Mushroom Spinach Pasta
This versatile mushroom spinach pasta is a quick, hearty vegetarian weeknight meal.
Cheesy, creamy pasta mixed with healthy fresh mushrooms and spinach (or other veggies of your choice).
Jenna, the other kook, loves this baked pasta dish because she is a huge fan of mushrooms and cheese.
The sauce is just a basic white cheese sauce for pasta which you can flavor with your favorite seasonings, aromatics and cheeses. You can also lighten it up by using lower fat milk and cheese. Needless to say, adding cream and full fat cheeses will make it richer and more luxurious. But the lower calorie version is still yummy.
Nutrition wise, this baked pasta dish is pretty good. It does have saturated fat (due to the cheeses), but also a good amount of protein, vitamin A, calcium and potassium.
What to serve with mushroom spinach pasta
As a main dish: Serve this delicious pasta dish with a simple side salad or a healthy soup such as homemade creamy tomato soup, hearty ratatouille soup, or curried sweet potato soup.
As a side dish: It also makes a great vegetarian side dish for roasted salmon stuffed with herbs, crispy baked fish or lemon butter herb baked trout.
Tailor To Your Taste
There are lots of variations you can try based on preferences and what you have on hand. I know many people don’t like mushrooms for example.
Pasta
- Use any small pasta e.g. baby penne, small shells (oriechette), orzo, macaroni.
- For a gluten free version of this mushroom spinach pasta, use gluten free pasta. Here are the best tasting gluten free pastas according to an Epicurious article based on Amazon ratings. They are made with corn, quinoa or rice.
Vegetables
- You can use frozen spinach instead of fresh (about 4 ounces). Drop it into the boiling water along with the pasta, then drain with the pasta.
- Try kale instead of baby spinach. Or cooked broccoli or cauliflower
- Choose fresh mushrooms you like for this dish – white button, cremini, shitake, brown, baby bella mushrooms, etc.
- Use red peppers instead of (or in addition to) mushrooms. Just sauté them with the onions.
- Add tomato slices on top of the pasta casserole before baking.
Herbs
- Use whatever herbs you like best. I used thyme.
- Rosemary, fresh basil or tarragon would work well too.
- You can also add red pepper flakes if you like some heat
Sauce
- Use any combination and fat content of milk, half and half or heavy cream.
- I use 2% milk with a splash of half and half cream for extra richness.
Cheese
- Try different combinations of cheeses you prefer e.g. Gruyere, Monterey Jack, White, Fontina, Provolone, Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan.
How to make mushroom spinach pasta
Shortcuts
- Buy pre-shredded cheeses, sliced mushrooms and pre-washed fresh baby spinach.
Make Ahead
- This is an easy pasta recipe to make ahead for a busy weeknight dinner. Here’s how.
- Complete the casserole and don’t bake it. Cover and place it in the fridge for up to two days. Bake when needed for about 20-25 minutes or until top is nicely browned.
Other vegetarian pasta dishes you might like
- fresh vegetable pasta
- pink pasta sauce recipe
- Mediterranean pasta
- angel hair pasta with squash and kale
- stuffed pasta shells with spinach
- fresh tomato pasta with lemon and olives
- tomato spinach pasta
- easy gnocci recipe au gratin
Mushroom Spinach Pasta
This versatile mushroom spinach pasta dish makes for a quick, vegetarian weeknight meal. Creamy, cheesy satisfaction mixed with hearty mushrooms and healthy spinach.
Servings: 4 mains or 6 sides
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 ounces, 200 g) baby bow tie pasta (or other small pasta, Note 1)
Mushroom Spinach Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 onion, chopped (about 1 cup or 50g)
- 8 ounce (226g) fresh mushrooms, sliced (about 2 1/2 cups), Note 2
- 1 clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon minced or 1/8 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or Italian seasoning)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups (310 ml) milk 1/4 cup (59ml) of this can be half and half cream for richness)
- 1 1/4 cups (105g) grated white cheese, divided, Note 3
- 2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach, Note 4 (about 3 cups)
Garnish
- 1/4 cup (21g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- PREHEAT OVEN: to 4OOF/204C
- BOIL BOW TIES: Boil bow tie pasta in a large pot of water (add 2 teaspoons salt to water) according to package instructions. Cook pasta to al dente (or softer if preferred). Drain and set aside.
- SAUTÉ MUSHROOMS AND AROMATICS: Heat oil and butter in large skillet or saucepan on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Sauté for 5 minutes until translucent and water from mushrooms is evaporated. Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds.
- MAKE SAUCE: Reduce heat to medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add milk (and cream if using), thyme, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until you have a slightly thickened creamy sauce. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and all the fresh spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Add bow ties and mix to combine. Pour into a 7-8 inch (18-20 cm) square or round oven proof dish.
- BAKE: Top with remaining 1/4 cup white cheese, Parmesan and parsley. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese browns on top. Alternatively, bake 7 minutes and broil for 3 minutes to brown the top, watching that it doesn’t burn.
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Recipe Notes
- Pasta – instead of bowtie pasta, try macaroni, penne pasta, orecchiette (shells), orzo, farfalle pasta.
- Mushrooms – Choose the kind you like. Great choices are white button, cremini, shitake or a combination.
- White cheese options – Gruyere, Fontina, Emmental, Monterey Jack, Provolone, White Cheddar.
- Fresh spinach substitutes:
- You can use frozen spinach instead of fresh (about 4 ounces). Drop it into the boiling water along with the pasta, then drain with the pasta. Alternatively, thaw, squeeze out water and add at the end.
- Try kale instead of baby spinach. Or cooked broccoli or cauliflower
- Make Ahead: Complete the mushroom spinach pasta casserole and don’t bake. Cover and place in fridge for up to two days. Bake when needed for about 20-25 minutes or until top is nicely browned.
Nutrition
Serving: 0g | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 679mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 727IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 451mg | Iron: 2mg
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0gThis mushroom spinach pasta recipe has been updated with additional information and picture edits.
I believe you switched the prep time (7min) with the bake time (30)
Hi Lewis. The total cooking time is about 30 minutes with the veggie sauté, boiling the noodles, making the sauce and baking. You can cut the baking time down a bit by baking for 7 minutes and broiling for 3 minutes. The prep just involves cutting mushrooms, grating cheese and gathering ingredients. Hope that clarifies the timing. And more importantly, I hope you like the pasta!
Enjoyed the flavours and textures of this recipe
Glad to hear Valerie. Thanks so much for stopping by to leave a comment.
We made this and liked it very much….can leftovers be frozen?
Thank you for your great recipes!
Absolutely. Freeze it in an sealed container or freezer bag. Reheat, covered, in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes. Or in the microwave for a minute or two. I’ll have to add this the recipe. Thanks for asking.
Made this with Penne and used Monterey Jack with jalapenos embedded within it. I also used Shitake, and a white onion (skipped the garlic due to local preferences of one family member). Lots of fresh thyme as well as black pepper. It was lovely; the whole thing disappeared at one sitting. I guess I should make a bit more next time! Easy to prepare, put in the ‘fridge and then put on the table for a comfy winter dinner the whole family enjoyed. BRAVO!
Peter, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. You used some great variations. Glad the family enjoyed it.