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Home » Main Dishes » Pasta with Creamy Spinach Sauce.

Pasta with Creamy Spinach Sauce.

Mar 7, 2016 · Modified: Jul 11, 2020 by Kelly Roenicke · 36 Comments

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Pasta with a cheesy spinach sauce is a family favorite! Easy comfort food.

Dairy free pasta with creamy spinach sauce is an easy lunch or dinner recipe. It’s a great way to sneak a little spinach into your family’s diet. This cheesy pasta dish comes together in a flash and is a tasty meal that everyone loves!

pasta with cheesy spinach sauce in a green bowl

What do your kids like to eat?

I know I’ve mentioned that macaroni and cheese is always a favorite over here – my oldest son loves the classic orange mac and cheese. If you can’t have gluten or dairy, you might wonder if you will ever enjoy macaroni and cheese again. Yes, you still can! My recipe for gluten free dairy free macaroni and cheese is easy and very tasty.

I’ve recently started making a white sauce for pasta with fresh spinach blended in, and I’m happy to report that it’s a big hit over here. My son loves it. This cheesy pasta with spinach is perfect for kids and adults alike.

spinach macaroni and cheese

This is super simple to make – you simply add fresh spinach to the cheesy sauce, and then blend it all up with an immersion blender. Once the sauce is ready, add your hot pasta, stir, and serve! This flavorful pasta is also really delicious with the addition of grilled chicken.

What kind of dairy free milk is best for making a dairy free cream sauce?

I like unsweetened coconut milk beverage – the kind you find in the refrigerator case. I find that it makes a very creamy sauce. Any non-dairy milk that is unsweetened should work pretty well! Rice milk, oat milk, soy milk…all of these would be good choices.

Dairy free cheese tastes different…how can I find one that I like?

Dairy free cheese does taste different than dairy cheese. But you just have to try different brands until you find one that works for your diet, and that you enjoy. We like Daiya Mozzarella style shreds. They melt well, and have a mild flavor.

If the first brand you try isn’t for you, keep trying! Read my guide on dairy substitutes to learn more about different substitutions.

green bowl with noodles in a dairy free cream sauce

What brand of gluten free pasta is best?

There are so many brands of gluten free pasta available! You will have to try them to find your favorite, but we like the brands Jovial, Ancient Harvest, and Delallo. Make sure to call the company to find a brand that works for your particular allergies or dietary needs.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Pasta with a cheesy spinach sauce is a family favorite! Easy comfort food.
4.41 from 5 votes
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Pasta with Creamy Spinach Sauce.

A delicious pasta covered in a creamy spinach sauce - this is an easy meal the whole family will love!
Course Entree
Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free, vegan.
Keyword creamy, kid friendly
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 667 kcal
Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces gluten free pasta I used penne
  • 3 Tablespoons vegan buttery spread
  • 3 cups vegan mozzarella shreds I used Daiya brand
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 ½ cups non-dairy milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • â…“ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cuo fresh spinach leaves
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
  2. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce. Melt the vegan buttery spread in a large pot. Add the Daiya cheese mozzarella shreds, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and non-dairy milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring often.
  3. Once the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth, add the spinach. Stir until the spinach wilts.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and blend the sauce using an immersion blender.
  5. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the cheesy sauce. Stir well to coat. Season with more salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Pasta with Creamy Spinach Sauce.
Amount per Serving
Calories
667
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
28
g
43
%
Saturated Fat
 
8
g
50
%
Sodium
 
1580
mg
69
%
Potassium
 
133
mg
4
%
Carbohydrates
 
86
g
29
%
Fiber
 
4
g
17
%
Sugar
 
2
g
2
%
Protein
 
13
g
26
%
Vitamin A
 
770
IU
15
%
Vitamin C
 
6.4
mg
8
%
Calcium
 
184
mg
18
%
Iron
 
2.6
mg
14
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

What easy meals have you been making lately?

 

Related

« Creamy Lentil Wild Rice Mushroom Soup.
Roasted Garlic Curried Cauliflower. »

Filed Under: Dairy Free, food, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: 30 minutes or less, Dairy Free, easy recipe, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten Free, Mustard Free, Nut Free, Peanut Free, Sesame Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, thanksgiving, top 8 allergy free recipe, Tree Nut Free

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Erin

    January 05, 2020 at 11:22 pm

    5 stars
    This was fantastic! My son is allergic to dairy and gets tired of eating the same things over and over. My whole family enjoyed this. Thank you for the recipe..

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      January 09, 2020 at 6:13 pm

      So glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know!

      Reply
  2. Lydia

    December 11, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    5 stars
    Hi! So I’m not vegan (but planning on going vegetarian once my iron goes up) and this recipe is lovely!!! I bet it taste even better with the dairy free stuff! Definitely keeping this. (Also added roasted garlic and pepper flakes instead of just garlic powder For some spice! Thanks so much!

    Reply
  3. Amaret

    January 07, 2018 at 1:17 pm

    Loved this recipe! So simple, super quick and oh my gosh DELISH! Perfect for a post gym meal, or a quick and easy dinner for sure. Instead of blending though, I chopped the spinach to save even more time and washing up!

