We tried this and liked it so much we made it twice! The first time we did it with cheese tortellini and the 2nd time with plain pasta.
This recipe is from Damned Delicious. I didn’t want to use 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream, though – so I substituted 1 cup of evaporated milk for 1 cup of the cream and I think it was fine. I think you could probably use all evaporated milk and do away with the cream all together if you wanted, but it sure tastes good! I also left out the garlic. John and I are not big garlic fans, so go ahead and add some to the oil before the tomatoes and spinach if you want.
You might even have all of these ingredients on hand!
- 12 ounces tortellini or 8 ounces of dried non-filled pasta.
- 1 cup evaporated milk.
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- Several handfuls of fresh baby spinach
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Cook the pasta according to directions on package. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, cream and flour. In a large saute pan, add the oil over medium high heat. Then add in the tomatoes, spinach and spices and cook for several minutes until the spinach has wilted down.
Add in the milk/flour mixture and stir constantly while it comes to a boil.
Cook for several minutes until the sauce thickens. Then stir in the pasta. I wasn’t sure it would all fit in this pan LOL!
Then serve! It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Fast and easy. I do like the tortellini version better, but you can eat more of the regular pasta since it has less calories.
Which way did you like better -with the wagon wheels or the cheese tortellini?
I liked the tortellini the best, but it was a heavier dish.
That looks delicious! I love pasta dishes, but I’m not a big fan of garlic either. It is so overused in many restaurants today that it masks the true taste of good food. And it doesn’t do much for one’s breath, either!
I don’t understand the love of garlic when it overpowers a dish.
You could almost use some broth and less milk and turn that right into a soup – I bet that would be delicious too!
I bet it would be a yummy soup!
This will likely be dinner tonight. Bill is still not able to eat meat very well, so we are being very creative with healthy meatless dishes something totally new to our way of eating. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Are you anticipating more or less trick or treater’s in this location as opposed to your old house? Have fun!
We aren’t sure what to expect for trick-or-treaters tonight. We live near a school, like at our old house, so who knows? I think we are ready. When we run out, lights will go off and we will go out for coffee 😀
That looks good, and the green of the spinach automatically makes it a healthy dish! 😉
And the are *two* veggies in this dish, tomatoes and spinach for the healthy halo win!! 😀
This looks so delicious! I love simple, quick meals like this. What’s the calorie count?
I haven’t figured out the calories yet because it depends on the pasta you use (obviously more if using tortellini for the pasta).
This looks very good and delicious! I have a recipe for pasta with spinach and bacon which I make regularly. spinach and pasta is a great combination.