This ultra creamy homemade spinach tomato pasta dish comes together in just 20 minutes – and with only one pot to clean!
The sauce is so thick and creamy – even without ANY heavy cream!
Something you might not know about me is that I am a huge hockey fan – Seriously, ask me any sort of useless hockey trivia and I will probably know the answer without even having to stop and think.
Come playoff season, you can find me with eyes glued to the television and remote in hand, especially if my team has a chance to win.
I’m lucky enough to have my two favorite teams in the playoffs this year (Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals), which makes for one very happy Katie.
I quickly threw together this creamy spinach tomato pasta dish on Monday night as a simple and filling meal I could enjoy before watching the games.
With just one skillet and no need to chop any vegetables or blend ingredients, I made myself a leisurely dinner and cleaned the entire kitchen, all before 7 PM.
For dessert, try these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies or these Black Bean Brownies!
Step 1:
Cook the pasta according to package directions, in salted boiling water.
Drain, but do not rinse.
Step 2:
While the pasta cooks, sauté the garlic for 1 minute, then add the flour, onion powder, and salt.
Whisk in remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
Step 3:
Add the pasta and stir to coat. Taste, and season with salt and pepper if desired.
If the pasta absorbs the sauce and looks a little dry, stir in a little more milk of choice until sauce is creamy again.
I’ve made this recipe two different ways now, and both are equally delicious:
The first option is to use cashew cream. If you haven’t tried my recipe for Homemade Cashew Cream yet, you should definitely check that one out at some point – It’s incredibly versatile and can be used to add richness and creaminess to both sweet and savory dishes, for a fraction of the calories in heavy cream!
The other option, which I tried out on Monday night, is to use unsweetened creamer or a half-&-half-type product. I was recently introduced to Nutpods Dairy-Free Creamer, and I was head-over-slippers in love at first taste of the thick vegan creamer.
(I work from home. Ergo, slippers are my footwear of choice.)
Immediately upon receiving the package, I tried it straight from the bottle… and I can’t say that was the only time I drank it straight from the bottle, either. The creaminess is just too hard to resist! Yes, I was the girl who would drink heavy cream straight from the carton as a child whenever my mom would make homemade whipped cream. She’d turn around, and half the heavy cream container would have disappeared.
If this were an iphone, I’d insert the embarrassed emoji now.
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Creamy Spinach Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta – such as farfalle
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil or buttery spread or oil spray
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp flour (spelt, white, or sweet rice flour)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup cashew cream or unsweetened creamer – I like Nutpods Dairy Free Creamer
- 1/4 cup Parmesan-type topping or nutritional yeast, optional
- 1 cup unsweetened milk of choice or additional creamer
- 1 can diced tomatoes, or 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh or 1/2 cup frozen spinach, optional
Instructions
- Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Boil pasta according to package directions, then drain fully but do not rinse. Meanwhile, sauté the garlic in the oil for 1 minute. (Technically, you can use oil spray, but the oil will give a richer flavor and will help the sauce adhere to the pasta – It amounts to less than a teaspoon per serving, and I really think the flavor will be much better if you use oil instead of spray.) Add the flour, onion powder, and salt. Sauté an additional minute, then whisk in the creamer, milk, oregano, and Parmesan, if using. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil and whisk for about a minute, then add the tomato and spinach – You can omit the spinach if desired. Stir until sauce thickens. Add the pasta and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper if desired. If the pasta absorbs the sauce and looks dry, stir in a little more milk of choice until sauce is creamy again.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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More Healthy Pasta Recipes:
Lauren D says
I’m for sure making this for dinner this weekend! It looks SO delicious!! And it makes me even more excited for your savory cookbook! 🙂
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Aw thank you 🙂
Alexa [fooduzzi.com] says
This sounds so yummy, Katie! I love creamy tomato sauce – pinned!
Rachel says
Mmm pasta…This look very simple and tasty!
Btw, and I’m not trying to point fingers, but you called the creamer “nudpods” in one part of the post and “nutpods” in another. 🙂 It’s actually “nut,” right? Just checking.
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you for pointing that out! Fixed!
Stephie says
I’m so excited to try this!! Could I replace the cream with milk?
Gail says
Ooh that creamer sounds delicious! I am with you on the drinking cream thing. I’m going to check out that brand ASAP! 🙂
Also the pictures are stunning.
Alexa says
I cannot believe how CREAMY the recipe looks! Making this for sure. And your photos alone have sold me on the vegan creamer, which I’ve never seen before. I just put it on the grocery list for my next Whole Foods run!
