After all of the buffalo dip and mac&cheese at beginning of the week, it’s high time for a healthy(er) dinner to lighten things up again.
Don’t worry, it still tastes good. I got the boyfriend stamp of approval last night when I served it to him.
“Dear, do you like your dinner?” I asked while helping myself to seconds in my shoebox sized kitchen-galley.
“Yes! It’s wonderful. Probably the healthiest thing I’ve ever eaten!” Adam declared as he speared seven perfectly al dente noodles on his fork.
I almost reminded him that once, I made him a smoothie with spinach and almond butter, which definitely would be considered healthier than pasta loaded with cheese, beans and olive oil.
But then I decided to just let it go. Only later did I realize that he forgot to ask where’s the meat.
This “healthy” pasta sure doesn’t skimp on the flavor. Because, I don’t know about you, but I really hate it when “healthy” dinners taste like crap. Like, if I wanted lowfat pasta that tastes like cardboard, I’d just go straight to the source and find me a science fair project.
You get my drift.
This pasta, however, is loaded with lots of bright flavor from garlic, lemon zest and sundried tomatoes. The cannellini beans make for an almost cream-like sauce without any added fat.
Yep, it was pretty much fat-free up until the point when I liberally drizzled my pasta with olive oil and added a large handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the end.
Cheese rules.
This is totally one of those “15 minute” dinners, too. And leftovers taste mighty good cold. I know from experience.
Penne with White Beans and Spinach
serves 4
3/4 lb dry penne pasta
1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups baby spinach
zest of one lemon
juice of two lemons
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or more to taste)
Cook the pasta according to package directions in boiling salted water. When cooked, drain and reserve one half cup of cooking liquid. Set aside.
In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and saute for two minutes, until toasted and fragrant (be careful not to burn!). Add the cooked pasta, beans, sundried tomatoes and spinach and cook until spinach wilts. Add the lemon zest, juice, salt, cayenne and cheese and toss well. Add some of the cooking water if the mixture seems dry.
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The good thing about 15 minute dinners is that there’s always time for dessert if you need to balance the healthiness with something decadent.
no kidding, i could eat pasta every single night and now blink an eye. i love that it’s almost a method and you could add a lot of different greens if spinach wasn’t available. this is definitely going in my list of dishes to make for those occasions!
Plus with dinners like this, you’re (sometimes) left with great leftovers. Add bunch of extra veggies and spinach, throw some on top and you have a delicious salad in seconds (I suppose you could do the same with that buffalo dip, but it might not be as healthy.)
haha “this is the healthiest thing I’ve ever eaten! Boys… And I love that you call him Dear – so cute!
I love when you post bean recipes!
My friend makes your BBQ beans all the time.
Gotta try this one too
I posted a similar recipe last week, but mine used kale instead of spinach. Simple pasta dishes are my favorite!
So do you mash the beans for the creaminess?
And what do you mean?! – olive oil and cheese have healthy fats that help you absorb all your nutrients – it’s practically mandatory!
I love sundried tomatoes and spinach — such a winning combo!
And quite the feat — it passed the “where’s the meat?” test!
This sounds great. I love that it’s fast and easy, and I’m a sucker for anything savory with lots of lemon.
Also, pasta without cheese is just wrong.
this looks so good! I love the addition of beans instead of meat.
although, the addition of bacon would be down right wonderful!
Yup. Even just the tiniest bit crumbled in.
if I had bacon in the house, that’s what I would have done for sure! Next time..
This looks lovely – Love the addition of the parm…cheese makes everything better… haha
Haha, you got it! As long as the man’s happy, don’t question it
Looks great! Making me hungry! Will be trying with spiralized zucchini instead of noodles (GF and no sugar).
Looks like a great, pretty simple dinner! Love it.
I love the idea of using white beans to make a ‘creamy’ pasta! [And adding extra olive oil and cheese.]
But really, the best part of this post was: “if I wanted lowfat pasta that tastes like cardboard, I’d just go straight to the source and find me a science fair project.”
My students are currently working on theirs…so if you want me to ship you a blank board, I’ll be happy to.
