Stress eating, what? Who, me? Noooo, never. Okay, maybe. As the countdown to my move out of state begins and everything seems to be going haywire, I find myself needing a little comfort food. My usual go-to comfort food is pasta with butter, Parmesan, and salt and pepper, but today I decided to go a little further and make this super creamy Spinach Alfredo Pasta. It’s a spin off my Chicken Alfredo and I think you’ll love it!
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“Easy and simple to make! I’m not a very experienced cook but both times I’ve made this it turned out very well.”
Melanie
Easy Spinach Alfredo Pasta Recipe
So, to be honest, this is not a traditional Alfredo sauce (I actually wanted to call it ”faux”-fredo), but sometimes recipe names are a bit figurative. Real alfredo has like, a stick of butter, a pile of Parmesan, and sometimes (especially if you’re in America) a whoooole lot of heavy cream. In this recipe, I swapped the heavy cream for whole milk, reduced the butter by a lot, and used a little cream cheese to help thicken and stabilize the sauce. So, it’s no longer technically an Alfredo, but hey, it’s close enough for me to pretend and feel like I’m eating something super-indulgent (all while sticking to a budget). 😉
Spinach Alfredo Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 12 oz. penne pasta* ($1.18)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.27)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 2 cups whole milk ($0.36)
- 6 oz. cream cheese ($1.39)
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan ($1.23)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 4 cups baby spinach** ($1.09)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Add the butter and minced garlic to a deep skillet or pot and sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant, but not brown.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the milk to the skillet along with the cream cheese (cut into chunks). Heat the milk and cream cheese while whisking, until the cream cheese has fully melted into the milk.
- Whisk in the grated Parmesan cheese and continue to whisk as the sauce comes up to a gentle simmer. When it reaches a simmer, the sauce will thicken. Turn the heat down to low to keep the sauce warm. Season the sauce with 1/4 tsp salt and a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper.
- Add the fresh spinach to the sauce and stir it in until it has wilted and become limp.
- Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta to the spinach Alfredo sauce and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Spinach Alfredo Pasta Step-by-Step Photos
Make the sauce: Start by cooking 12 oz. penne pasta according to the package directions (boil a large pot of water, add the pasta, and continue to boil until al dente). While the pasta is cooking, start the “alfredo” sauce. Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to a deep skillet or pot with 2 Tbsp butter. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant, but not brown.
Add 2 cups of whole milk to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low.
Also add 6 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks. Heat and stir or whisk the milk and cheese until it is fully heated through and the cheese has melted into the milk. You’ll want to use a whisk once the cheese begins to melt.
Whisk 3/4 cup grated Parmesan into the milk sauce. Continue to whisk while the mixture heats, allowing it to come up to a gentle simmer. When it reaches a simmer, the sauce will thicken. Once the Parmesan has fully melted in and the sauce has thickened, turn the heat down to low to keep the sauce warm. Season the sauce with 1/4 tsp salt and a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper.
Add the spinach: Now it’s time to add the spinach. I buy these huge bags of fresh spinach, which are the same amount as those large tubs you can buy, but it’s only $3.99 (the large tubs are usually more like $5.99). Anyway, add about 4 cups of spinach to the hot alfredo sauce…
And stir it in until it has wilted and limp. This should only take a few minutes.
Add the pasta: Finally, add the cooked and drained penne pasta and stir until everything is combined and coated in the thick sauce.
And that’s it! Now you’re ready to get your pasta on.
Seriously though, this Spinach Alfredo Pasta is rich and creamy without being like, “OMG I just ate a brick.”
Recipe Sucess Tips
- Simmer, don’t boil. The spinach Alfredo sauce will thicken as it simmers. Keep it at a gentle simmer until it reaches your desired thickness. Just avoid turning up the heat too high as boiling can cause the sauce to break or get grainy.
- Don’t skip the salt and pepper at the end. I know it seems like such a small thing, but trust me, it makes a huge difference in bringing the sauce to life. I go in with a good amount of cracked pepper, and it just wakes everything up. Feel free to season to taste.
