Easy Spinach Ricotta Fettucine: A Mouthwatering Pasta Dish
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Tempt your taste buds with Spinach Ricotta Fettucine. This creamy pasta dish with spinach, ricotta, and Parmigiano is hard to resist.
Pasta Is For All Grocery Budgets
Spinach ricotta fettuccine is a switch-up to stuffed spinach and ricotta cannelloni, but it uses pasta instead and has no sauce.
We thought there had to be a quicker way to make a baked pasta dish than stuffing tubes and baking them in the oven.
This spinach ricotta fettuccine pasta is so creamy it’s hard to stop stuffing it in your mouth.
The ricotta, when heated, melts just that little bit and, when mixed with the pasta, garlic, spinach, and Parmigiano, creates a magical combination that is hard to resist.
When you are pressed for time and need a quick meal, this recipe takes about 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
Fresh Italian Ricotta Cheese
Nothing goes to waste when making cheese, and that’s why the birth of ricotta became a cheese by-product.
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or buffalo milk, with cow’s milk often used in America and Canada.
Ricotta is also low in fat and means “re-cooked,” which uses whey, the liquid left over when straining the curds from making cheese.
If you buy ricotta, you may also find it in 3 other variations: salted, baked, and smoked to keep shelf life.
I have never tasted the other variations, but maybe we will take our next trip one day.
If you are handy in the kitchen and want to try making homemade ricotta, all you will need is pasteurized milk, distilled vinegar, and three salt ingredients.
I have yet to make it at home, although our friend Beth informed us how easy it was.
Ricotta can run you about $4.79 for 500 grams unless you can find it on sale or make it home because sometimes homemade is better than store-bought.
Culinary Uses For Ricotta
Ricotta is incorporated into cuisines worldwide, most notably in desserts such as:
- Cheesecake
- Puddings
- Sweet cannoli
- Ricotta cookies, such as a lemon ricotta cookie.
You can also use ricotta in your favorite recipes, such as:
- Lasagna
- Meatballs
- Manicotti
- Pasta frittata
- Fritters
- Calzones
- Ravioli
- Pasta
- Cannelloni
- Pizza
- Stuffed shells
- Soups (ricotta balls)
- Easter pies, cakes (Orange Ricotta Pound Cake), and many other recipes.
In Indian cuisine, they use paneer (you can find this at many local supermarkets), although, in an Indian dessert called Ras Malai, my friend’s mum would use homemade ricotta.
It’s just one of those foods you don’t get every day, and it’s another reason I like to travel and explore culinary culture rather than go to an all-inclusive resort.
The knowledge I’ve gained in my travels is priceless.
Ingredients
- 1 400g pkg fettuccine pasta (reserve 1/4 cup cooking water)
- 3 cups of spinach (washed)
- 1lb of fresh Ricotta cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt for pasta water
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 cup of fresh Parmigiano cheese
- 3 tbsps of butter
Instructions
- Add your pasta and cook until al dente 5-7 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain (but keep back 1/4 cup of pasta water in a cup)
- In the empty pot, add one tbsp of butter and the minced garlic and sauté
- Put the pasta back in the pot, add the reserved pasta water and the ricotta, and stir.
- Once the ricotta is combined, add the spinach and two tbsps of butter and cover it on low to let the heat wilt the spinach for a couple of minutes, then stir. If you want to add more salt to the flavor, taste it now, but you can also top it with cheese.
- Serve topped with fresh grated Parmigiano cheese and fresh cracked pepper if you desire
This is a simple meal that anyone can make. If you love pasta, try this spinach ricotta fettuccine pasta any night of the week.
Spinach Ricotta Fettucine
Tempt your taste buds with Spinach Ricotta Fettucine. This creamy pasta dish with spinach, ricotta, and Parmigiano is hard to resist.
Ingredients
- 1 400g pkg fettuccine pasta (reserve 1/4 cup cooking water)
- 3 cups of spinach (washed)
- 1lb of fresh Ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp salt for pasta water
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano cheese
- 3 tbsp of butter
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, add your pasta and cook until al dente. (5-7 minutes). Drain (but keep back 1/4 cup of pasta water in a cup)
- Add one tbsp of butter and minced garlic, and sauté to the empt
- Put the pasta back in the pot, add the reserved pasta water and the ricotta, and stir.
- Once the ricotta is combined, add the spinach and two tablespoons of butter and cover it low to let the heat wilt the spinach for a couple of minutes, then stir. If you want to add more salt to the flavor, taste it now, but you can also top it with cheese.
- Serve topped with fresh grated Parmigiano cheese and fresh cracked pepper if you desire