I eat science fair projects for breakfast! (what?!)
What a great dish! I love the pasta & lemon pairing
Pasta mixed with beans and veggies is my favorite go-to dinner when I don’t have much time and don’t know what to make. These flavors sound terrific!
This looks amazing. Love the addition of the beans.
You had me at “15 minutes!” Plus adding a little green to my meal makes me feel good about myself
…even if I do put a healthy handful of cheese on top!
This looks yummy! Do you mash the bean up a bit before adding them to make it “creamy”?
Nope–they mash enough when you stir the pasta! No need for extra mashing
Yum!! Any dish that gets a guy to forget to ask about the meat is good in my book! I love the addition of the sundried tomatoes and lemon!
Yum, I love lemon juice & zest in my pasta! I once made Giada’s lemon spaghetti… but I went a bit overboard with both. I may have puckered once or twice but I gobbled it down anyway.
This looks delish and so simple with the pantry staples. I love pasta just about any way that you can serve it
I’m psyched! I happen to have all the ingredients and will make this tonight! Thanks.
This looks interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever put beans in with pasta… it’s always one or the other. Hmm… something new for Saturday evening.
This looks awesome! I might try it with arugula instead of spinach. Married a spinach hater – we go to counseling for it.
a spinach hater??! no…..arugula would be great, too though!
Love the beans in here, So delish.
This is definitely being bookmarked. Looks fantastic! It’s amazing how much creaminess beans can lend to a dish.
You had me at “The cannellini beans make for an almost cream-like sauce without any added fat.”
It’s amazing how well white beans work to cream things up.. Lemon zest is perfect for the dish.. Yum! I’ll bet there were lovely little flavor explosions from the tomatoes and lemon ..
I’ve been known to use white beans in everything from oatmeal to frosting! Beans are so underrated!
If Adam didn’t miss the meat then neither will my fam! This looks fantastic!!
This is exactly the kind of dinner I make weeknights. Glorious and like you said healthy but not too healthy, cos who wants too healthy?
Looks like a perfect date night dinner to me!
My husband doesn’t like cooked spinach, though. Do you think broccoli would work just as well?
What about arugula? Broccoli would be kinda chunky. I mean, if you like broccoli that’s fine though! Just be sure to blanch the broccoli in simmering water before you toss it in the pasta..no one likes raw broccoli!
This sounds like a great quick dinner! Do you come up with these recipes yourself? How would you even think of this combination? I’m just not that creative
I come up with a lot of the recipes myself or they are versions of recipes my mom makes or stuff I see in magazines! I was very lucky growing up to have a mom who was an excellent cook…she doesn’t mind if we “share” recipes
This looks AMAZING!!! I made the buffalo dip last night and ate almost all of it! Oops!!! Great recipes and pictures, thank you!!!
hah! it’s addicting, huh?!
I’m definitely making this one! Yum yum yum and I know my kids will eat it too. I’ll just call it mac and cheese. Can’t lose.
Looks fabulous–and boyfriend stamps of approval are a great sign of a super recipe!
You had me at cannellini beans! Sounds delicious – I can’t wait to take it for a test drive. It’s always nice to find dishes that I can easily sneak grilled chicken into for the carnivore of the house. Thanks!
absolutely! Grilled chicken would be really tasty in this, too!
This looks soooooooooooooo delicious and I have almost everything needed to make this except lemons and sundried tomatoes. Must try soon!!
It looks like a great vegetarian alternative with pasta. I’m always craving protein w/my carbs. This should do the trick!
And I’m already having visions of the Super Bowl and Buffalo Dip.
This sounds delicious! All I have to do is sub out the parm for nutritional yeast, and it’s vegan! Yay
Looks delicious!!!!
yum. i might try this for my healthy-phobic fiance this weekend! if your boyfriend approved, maybe my man will to?! if not, i guess i can just eat it all myself!
The “science fair eating” line cracked me up…made my morning!
(Recipe looks like a winner too!)