- Fresh spinach = best texture. But if you’re in a pinch and only have frozen, it absolutely works! Just make sure to thaw it completely and squeeze out as much water as you possibly can (or else it may turn your sauce green). Add the squeezed frozen spinach at the same point the fresh spinach is added in the recipe.
- Try it with different pasta shapes! I used penne, but some of our readers have also made it with rotini, spaghetti, and bowties. Basically, whatever pasta you have in the pantry is fair game.
- Want to bulk it up? Add a protein! I’ve tossed in shredded rotisserie chicken for a no-cook shortcut and sliced grilled chicken when I have leftovers. I even think shrimp scampi would be delicious served on top of this pasta.
Storage & Reheating
This Spinach Alfredo Pasta is definitely better when fresh, although I would NEVER turn down the leftovers, so if you’re cooking for one or two consider cutting the recipe in half. Luckily, this one is super easy to scale up or down. Just change the number of servings in the “servings” box on the recipe card below and the ingredients will auto-adjust.
If you do have leftovers, you can keep them in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheat them in the microwave. Just note the pasta will be softer the second time around. Add a splash of milk to loosen up the sauce, if needed.
After adding the spinach the sauce becomes very watery.
I added a literal butt ton of garlic (I have a Costco jar of the minced stuff) and used neufchatel. Turned out great!! Highly recommend using a squeeze of fresh lemon or some lemon zest on the top; I made it with lemon garlic shrimp and that sauce plus this was fantastic. Easy weeknight meal!!
I hope you didn’t measure this literal butt ton in a literal sense.
Used evaporated milk (instead of more expensive & high fat cream) & frozen spinach & Mediterranean spice blend as too bland for me.
I made this for my granddaughter’s birthday. She is vegetarian. I added chicken to mine and my husband’s. We all loved it!
We are using this recipe for my school cooking club. Thank you for creating a budget-friendly yet tasty recipe.
Easy and simple to make! I’m not a very experienced cook but both times I’ve made this it turned out very well.
Love this dish!! Added chicken breast and don’t care if I cooked it best I ever had!!!
Omg delicious & easy!!! I’m not a cook, I’m a recent widow & my husband was the cook. This is the first recipe I tried & SO easy & delicious!!! Funny thing is I’ve been raving for 2 days how easy it is to make Alfredo sauce & I never knew & I’ll never by jar again & I just read the whole article I’m LMAO because it says this isn’t REAL Alfredo… it’s the best I EVER had!!!!Â
I’m not an avid cooker myself, I’m slowly learning as time goes on.
I’ve tried this recipe 3 times, I really like it. I used bowties instead of penne for my first 2 attempts. My first attempt wasn’t great, as I used too little milk for the sauce.
2nd attempt was aided by my close friend. It came out well, we both enjoyed it.
3rd attempt came out fantastic, used cheese tortellini for it instead, my mother also enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for this recipe, can’t wait to try out more recipes you have on here!
Most amazing spinach Alfredo recipe ever. I can’t get enough of it!Â
all of them
This is delicious. I actually used spaghetti (my kids favorite) and added chicken after the parmesan step to bulk it up, and heat the chicken through. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes in my bowl as well. It definitely met my alfredo craving, and the kids wolfed it down. I will keep this recipe in my back pocket for a quick weeknight meal.
Thanks!
This is my new go-to alfredo sauce! I loved this recipe! Was skeptical at first because I’ve never used cream cheese in an alfredo, but the texture, flavor, everything was perfect! Delicious!
Can I use pre cooked shrimp in this recipe
Sure, you could toss in some cooked shrimp at the end.
I’ve been doing a play on vegan alfredo sauces … many of them call for cauliflower. My recipe is pretty similar to yours (I definitely still use the dairy), but then I throw in a bag of cooked frozen cauliflower… Blend it together with a hand blender. It’s delicious.