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      January 07, 2018 at 6:09 pm

      So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  4. Shayna

    August 20, 2017 at 10:04 am

    I’d love to try this but my house is full of picky eaters. Can you really taste that this is dairy free?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      August 26, 2017 at 10:03 am

      I think that this just tastes like a flavorful, creamy sauce.

      Reply
  5. V. Piper

    July 24, 2017 at 5:15 pm

    5 stars
    Hi! Lovely recipe, but I unfortunately ran into a problem: The cheese stuck together like glue! Since I did not have access to the mozzarella you suggested, I used regular instead, and that’s really the only change I made. Other than that, what do you think went wrong? Anyway, great recipe! I hope to try it again without messing up. Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      July 25, 2017 at 6:44 pm

      You might want to try tossing the shredded cheese with a bit of flour before stirring into the sauce.

      Reply
  6. Pam Holtz

    January 02, 2017 at 7:45 am

    What non-dairy milk would you recommend cooking with for recipes like this? Would you use that same non-dairy milk to bake with, or would you suggest something different? Thanks! :)

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      January 04, 2017 at 7:53 pm

      We often use the refrigerated unsweetened coconut milk beverage, but you could use soy, almond, or even rice milk. Rice milk would be the least creamy of those options. All of these milks work for sweet and savory recipes.

      Reply
  7. Angela

    December 31, 2016 at 9:28 pm

    I tried this and loved it. I need a way to add more protein, in a vegan way. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      January 04, 2017 at 7:54 pm

      Maybe chickpeas? You could even roast them a bit first if you wanted!

      Reply
  8. Tasha Silver

    August 26, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this a tried it out on the rest of the household. AMAZING! Im lactose intolerant, so while eating this i thought i would get sick because of how creamy and authentic it felt, but of course I didn’t. So delicious. I did use a my preferred soya vegan cheese and 3 cloves of garlic instead of powdered since I seem to have ran out of the powder. Amazing non the less though!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      August 27, 2016 at 9:47 pm

      Awesome, so glad you liked it! Yay! :)

      Reply
  9. GFnewbie

    July 10, 2016 at 10:36 pm

    Hey there – this looks delish! Just wondering what brand of vegan & gf pasta you use (we live in Canada) – I can’t find any my son will actually eat ?

    Reply
  10. timos

    June 09, 2016 at 10:15 am

    2 stars
    mozarella is dairy and not vegan, also glutenfree pasta is still nog vegan. i was specificaly googling for gluten free dishes and this comes up.

    Reply
    • Kelly

      June 09, 2016 at 10:43 am

      The gluten free pastas I use are vegan – they only contain corn, rice, water, etc. No egg.
      I use Daiya mozzarella shreds – a vegan cheese. http://daiyafoods.com/our-foods/shreds/mozzarella/ Hope that helps!

      Reply
  11. nicholed92

    April 28, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    Hello, I was wondering if the brand Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Cheese would work instead of Daiya? I find that Daiya has a funky aftertaste.

    Reply
  12. myshoecollection

    April 13, 2016 at 4:46 am

    thanks for your recipe! what can i substitute the vegan buttery spread (will coconut oil work?) and the Daiya mozzarella shreds (we don’t have dairy free cheese here)?

    Reply
    • Kelly

      April 15, 2016 at 10:57 pm

      You could try a little coconut oil, or you could use a little coconut cream in place of both the oil and the shreds. I’m not sure how it will turn out, but that’s where I would start.

      Reply
    • Kelly

      April 15, 2016 at 10:58 pm

      And add some nutritional yeast for sure for that cheesy flavor!

      Reply
  13. Teresa

    March 16, 2016 at 6:12 pm

    I made this for dinner last night, and it was so good! I subbed onion powder for the garlic powder d/t our son’s garlic sensitivity. Thanks for all the great recipes. This one, in addition to many of your others, will be on our menu rotation.

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 21, 2016 at 11:39 pm

      Yay! So glad you like it! Thanks for letting me know! :)

      Reply
  14. Kristy @ Southern In Law

    March 09, 2016 at 2:37 am

    Ooh this looks perfect! I bet you wouldn’t even notice it’s dairy free!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2016 at 9:11 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  15. Elizabeth DiBurro

    March 08, 2016 at 11:09 am

    I’m always looking for new sauce ideas for our pasta! We can’t do daiya, but I bet nutritional yeast would be yummy too! Thanks for sharing! :)

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2016 at 9:21 pm

      Oh yes, that would be good! Love nutritional yeast!

      Reply
  16. KeeleyMcGuire

    March 08, 2016 at 10:07 am

    What a delicious dinner idea!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2016 at 9:20 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  17. Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven

    March 08, 2016 at 8:48 am

    We are total recipe twins, Kelly! I have a spinach pasta recipe going up later this week! So cool. :) I seriously LOVE how cozy and comforting this looks! Get in mah belly!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2016 at 9:20 pm

      So fun!

      Reply
  18. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    March 08, 2016 at 8:36 am

    Oh this pasta looks SO good! I love the spinach cheese sauce. So creative, Kelly!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2016 at 9:21 pm

      Thanks, Gayle!

      Reply
  19. Kristine | Kristine's Kitchen

    March 07, 2016 at 4:40 pm

    I’m going to try this one soon! It looks delicious, and I hope my kids will like it. They like my kale pesto pasta, so I bet this would go over well with them, too!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2016 at 9:23 pm

      I hope you love it!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Kelly, and I believe that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

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