way by ending up with a sauce that separated and looked wrong instead of silky.
  • Low heat is your friend once the cream goes in; high heat will make it break and turn grainy, and you'll never recover it.
03 -
  • Grate your Parmesan fresh instead of using pre-grated; it melts into the sauce instead of clumping, and the flavor is noticeably better.
  • Keep your heat low once the cream is added and don't rush—gentle simmering creates a silky sauce while high heat creates separation and regret.
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