Looks delicious. Simple but tasty meals are the best. Beautiful photography too <3
That looks so good. Definitely going to be making that one soon! I’ve been cooking for my parents (a few vegetarian meals) and I too was shocked when my Dad didn’t ask “Where’s the meat?” He seemed even more shocked to be satisfied by a vegetarian meal!
This looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
Definitely making this for dinner tonight…my dinners have been a little lame recently and I want to make something my husband will love – this is it! Thanks for the inspiration, Jenna!
I love how you add greens and beans into pasta! I really need to get on this bandwagon because I feel I don’t eat enough but would if I snuck them in. Maybe my Husband wouldn’t notice the no meat thing either
LOVE this! It looks like this pasta dish I had at Zero Zero a few weeks ago and have been wanting to recreate! Cannot wait to test this recipe out
this dish looks so amazing!!!
i think your forgot to say when you add the sun dried tomatoes? also, i’ve never bought these before- how do you know which ones are good at the store? thank you!
oops! I fixed it!
So, when can I expect you for dinner?
The fact that we’re in different time zones and on different coasts will not deter me at all.
am I feeding you or are you feeding me?! that’s the question
I’m ALL for anything that is healthy and pasta.. I could eat pasta every single day.
I was expecting the directions to include some sort of mashing of the beans because it really does look like they make a sauce. But, I guess the heat just causes them to break down like that?
cannellini beans are by nature suuuuper creamy. it doesn’t take much for them to break down a bit after stirring!
That looks delish! And I am all about not even bothering if something is going to taste like cardboard just to taste “healthy”. Glad we’re on the same page
This meal looks delicious! I usually love recipes that involve lemon zest
This looks fabulous and I will definitely need to try it soon. We have every ingredient but the sun dried tomato unfortunately so it’ll have to wait.
That pasta looks gorgeous! It’s now on my ‘to make’ list… cheers, Jenna!
This is my favorite kind of dinner — quick, healthy and delicious! Very few dishes makes for quick clean-up, too!
I was always afraid of putting starch on starch (beans and pasta) but this looks amazing and healthy. I think I’ll try it out despite my fears!
this looks really good – and my husband and I are trying to do more meat free nights… he is however afraid of beans… do the beans break down or do you think i could puree them first and then mix them in? Thoughts? I would need to hide the beans…
the beans break down a little. I personally wouldn’t puree them because that might make things a little pasty…I would just stir!
Yum! This is sooo up my alley! Can’t wait to make it soon!
That looks like a delicious and easy meal to do after work. I am definitely saving this one!
That’s my kinda comfort food! Looks awesome!
Beans and pasta. Ahhhh.
I’m on such a pasta kick this wk….this looks so good-might have to cap my week off with this!
what a delightful pasta dish! and great for a weeknight too!
This looks divine, and right up my alley! May even be able to please all the meat-eaters in the house;-)
Looks delicious!!! This kind of reminds me of that pasta you once wrote about with brie in it? I still make that on occasion and LOVE it.
I know exactly what you are talking about and love that dish, too!
Besides the sun dried tomatoes, I usually have all these ingredients on hand. And I’m always looking for a fast, healthy and vegetarian entree. Can’t wait to try this, thanks Jenna!
Thanks for this recipe Jenna ! I will be sure to try it. I love ALL of the ingredients you used! I also love using lemon zest in pasta recipes….gives it an amazing and fresh taste. I think this recipe is super healthy…i love using pure & natural ingredients like olive and cheese.
That looks so good! I needed a dinner idea and now I think I have one. Thanks Jenna!
http://www.lakelifeblog.com/2011/01/blogspiration.html
Love this recipe! I was wondering how to get rid of my white bean can that seems to have made a home in my pantry. Plus, I will add lemon juice to ANYTHING. (Also: My bf always “needs meat” in his meal as well. Why is that? Spinach and white beans are definitely filler-upper ingredients.) THANKS!
I totally agree with you on “healthy” pasta. I prefer the whole wheat version of just about everything except pasta. The real stuff is the only way to go!
I am making this RIGHT now. Literally. Pasta is a’boilin…looks like we randomly had the same stuff in our fridge, thanks for the idea!