Caitlin says
This looks amazing! I love how creamy and flavorful it looks and that there’s no heavy cream in it. Absolute perfection – can’t wait to make it!
sara says
hi where can I find nutpods please? would safeway carry it?
Chocolate Covered Katie says
They have a store locator on their site: http://www.nutpods.com/pages/where-to-buy
If there isn’t a location near you, they also have a link on their page so you can get them on amazon. And you can always ask your local Whole Foods to start carrying them!
Brenda Walker says
This sounds delicious! I love your first dessert cookbook and can’t WAIT for your new meal cookbook to come out! Do you have a release date yet?
Chocolate Covered Katie says
I’m talking with publishers and trying to find one whose vision for the second book aligns with mine (a focus on savory recipes as opposed to another dessert book)… If all goes well, either late 2017 or early 2018 sound possible 🙂
JoAnne says
Made this tonight, was really good! I added a boat load of fresh spinach instead (had some I needed to use!) and saute’d some onion and red bell pepper with the garlic too. Thanks for this recipe, I am definitely making it again!
Eveline says
Made this yesterday, when I got this recipe in the mail I immediately wanted to try it 🙂 When it was done it looked exactly like your pictures ^^ and it was super creamy and dilicious 🙂 I used light soy cream btw and it worked really well 🙂
Thank you for all the great recipes every week! You are amazing! 🙂
Nadia says
YES!!!!! I have missed creamy things since going vegan and I HATE coconut anything so that is out for me, and so many recipes that are vegan call for canned coconut milk to make it thick and creamy so it’s frustrating for someone who hates coconut. This made me so happy! I am all over this recipe!!!
Marina @ A Dancer's Live-It says
Katie this looks so delicious my mouth is watering right now! I’m also a huge hockey fan because I was born and raised in a hockey town. My boyfriend lives in DC so he’s now a Caps fan too! The next time I visit him I’m secretly wishing I’ll run into you too 🙂
Polly says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful. But i used a pound of spaghetti and it was still very saucy. I might have been able to use more pasta.
My super picky, pasta loving 13 year old son liked it a lot.
I’m so glad I have leftovers for a yummy lunch!
Bites for Foodies says
My kids love pasta, especially cream-based sauces. This is a great way to offer them a healthier option. I usually make my cream sauces the same way but instead of creamer I add a few pieces of Laughing Cow cheese and Parm. When you add the cooking water from the pasta it metls it, creating a super smooth and creamy sauce!
Cassie Autumn Tran says
I’ve always loved the way you plated your pasta recipes, and this is no different! I love this idea of this recipe–the sauce is so creamy and strong in flavors!
Roxanne says
My fiance made this last night! It was delicious! I’ve been using Nutpods in my coffee for months and hadn’t thought to use it in other recipes.
And for the person who asked about where to find Nutpods, it’s not available where I live but it is on Amazon.
francesca says
It makes me so happy when I find an amazing recipe and I have all the ingredients at home ^_^
Shayna says
I really liked this, and I’m definitely saving it to make it again soon! It’s super easy, and the creaminess is to die for — would hardly know it’s vegan. I opted for fresh, chopped Roma tomatoes that I sauteed first before adding them near the end. I think next time I’ll add more nooch or something else for spices — it was a little too simple for me personally, but it would be SO easy to kick it up with a lot of spice variations. Thank you for this!
D says
This was extra delicious. My kids loved it and my husband even asked for seconds! We used the Nutpods Original Creamer you recommended, which was very good. I still have to try your cashew cream though!
stefano says
you shoukld try traditional italian cooking cream, if you do not want to prepare yourself, like the granarolo cooking cream that comes in mini-tetrapak packages, normally used in Italy for these ecipes. the nutpods is probably too cheasy, and the almonds milk is not completerly adapt for the recipe, is to distant from the original taste.
the rest, fantastic.
stefano says
you shoukld try traditional italian cooking cream, if you do not want to prepare it yourself, like the granarolo cooking cream that comes in mini-tetrapak packages, normally used in Italy for these recipes. the nutpods is probably too cheasy, and the almonds milk is not completerly adapt for the recipe, it is too distant from the original taste.
the rest is, fantastic.
Lena says
Can we all please all take a minute to appreciate this masterpiece of healthy comfort food? I used soy creamer and soy milk and added just a tad parmesan. Soooo delicious. Made the whole recipe so I have something left for tomorrow. I’m not going to share ?
Emily says
Can you please say what brand of soy milk creamer and soy milk you used? It is greatly appreciated.
