Easy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

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This easy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta recipe with fresh baby spinach takes 25 minutes total to make and is loaded with flavor. The perfect quick meatless weeknight dinner.

Lovers of simple weeknight meals will fall hard for this Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta recipe.

Some days it feels like I’m on the go non-stop, from the moment I wake up right until dinner time. Those days are usually when I tend to reach for phone and pizza menu. But lately, I have found a delicious (and cheaper) alternative.

A pasta dish that is super quick and stupid easy. By the time you'd have that pizza menu scanned and have made up your mind whether it'll be calzone or margarita, you could already be halfway done with cooking. No kidding!

The simple sun-dried tomato pasta sauce is made in a food processor within seconds, then combined with hot penne pasta. In go fresh baby spinach and creamy Parmesan cheese.

Heaven in a bowl, you guys!

How to make this Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta recipe:

Prep: Cook your pasta in amply salted water according to the package instruction. Reference my tips for making penne pasta below. Reserve one cup of the cooking water (!!!). Drain and return the cooked pasta to the pot.

Step 1 & 2 - While your pasta is cooking, prepare the sun-dried tomato sauce. Add the sun-dried tomatoes with some of the oil to the container of a small food processor and process until you have a paste, with small chunks left.

Step 3 & 4 - Add the tomato sauce and reserved cooking water back to the pot of pasta and mix thoroughly using a wooden spoon. In the beginning, it will look like there’s too much liquid but keep mixing. The starches from the pasta water will do their magic and the pasta sauce will thicken and coat the pasta beautifully.

Step 5 & 6 - As a final step, add chopped basil, spinach, and parmesan and mix again. The heat of the pasta will wilt the spinach. Taste and adjust season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with more Parmesan.

How to cook penne pasta perfectly every time:

The cooked yield of each type of pasta very much depends on the shape you go for. Four ounces of tube-shaped pasta like penne equals 2 ½ cups cooked.

Fill a pot with at least 4 quarts of water for each pound of pasta. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, THEN salt the water generously. Did you know that adding the salt before boiling will increase the time it takes for the water to heat up? And we want this dinner to be on the table pronto, right?

Also, don't worry, only about 10 percent of the salt in the cooking water will be absorbed by the pasta. Dump your dried pasta into boiling water. Stir the cooking pasta once in a while to ensure even cooking and to prevent it from clumping together.

It is not necessary to add oil to the cooking water. Actually, it's a really bad idea as the oil only coats the pasta. And guess what, this keeps the sauce from sticking to your penne pasta.

Once cooked, drain your pasta well. Don't rinse - no matter what mum told you. Instead, shake the colander to remove any excess water. Rinsing will wash off the surface starch - we don't want that. Only pasta for salad should be rinsed.

Get creative with these mix-in ideas:

Once you have discovered the beauty of this simple pasta recipe, you can play around with it and spruce it up with these mix-ins:

• Chicken - chopped leftover rotisserie works great
• Toasted seasoned breadcrumbs or panko
• A splash of cream
• Goat cheese or crumbled feta
• Roasted squash
• Sauteed mushrooms
• Toasted pine nuts
• Canned, drained and rinsed white beans

Tips for making this sun-dried tomato pasta recipe

• For chopping the basil with minimal flavor loss, my technique is the following: Wash the basil, pat dry with paper towels, and remove the leaves from the stem. Now stack several leaves together and roll them into a neat cylinder. Cut the basil crossways into thin strips.
• Don't buy pre-grated parmesan. Freshly grated tastes so much better. Plus tubs of pre-grated Parmesan can often include a certain percentage of wood pulp. Ahem, thanks but no thanks!
• It is best to warm up any leftover pasta on the stovetop with a little water, broth, or even a naughty splash of white wine.

Variations on this recipe:

• You can also use dry sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil). In that case, soak about 6-7 oz of sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes, drain and place in the food processor with about ¼ cup olive oil and one teaspoon dried oregano (or an Italian herbs blend).
• I used penne pasta but any short pasta will work.
• Use gluten-free pasta if you are gluten-intolerant.
• For a vegan version, skip the parmesan cheese and sprinkle the finished dish with vegan parmesan cheese.

5 from 4 votes

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Easy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Spinach

This easy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta recipe with fresh baby spinach takes 25 minutes total to make and is loaded with flavor. The perfect quick meatless weeknight dinner.

Course dinner

Cuisine Italian, Vegetarian

Keyword pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, penne pasta with tomatoes, sun-dried tomato pasta recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 609 kcal

Author Marie

Ingredients

• 16- oz Penne pasta 500 g, or your favorite short pasta
• 1 8.5- oz jar sun-dried tomatoes 240 g, packed in oil
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
• 2 cups baby spinach chopped
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan grated (+ more for serving)
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package instruction. Reserve one cup of cooking water (don’t forget, it’s important!). Drain and return pasta to the pot.
2. While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a food processor (ideally using a small jar if you have one) add the sun-dried tomatoes with the oil and process until you have a paste, with small chunks left.
3. Add sauce and cooking water to the pot of pasta and mix thoroughly. At the beginning, it will seem like there’s too much liquid but keep mixing and the magic will happen: the sauce will coat the pasta beautifully.
4. Then add chopped basil, spinach and parmesan and mix again (the heat of the pasta will wilt the spinach). Taste and adjust seasoning (salt and pepper). Serve with more Parmesan.

Recipe Notes

• For chopping the basil with minimal flavor loss, my technique is the following: Wash the basil, pat dry with paper towels, and remove the leaves from the stem. Now stack several leaves together and roll them into a neat cylinder. Cut the basil crossways into thin strips.
• Don't buy pre-grated parmesan. Freshly grated tastes so much better. Plus tubs of pre-grated Parmesan can often include a certain percentage of wood pulp. Ahem, thanks but no thanks!
• It is best to warm up any leftover pasta on the stovetop with a little water, broth, or even a naughty splash of white wine. 
• You can also use dry sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil). In that case, soak about 6-7 oz of sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes, drain and place in the food processor with about ¼ cup olive oil and one teaspoon dried oregano (or an Italian herbs blend).
• I used penne pasta but any short pasta will work.
• Use gluten-free pasta if you are gluten-intolerant.
• For a vegan version, skip the parmesan cheese and sprinkle the finished dish with vegan parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Spinach

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 609 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 225mg10%

Potassium 2661mg76%

Carbohydrates 123g41%

Fiber 12g50%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 25g50%

Vitamin A 2330IU47%

Vitamin C 31.7mg38%

Calcium 153mg15%

Iron 8.2mg46%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you tried this Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

More easy weeknight dinner pasta recipes you would love:

• Italian Sausage Pasta 
• Pumpkin Pasta Casserole
• Caprese Pasta Salad
• Easy Turkey Bolognese