Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Tomato & spinach pasta
There is a lot to like about a dinner that starts with a can of tomatoes. Let it simmer with garlic, stir in spinach, and finish with pasta and Parmesan. A little saved cooking water gives you room to adjust the sauce at the end.
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 5 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Budget (estimated)
- Low cost
- Dietary characteristics
- Vegetarian
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Save a splash of pasta water
Scoop some out before you drain. Add it a little at a time when you toss the pasta with the sauce.
2. Let the spinach wilt first
Stir it into the tomatoes before adding the pasta. It is easier to mix everything once the leaves have softened.
3. Keep the Parmesan for serving
Finish each bowl at the table. Everyone can add their own sprinkle.
Get to know the ingredients
The pasta
Use the package directions for the shape you have. The sauce is mixed with the pasta after draining, so keep that little scoop of cooking water nearby.
Tomatoes and garlic
They simmer together in a wide pan. Break up larger tomato pieces as they cook; you can keep a few pieces for a chunkier bowl.
Spinach and Parmesan
The spinach wilts into the sauce. Parmesan finishes the bowls. There is no separate cream sauce to make.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for Tomato & spinach pasta
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
The part that makes it feel finished
After you toss the pasta with the sauce, pause before reaching for the bowls. Look for sauce coating the pasta instead of sitting in heavy patches. If it needs loosening, add a small splash of the water you saved and toss again. You may need only a little. Keep the rest nearby until you have served, rather than adding it just because it is there.
A little more help as you go
Sauce feeling too thick?
Add a little reserved pasta water, toss, and look again. Small additions are easier to control than a big pour.
Spinach getting in the way?
Let it wilt into the tomatoes before adding the pasta. Trying to fold raw leaves around a pan of noodles makes the last step harder.
Different pasta shape?
Follow its own package time. The sauce does not need a special shape, but the cooking time can change with the pasta you choose.
A few questions you might have
Can I make it all in one pot?
This recipe boils the pasta separately while the tomatoes and garlic simmer in a wide pan. A one-pot version would need different liquid amounts and timing, so keep the two cooking jobs for this version.
What if I only have jarred marinara?
Try the Spaghetti without meatballs recipe linked below. It is written for marinara, which makes it a useful dinner to keep in mind when that is what you have on the shelf.
Can I put all the Parmesan in the sauce?
The recipe finishes with Parmesan at serving. Keeping it for the bowls makes that last step simple and lets everyone finish their own portion.
When should I start the sauce?
The tomatoes and garlic simmer for 12–15 minutes, and your pasta follows its package time. Compare those two steps before starting. You can have the sauce simmering while the pasta cooks if the timing fits.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Family Pantry original recipe.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
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