Creamy Cannellini Spinach Pasta
I really like Vegan Macaroni and Cheese (it’s one of the top 10 in our house), but when I’m looking for something hearty and satisfying, I turn to this Creamy Cannellini and Spinach pasta.
With this amazingly light, gluten-free whole grain pasta, the protein and slimming fiber in the beans, and the mega doses of vitamin K and vitamin A in the spinach, it’s an entire meal on a plate – all ready in less than 20 minutes.
And it’s not only gluten-free, but it’s also vegan, soy-free, and nut-free, so it’s sure to please everyone.
Gluten-Free Pasta?
If you are trying to find a good gluten-free pasta brand, I gotcha covered. We tested 21 varieties and rated them from the worst gluten-free pasta to the best gluten-free pasta. Check it out!
Four Simple Tips for Making Exceptionally Healthy Pasta
1. Choose whole-grain pasta. Thankfully, that doesn’t necessarily mean cardboard-tasting pasta. We love Tinkyada pasta. It’s not heavy like other whole-grain pasta, it’s gluten-free, and it doesn’t turn mushy like other gluten-free pastas.
2. Top with a healthy sauce.
3. Sneak in some veggies.
Enjoy!
Creamy Cannellini Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 7 – 8 ounces uncooked Tinkyada spaghetti or fettuccine
- 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced small
- 8 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) frozen, chopped spinach
- 4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce can) cooked cannellini beans - drained but not rinsed (Do not use the no-salt variety. )
- 3 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 3 tablespoons roasted tahini
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cups pasta water from cooking pasta
Instructions
- Place beans, seasonings, tahini, and lemon juice in blender. (A heavy-duty blender works best for this recipe; other blenders may not get the mixture smooth enough.) Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of pasta water when draining pasta. (The pasta water will be added to the blender.)
- While pasta is cooking, sauté onions in oil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add spinach, cover pan, and cook over medium heat until spinach is tender (about 4 minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
- When pasta is done, drain pasta reserving 1 1/4 cups of pasta water. Add pasta water to ingredients in blender and blend well until mixture is smooth. This may take several minutes if you don’t have a heavy-duty blender.
- Season to taste.
- Stir blender mixture into spinach mixture. Heat over low heat until hot. Serve over pasta.
Notes
>> One quick request: if you like this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Ratings help more people find these healthy recipes!
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I made this for lunch, and WOW! I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really liked it. Having pasta with a creamy bean topping was a nice break from tomato sauce. I used kale, since I didn’t have any spinach. It was delish! Thanks for the great recipe idea.
I’m glad you liked it. Good to know it works well with kale too.
Very delicious, definitely will make again.
Great to hear, Connie. Thank you so much for your comment and rating. 🙂