Description
A creamy and delicious Spinach and Artichoke Pasta Bake featuring rigatoni pasta enveloped in a rich blend of spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, pecorino, and mozzarella, baked to golden perfection. Perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta and Vegetables
- 350 g pasta (dry weight) rigatoni
- 1 medium brown onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped or crushed
- 170 g baby spinach (about 5½ cups)
- 1 can (390 g) artichoke hearts, drained weight 240 g, roughly chopped
Dairy and Cheese
- 1 tub (280 g) light cream cheese
- 60 g pecorino cheese finely grated (¼ cup)
- 100 ml double cream (½ cup heavy cream)
- 125 g fresh mozzarella cheese grated (just over half a ball)
Other Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil: Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Sauté onions: Add the chopped onion with a pinch of sea salt and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent and soft.
- Add garlic: Stir in the finely chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Cook pasta: Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni according to package instructions minus one minute for al dente texture. Reserve half a cup of the pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.
- Cook spinach and artichokes: Add the baby spinach to the pan with onions and cook until wilted. Then stir in the chopped artichokes and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add cheeses: Mix in all the cream cheese, stirring until melted and combined. Then add ¾ of the grated pecorino cheese, stirring until melted and smooth.
- Add cream and pasta water: Slowly pour in the double cream, stirring continuously. Gradually add reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce, stirring well.
- Season sauce: Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon sea salt and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to the sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Combine pasta and sauce: Add the drained pasta to the sauté pan and gently toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.
- Assemble bake: Transfer pasta mixture into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the grated mozzarella and remaining pecorino evenly on top.
- Bake: Cover the casserole with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for a further 10 minutes until the cheese topping is golden and bubbling.
- Serve: Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Use rigatoni or any short pasta like penne or penne rigate for best results.
- Light cream cheese works well to reduce fat content; substitute full fat cream cheese if preferred, noting changes in nutritional values.
- A casserole dish approximately 30cm x 20cm x 6.5cm (12" x 8" x 2.5") works well for this quantity.
- Drain artichoke hearts thoroughly to prevent excess liquid in the sauce.
- Reserve pasta water helps to loosen and enrich the sauce for creamy texture.
- Cooking pasta one minute less than package instructions keeps it firm after baking.
- Use a digital scale for accurate measurement of ingredients for best results.
- Nutrition values are approximate and calculated using an online tool.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 420 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 18 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