Carin says
I just discovered Nutpods – and I love it! I may be lactose-intolerant and the thought of not being able to use half and half in my coffee was actually keeping me from starting the dairy-free test! LOL I was so excited to find Nutpods. Doubly so, now that I discovered this recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Emily says
Made this last night for dinner, yum! I made a couple adjustments. I added some chopped onion instead of onion powder, I used just whole milk instead of any creamer, and used kale instead of spinach. Turned out great! Keep the wonderfully delicious recipes coming!
Diana says
I made this tonight, and I thought it was fairly good but a bit bland (except for the oregano flavor, which was a bit too prominent); the addition of a bit of salt and pepper helped, and my family added cheddar cheese to their servings. I used half and half (I am not vegan), Kraft Parmesan, and unsweetened cashew milk. I omitted the spinach. I needed to add some cornstarch to thicken the sauce, but after I did that, the consistency was perfect. If I make this again, I will probably use less oregano or replace it with Italian seasoning, and add pepper and cheese.
Sedzida says
Made this for dinner! The sauce took like 15 minutes to make! So quick and so delicious!!! My family loved it! I barely saved any for lunch tomorrow! Will definitely be making this pasta again!
Aimee B. says
I finally got around to making this and it was absolutely delicious! I used mini farfalle, which we all loved. I didn’t have any spinach on hand, but it was amazing just the same. Thanks for such a great recipe! 🙂
Dns helper says
Looks delicious
Linda Kaban says
What can I use in place of the cashew cream/nutpods creamer? I’m allergic to tree nuts.
Julie Dove says
When it says unsweetened creamer, you can use any creamer you wish as long as it is unsweetened. You could also use coconut cream.
Katie says
Made this for dinner, and it was delicious. I had to make a few adjustments because I didn’t have all the ingredients, but it still turned out well. Instead of cream, I substituted 3/4 cup plain yogurt and 1/4 cup water. I also sauteed some finely chopped mushrooms and onions along with the garlic, and added chopped black olives to the final product. Another great recipe!
Michelle says
I made this. Without spinach and brown rice pasta. I used oatly (oat based single cream) creamer as nutpods are hard to get in the uk. It was garlicy and creamy and delish. I noticed that your sauce recipe made 2x as much as i needed to get a good coating so i could have done 1lb of pasta- but I put it away in a jar and will make again with fresh pasta in a few days. Another good one!
maria says
just made this and it was absolutely delicious! didn’t have creamer so skipped that, and used tomato sauce instead of the tomatoes. SO. DELICIOUS. THE CREAMINESS WAS AMAZING! and entirely vegan? I mean cmon.
Renée says
Hi. I love this recipe Katie. Made it several times. I add sautéed mushrooms and some sun dried tomatoes cause I like those, and it is great! I even eat it cold over salad. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Barbara says
I thought it looked delicious and it was easy to prepare. But I have to agree; next time I think I will doubling the amount of seasoning.
Sue says
Wow! This tasted cheesy even without the cheese (which I added anyway). I made my own cashew cream and used chickpea pasta, which soaked up more sauce than wheat pasta, but I made up for it by adding a little more spinach. It’s on my list of favorites.
Erin says
As a diabetic who can only have UP TO 35g of carbs per meal, even *I* can have this! And I love pasta so much!
Robyn Kurtz says
I hate to do this, but i also hate when no one leaves reviews on a recipe after they’ve made it! Unfortunately I found this recipe pretty lacking in flavour. I had to add a lot of garlic salt and pepper. I like the idea though and would try again with tweaks.
Allan Brunell says
I just made this using oat milk. It came out fantastic. My wife (not vegan) loved it. I thought it was awesome. I will make it again.
Thanks.
Juliana S says
SO good! I made this tonight following the directions pretty much exactly. My only change was halving the amount of nutritional yeast. My mom didn’t even know it was vegan until I told her.
Thanks for the great recipe!
resizing says
OMG, it looks so delicious? ?
Sarah says
Made this last night for Mother’s Day and it was delicious! I did add in more salt and some other herbs, like crushed red pepper for some spice. Love my spicy food! Sooo good. Everyone loved it! Thank you Katie!!
Liisa says
OMG! This was amazing! It was rich and creamy, which I thought being a vegan dish would have been too complicated to replicate but it really wasn’t. I used a can of fire roasted tomatoes which was a yummy tweak. And I couldn’t find cashew cream at the store, so I used just cashew milk but with the roux turned out thick and creamy enough. Bravo to you Katie! I’m tucking this one into my personal favourites.
AJ says
Hi, does this freeze well?
CCK Media Team says
We haven’t ever tried freezing pasta, but if you freeze similar recipes with no problem then this should work the same 🙂
AJ says
Thanks for responding so quickly. Made this today and it was lovely! So quick to prepare as well. 🙂
CCK Media Team says
Oh this makes us so happy to hear!