Creamy Spinach Mushroom Pasta is my go to recipe on many days. It’s a simple, wonderfully flavoured dish that will keep you full for hours. It also has the added goodness of loads of spinach and mushrooms so you will not miss out on important nutrients. If you have picky eaters in the family you may want to try this 🙂

Time: 

• Prep time – 10 minutes
• Cook time – 20 minutes

Ingredients: 

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 3 tbsp
• White Mushrooms (Slit in half) – 230 g
• Smoked paprika – 1 tsp
• Italian seasoning:
  • Thyme – 1/4 tsp
  • Oregano – 1/2 tsp
• Roma Tomatoes (Chopped into slightly large cubes) – 2
• Baby spinach – 10 oz
• Garlic (Minced) – 3 tsp
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – 1/2 tsp
• Half and Half – 1.25 cups
  • I made my own, use 3:1 ratio of reduced fat milk: heavy cream
• Parmesan Cheese (crumbled) – 1.25 cups
• Penne Pasta – 10 oz
• Salt
  • 1 tsp for the mushroom gravy
  • 1/4 tsp for the pasta

1. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, and salt. Saute for a minute
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they turn medium soft. Then add the sliced mushrooms and garlic. Saute every few minutes for a total of 10 minutes
3. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water and when the water is boiling add the baby spinach. Mix it in the hot water for one minute and then drain it and set aside the spinach
4. Add the wilted spinach and crushed red pepper. Mix everything together for 5 minutes
5. In the meantime, cook the penne as per your package instructions and set aside (Ensure that you don’t have too much pasta as you want a good coating of the gravy on the pasta)
6. Coming back to your gravy, add the half and half and mix well for a minute
7. Add the parmesan cheese  and let the whole gravy simmer for a few seconds
8. Pour this mixture over the cooked pasta and mix it all together
9. Enjoy 🙂