Farfalle with Spinach and Ricotta is one of my husband’s favorite dinner recipes.
We love pasta in our house, and we make it quite often. I guess you could say we’re avid pasta eaters! This is another super easy pasta recipe to make for dinner. It requires just a few, simple ingredients. Hot, cooked pasta is tossed in a cheesy sauce with some sauteed veggies mixed in too.
Ingredients needed:
- farfalle pasta (farfalle is “bow tie” pasta, but you can sub rotini or penne if you’d like)
- red bell pepper
- garlic
- fresh spinach
- ricotta cheese
- 1% milk
- fresh basil
- ground nutmeg, salt and pepper
How to make Farfalle with Spinach and Ricotta:
You’ll cook the pasta according to the package instructions. You can cook it to al dente (a little more firm to the bite) or tender. It’s all a matter of preference for how you like to eat your pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, you’ll sauté the bell pepper and garlic in olive oil. Then you’ll stir in fresh spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Ricotta cheese and milk are added to the cooked veggies to create the creamy sauce. That sauce is added to the hot, cooked pasta along with some fresh basil.
And that’s it! The pasta will be coated with that cheesy sauce. And there are plenty of veggies swimming around in the pasta dish too. This Farfalle with Spinach and Ricotta is a vegetarian dish, but you could always add in some cooked chicken if you want more protein in there. Sometimes I add in sun dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts too!
This recipe makes four servings. I like to make it for just my husband and myself so we have leftovers the following day. Enjoy!
Here are a few more pasta recipes you might like to try:
- Greek Chicken Pasta Toss
- Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
- Chicken Pasta Primavera
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta
- Skillet Pasta Carbonara
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
- One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
- Pasta Rustica
Farfalle with Spinach and Ricotta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces farfalle (bow tie) pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 5 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 16 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup 1% milk
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring until tender -about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until tender -about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until the spinach has wilted. Stir in the ricotta and milk and cook until the sauce is creamy and heated through (about 4 minutes).
- Transfer the spinach sauce to a large bowl. Add the hot cooked pasta and basil. Toss well to combine. Spoon into individual bowls and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I wanted to make something with Farfalle, ricotta and veggies so was glad to find this recipe. I also added red pepper flakes, basil and grape tomatoes. I cooked the pasta al dente so I could add it to the pan with the ricotta/vegetable sauce to finish cooking. I imagine you could make this with other veggies besides spinach and peppers too
Picture looks better. My husband & I were very disappointed with flavors. Didn’t serve much maybe a cup each. I ate the cup my husband only 1/2. I would never make again. Sorry Lori could be better some how but it wasn’t close to a wow for use.