10 Minute Healthy Spinach Pasta

This gloriously green and plant based 10 minute healthy spinach pasta is incredibly quick and easy to make! Perfect for a midweek meal.

Splendid Spinach

It’s no secret that I absolutely adore spinach!

For me, spinach is the perfect quick recipe ingredient. It cooks in record time, it’s yummy, really versatile and extremely healthy to boot.

In fact, the health benefits of spinach are huge! It’s rich in plenty of important nutrients including iron, folate and vitamins C and K. Iron in particular can be tricky to incorporate into the diets of people eating mostly or exclusively plant-based foods so the fact that spinach has plenty of it is brilliant.

So, it’s no surprise that you’ll find this gorgeously, green and leafy vegetable in many of my other recipes. Have a look at some of my other yummy spinach-containing recipes for further quick meal inspiration! Such as these 10 Minute Chicken, Avocado & Spinach Wraps, this 15 Minute Miso Salmon with Spinach recipe, this 10 Minute Dairy Free Creamy Salmon & Spinach Pasta and finally, this super tasty and quick The Best 5 Minute Spinach Pesto. Yum!

Perfect Pasta

Pasta forms the cornerstone of soooo many of my quick recipes. Just like spinach, pasta is super versatile and not to mention, super speedy!

In this 10 minute vegan spinach pasta, I’ve chosen to use fresh tagliatelle. There’s something extra special about using fresh pasta over the dried variety I reckon, as it has a certain richness and lovely silky texture.

It also cooks in about 4-5 minutes which is absolutely perfect for anybody in a rush.

One word of caution, though – fresh pasta often includes eggs. Although some people will be happy with this, if you’re on an exclusively vegan diet, do remember to check that which ever pasta you use is egg free.

Unfortunately, it can be tricky to find fresh pasta that is vegan friendly. (Hopefully this will change over time as more and more people turn to plant-based eating!). If fresh egg-free pasta is not available where you live, you may need to use the dried variety instead.

You can still make your 10 minute healthy spinach pasta recipe in less than 10 minutes though, if you use quick cook dried pasta. Any type will do, but quick cook spaghetti is widely available so that would be a good option here.

Do take a look at some of my other delicious and super quick pasta recipes for more mealtime inspiration, such as this 10 Minute Spaghetti Carbonara, this 10 Minute Cherry Tomato and Basil Spaghetti and also this 10 Minute Mediterranean Tuna Pasta.

Fabulous Flavours

Two other essential ingredients in this 10 minute healthy spinach pasta recipe are cashew nuts and coconut cream.

The cashew nuts bring a wonderfully creamy and slightly sweet flavour to the final pasta dish. Although spinach is a fantastic ingredient, it can be a little bit bitter once cooked. I find the cashew nuts help to smooth out this flavour to give a beautifully mild and pleasant final taste. This is why I’ve included them in this quick spinach pasta recipe.

Not only are cashews nuts delicious, they are also really healthy! Those of us turning to plant-based recipes need to be mindful of a protein intake. Thankfully, cashews (like many other nuts) fit the bill for a perfect plant-based protein. They also contain healthy fats and various other really important minerals such as magnesium. So perfect for including in healthy cooking (and also great to snack on straight from the pack!)

Another key ingredient in this 10 minute healthy spinach pasta recipe is coconut cream.

I find coconut cream a fabulous plant-based addition to sweet and savoury recipes alike. It adds a gorgeous creaminess that would usually be otherwise achieved with dairy ingredients. Coconut cream has a lot less cholesterol than dairy cream and it’s also a brilliant source of potassium. This makes it really rather healthy!

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO MAKING THE PERFECT 10 MINUTE HEALTHY SPINACH PASTA

Have a look below for a very useful guide to making your perfect quick and healthy spinach pasta recipe with some helpful photos along the way to guide you;

SERVES 2

STEP 1;

First of all, pop 300g (10.5 oz) of fresh tagliatelle into a pan of boiling and slightly salted water. Cook this according to the pack instructions- typically around 5 minutes – then drain it and set it aside.

If you can’t get hold of fresh tagliatelle, or you follow a vegan diet and can’t find egg-free fresh pasta, feel free to use a dried pasta instead. You can usually get quick cook dried pasta that’s ready in minutes. Spaghetti works well. Remember you’ll need less of the dried variety than the fresh – for 2 servings, 200g (7 oz) of dried pasta is plenty.

STEP 2;

While the pasta cooks, heat a generous drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan or wok.

Peel 1 garlic clove and roughly chop this (into 5-6 pieces is fine. No need to finely chop it). Pop this into the preheated pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until softening.

Throw 150g (5.2 oz) of fresh spinach into the pan along with the softened garlic. Stir frequently until wilted. This happens very quickly so keep an eye on it! Once this is done – after about a minute – remove the pan from the heat.

STEP 3;

Scoop the cooked spinach and garlic into a blender or food processor. Top and tail one spring onion and pop this in the blender too.

Finally, add 75g (2.6 oz) of cashew nuts, 125mls (1/2 cup) of coconut cream and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the blender with all the other ingredients.

Blitz everything up for about 30 seconds until you have a smooth, green liquid without any lumps or chunks.

STEP 4;

Place the freshly cooked pasta back into the pan that you boiled it in. Pour the blended green sauce on top of it and stir or toss it all together until the pasta is fully coated in that lovely green sauce.

Divide the pasta between two serving dishes. All ready to dig in!