Creamy and Healthy Spinach Artichoke Pasta

October 21, 2020

Blended canned white beans create a creamy sauce for this healthy spinach artichoke pasta. Toss in whole wheat pasta and this healthy comfort food recipe packs a nutritious punch full of fiber, plant-based protein, calcium and more! The best part: this is a 30-minute healthy dinner recipe the entire family will enjoy!

Nut Free, Gluten Free option, Soy Free, Egg Free

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Cans Get You Cooking. Thank you for supporting the brands that make the Chelsey Amer Nutrition blog possible.

Comfort food season has officially arrived! As soon as the temperature drops, I want warm and cozy meals 24/7. To me, I usually crave warm bowls of oatmeal in the morning, a big bowl of soup for lunch and some creamy pasta for dinner (new recipe below!).

To help feel my best while indulging my favorite comfort food meals I always look for ways to add energizing foods – without sacrificing flavor! That’s why I’m SO EXCITED to share this recipe for creamy and healthy spinach artichoke pasta.

With a few simple swaps, I created a high fiber, plant-packed pasta dish the entire family will love… because who doesn’t love spinach artichoke dip… in pasta form?!

This Healthy Spinach Artichoke Pasta is…

Comforting
Easy to make in under 30 minutes
Packed with veggies
Full of creaminess without weighing you down
Inexpensive
Great to feed your whole family
Delicious as leftovers

The Key Ingredients You Need to Make a Creamy Sauce Without Cream

This creamy pasta recipe relies on a few key ingredients to make a silky smooth cream sauce, sans cream!

My secret ingredient also packs a punch of protein and fiber too… any guesses?

Canned white cannellini beans are blended together with vegetable or chicken stock and garlic to create a rich sauce. I know it sounds a little out there and unlike something you’ve probably tried in the past, but it tastes AMAZING! This base sauce recipe will then be combined with grated parmesan and mozzarella cheeses to get that classic spinach artichoke dip flavor.

Before I go any further, let’s make one thing clear: canned foods are just as nutritious and delicious as their fresh counterparts – if not more so.

In fact, this recipe relies on a couple of canned ingredients to amp up flavor and nutrition without surrendering a delicious and cozy, flavorful meal. Especially during these times of stress and uncertainty, having a well-stocked pantry is essential to whip up comforting meals in the drop of a hat.

Canned foods are…

Convenient
Nutritious – seriously, the canning techniques are very advanced to lock in nutrients
Affordable, allowing you to feed your family nutritious meals at a fraction of the cost
Shelf-stable, reducing trips to the supermarket and minimizing food waste
Better for the environment with endlessly recyclable packaging

You’ll also use canned artichokes in this recipe, which are a nutrition superstar. Artichokes are one of the highest fiber vegetables, containing canned prebiotic fibers. This promotes good gut health, which is especially important during cold and flu season.

Additionally, as a registered dietitian and food blogger, relying on canned vegetables and legumes, like artichokes and beans, helps you meet your daily recommended serving of veggies, plus fiber, vitamins and minerals too – and all it takes is opening a can. Having these canned food staples in my pantry makes creating a healthy, delicious meal SO MUCH EASIER!

Other ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Whole wheat penne pasta (or any pasta variety)
Butter or olive oil
Frozen spinach – canned spinach is another great option here, too!
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Crushed red pepper flakes

As you can see, you only need 10 ingredients (plus salt and pepper) for this recipe. That’s winning in my book!

whole wheat pasta with spinach artichoke sauce

How to Make Healthy Spinach Artichoke Pasta

While this healthy pasta recipe only needs 10 ingredients, it also doesn’t need much longer than 10 minutes to make, start to finish!

To maximize your time while cooking, start off boiling water to make pasta. This way once your sauce is done you can add your pasta and EAT!

To make your sauce, blend together one can of white cannellini beans, vegetable or chicken stock, and garlic. You’ll add cheese later, so that’s it for now.

Then brown the canned artichokes in a large pan. Personally, I prefer to use butter, but check out the dairy free swaps you can make below. Once artichokes brown after 4-5 minutes, add spinach.

Now it’s time to add the cheese. Using a combination of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses adds different flavors to your pasta. If you want it cheesier, you can add one-half cup of parmesan cheese and a full cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Mix in your pasta and enjoy! For another cheesier option you can add extra cheese on top after mixing in the pasta and baking it (in a casserole pan, for example).

Allergy-Friendly Swaps for a Dairy Free Spinach Artichoke Pasta

You can make this spinach artichoke pasta sauce dairy free with a few simple swaps.

Instead of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, use dairy-free versions. There are so many out there to try.

Instead of butter, use oil.

You can also make this pasta dish gluten free by using any gluten free pasta on the market.

OK, let’s get cooking…