This delectable recipe for pasta with blue cheese spinach sauce has All The Good Things in it! Creamy blue cheese sauce, healthy spinach all swirled into pasta – it’s your new favorite supper!
Blue cheese and I have a complex relationship. I absolutely love it…in moderation. It has a strong and sassy personality, and is always the ingredient yelling “Hey, look over here at ME!” Which is why this recipe for pasta with blue cheese spinach sauce is one of my faves, because there is just enough blue cheese in it to make things interesting, but the pasta and the spinach keep it in line. So if you like your blue cheese to behave itself, this is the recipe for you. And if you are a believer in The More Blue Cheese The Better, you can toss even more of it into this dish. Either way, let’s make it!
First, the spinach part. I always go for baby spinach in recipes and that is what I am advising here. You definitely can use regular spinach in this one, but personally I have about one million other things I would rather do then stem giant pieces of spinach when the cute little baby spinach leaves are right there ready to roll. Next, the pasta part…I used my old favorite campanelle pasta, but any short pasta will do just fine. The blue cheese can be whatever kind is your personal favorite. Gorgonzola, Roquefort, you name it – this recipe welcomes all blue cheeses. The only other ingredient we’ll be using is butter and for me there are only three kinds of butter in the world: Kerrygold, Kate’s Homemade Butter, or literally my own homemade butter.
[clickToTweet tweet=”This delectable recipe for pasta with blue cheese spinach sauce has All The Good Things in it! Creamy blue cheese sauce, healthy spinach all swirled into pasta – it’s your new favorite supper!” quote=”This delectable recipe for pasta with blue cheese spinach sauce has All The Good Things in it! Creamy blue cheese sauce, healthy spinach all swirled into pasta – it’s your new favorite supper!”]So here we go: cook up your pasta according to the package directions in nice salty water, and scoop out a cupful of pasta water right before the pasta is done. As soon as you scoop out the water, drop in the spinach so that it can quickly wilt in the hot water with the pasta. This will happen in a matter of seconds, so have that colander ready to drain things.
Once the pasta and spinach are drained, put them right back in the pot with the butter and blue cheese. Give everything a good toss with tongs until the cheese and butter are nice and melty and everything is mixed together. Drizzle a little of the pasta water in until you have a nice sauce, and season things up with salt and pepper if you think it needs anything. Blue cheese is naturally salty so make sure you taste first. (Tasting is my favorite part of cooking.)
And that is that! Unless you like your blue cheese dishes nice and sassy, like the Southern husband does. In that case, put some blue cheese crumbles on top of those servings. It takes all kinds of blue cheese lovers to make the world go ’round!
PrintPasta with Blue Cheese Spinach Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 ounces short pasta (campanelle, ziti, penne, farfalle, etc)
- 8 ounces baby spinach (or regular spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped)
- 4 ounces blue cheese, plus extra for garnish if you like
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. About one minute before it is done, scoop out a cup of the pasta water. About 30 seconds before it’s done, add the spinach and stir until the spinach is just wilted. Drain.
- Return pasta and spinach to the pot and add the butter and cheese. Toss with tongs until butter and cheese is melted and everything is mixed together.
- Drizzle in just enough pasta water to make a light sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve at once on warmed plates, adding some blue cheese crumbles to the plates belonging to true blue blue cheese lovers!
Adapted from The New York Times recipe
Heba says
This Recipe was inspirational -although I didnt have blue cheese or spinach ( I substituted it for feta & fresh basil) and added grated parmesean and grated garlic … was bursting with Flavor & super fast (& I kinda like what one of the replys suggested about adding dried cranberries) *2 thumbs up* Thanks ;)
Thanks Heba! Love your variations on this one!
Joanne says
I love blue cheese as a pasta sauce especially because it’s so big on flavor that you really don’t need that much to make a tasty sauce! Sounds so perfect with the spinach.
A hunk of blue cheese always lasts me through at least three meals – so efficiently delish!
Ala says
hahaha–I don’t believe any of my ingredients ever behave themselves in my recipes…but it turns out all right in the end. And I totally think that this combo will be more than manageable :) can’t wait to give it a shot the next time I have blue cheese sitting around!
Always fun to see what our sassy ingredients are going to do! Happy weekend, Ala!
Theresa M. says
We have a tasty blue cheese made here in Iowa called Maytag Blue. I’m thinking this will be a good use for some. I like a bit of crunch with my pasta, so, like you do often, I’m going to shake things up a bit and toss in some toasted pine nuts. And while I’m being naughty, messing with your recipe, I think some sweet/tart dried cranberries have a place in there, too. Thanks for the inspiration! Now I know what I’m making for supper this weekend!
Oh, Maytag Blue! I’ve had that in the past and it IS so scrumptious. LOVE your additions to this recipe – I have some dried cranberries in my pantry too, so now you have me thinking! :)