Spinach Pasta Bake

Simple delicious Spinach Pasta Bake - quick and easy to make pasta dish with healthy fresh spinach and a homemade tomato sauce.

Easy Spinach Pasta Bake

There is nothing like a simple homemade pasta bake for dinner, one where you can include some healthy vegetables and not be too time-consuming to make.

This healthy delicious Spinach Pasta Bake certainly ticks all the boxes.

Simple Pasta Sauce

Many of us rely on jarred pasta sauces to create meals, fearing it's too time-consuming to make one from scratch. 

This simple pasta sauce uses ingredients most of us have on hand and is so quick to throw together. The added benefit being that it uses some hidden veggies too, another great way to sneak some additional vegetables into your meal.

A sauce like this is much tastier and fresher and is my go-to when I want a base sauce for any pasta bake. 

Can you freeze pasta bakes?

It is definitely a question which is asked frequently and a valid question too.

Cooked pasta can have a tendency to go very soft when reheated.

The best way to freeze pasta bake is to portion it up in some glass food storage containers that are suitable for the oven prior to baking, that way you can bake straight from frozen and you don't end up with overcooked pasta. 

Of course, if you have cooked it in one big dish and you have some leftover that you want to freeze, that is perfectly fine to freeze too, just be away the pasta will be softer when reheating. 

Sides for Pasta Bake

As this yummy Spinach Pasta bake comes with hidden veggies in the sauce as well as that iron-rich spinach, I tend to enjoy this just as it is. But if you want a really filling meal, this is perfect paired up with some steamed or roasted veggies of your choice - like:

• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Sprouts
• Cauliflower

or go for a lovely mixed salad with all your favourite salad choices, such as lettuce, baby greens, cucumber, tomatoes, beets, onion, peppers, slaw etc.

another great option is this Creamy Coleslaw - yum!!

More Pasta Bake Recipes

Love a delicious Pasta Bake? Check out some of these other recipes:

• CREAMY CHICKEN MUSHROOM TOMATO PASTA BAKE
• BEST EVER BOLOGNESE PASTA BAKE
• CHICKEN BACON AND TOMATO PASTA BAKE
• CHICKEN, BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER PASTA BAKE
• SLOPPY JOE PASTA BAKE
• BACON, FENNEL AND MUSHROOM PASTA BAKE
• MEXICAN PASTA BAKE
• SAUSAGE AND BEAN PASTA BAKE

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, value and smart points etc

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Recipe Card

Spinach Pasta Bake

Yield: SERVES 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Simple delicious Spinach Pasta Bake - quick and easy to make pasta dish with healthy fresh spinach and a homemade tomato sauce.

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Ingredients

For the pasta sauce:

• 100g (3.5oz) of onion, diced
• 100g (3.5oz) of carrot, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 425g (15oz) of crushed tomatoes
• 1 tbs of tomato paste (puree)
• ½ tbs of balsamic vinegar
• pinch of dried basil
• pinch of dried oregano
• 1.5 cups (360ml) of water
• salt and black pepper
• cooking oil spray (I used olive oil)

For the pasta bake

• 250g (9oz) of uncooked pasta (I used penne rigate)
• 4-5 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
• 150g (5.5oz) of mozzarella, broken into pieces
• 30g (1oz) of parmesan, grated

Instructions

1. Spray a frying pan with some cooking oil spray.
2. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes to soften.
3. Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, herbs and water, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add to a blender (or use a stick blender and blend until smooth (you can leave the sauce as is if you prefer).
5. Taste sauce and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
6. Preheat oven to 180c/Fan 160c/350f or gas mark 4
7. Cook pasta accordingly to package instructions until al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta water
8. Combine the sauce with the pasta and chopped spinach until all mixed well. Add in a little of the reserved pasta water if needed to loosen sauce.
9. Add to an ovenproof dish and top with the cheeses.
10. Bake for approx 25-30 minutes until cheese on top is melted and lightly golden.
11. Serve and enjoy!!

Notes

Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:

• Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
• WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs -   due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values. 

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Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 308Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 36mgSodium 795mgCarbohydrates 30gNet Carbohydrates 0gFiber 6gSugar 9gSugar Alcohols 0gProtein 17g

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