Oh my gosh! YUM!
Ha! I love that you didn’t remind him of the smoothie. Boys. They’re so silly. My sister’s husband says “This is soo good. Best thing ever,” every single night at dinner. it cracks me up.
I made this last night, except I used feta instead of parm and lemon juice because Trig is obsessed with feta. I want to make it again with lemon juice because it sounds interesting.
Anyway, this was AWESOME. I used elbows because that’s all we had and kind of mashed up a few of the beans with some pasta water and it made a delicious creamy sauce yum!
awesome!! Can I come over for dinner??!
PS–I miss you.
platter looks delicious,…
I have to say….I do love your recipes for delicious baked goods but I am loving savoury week so far…..I have pretty much bookmarked every recipe this week you’ve posted and begun thinking about when I should make it. Keep it up!!
thank you!!
Jenna- this looks great! I also tend to love savory more than sweet, so this week has been wonderful! I enjoyed the white bean chili as well – I added corn starch and that did the trick. Thanks so much!
Hey ! I just started reading your blog and I LOVE it ! I made this recipie tonight with my friend but added shrimp in place of the beans and it was delicious ! Thanks for the inspiration. I will definitely continue to try recipes that you post, but next time it might be a dessert – always my favorite part of a meal too !
awesome!! Glad to have you reading
Do you think orzo might work in place of penne?
I do! That would put a different spin on the recipe, but it sounds good to me!
Wow! This sounds genius. Am on a pasta kick as of today (forgot how delish it is) so definetely going to be making this tomorrow…with spaghetti though! Do you think black eyed peas would be ok to replace the white beans with? And black olives instead of sundried tomatoes (trying to use up fridge ingredients). I might even go wild and chuck in some mushrooms for good measure
So glad to have found this recipe. The pasta in this house has been a bit boring (Chef’s fault) and this may be just the inspiration I needed to liven things up! Love the beans idea!
ALthough I love your baked goods…thank you for a savory week. Just made this for hubby and I (although I added chicken and some red onions) and it was awesome! There were no leftovers!
It was hubby’s first time tyring white beans and I think I have a convert. Hope to try again soon without the chicken.
yay! i’m so glad y’all liked it
I make something very similar at least once a week – but I’ve never tried adding sun-dried tomatoes. I will give it a whirl this week!
I just had this for dinner tonight- it was so delicious! One of my new favorites!
I just made this scaled down for one – what a quick/easy/(healthy!!) dinner! I just used one serving of penne, about 1/3 cup beans, a big handful of spinach, and zested what looked like 1/4 of the big lemon in my fridge. Honestly, this recipe seems very forgiving. I didn’t have any sundried tomatoes unfortunately – I tried to use some diced fresh, but they got a little lost in the skillet
I used crushed red pepper flakes also. I was a little worried that 1/4 tsp salt would be too much, but the saltiness was actually pretty great along with the lemon flavor.
Bottom line: awesome. I’d serve this to the boyfriend, and it’s easy enough to make just for me!!
Wow, what a fantastic recipe! My husband was unsure when I told him we were have pasta with beans, but he has already requested I make it again – and soon!
I made this recipe for my parents last week when I was home on spring break. It was very delicious and comfortably filling. My parents were extremely impressed and they couldn’t believe how my college cooking skills have improved! Thanks for the recipe!
awesome! I’m so glad!
I made this last night and it was amazing! I added some fennel turkey sausage for some protein and the whole thing was so delicious! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe, this will be a weeknight staple in our house for sure.
I’ve enjoyed this for lunch this week! My husband didn’t like it as much as I have, but that’s okay. More for me. Next time, I would use a full 10 oz bag of spinach and double the beans, too. I’ve added a sprinkling of salt over each serving too–it needed just a little bit more. Thanks!
hey Jenna…I finally got around to making this. It was super simple and quick to prepare and tasted fantastic! I loved the lemon flavor with the slight kick from the red pepper flakes (I used these instead of cayenne). Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!!
http://www.sistersrunningthekitchen.com/2011/03/penne-with-white-beans-and-spinach/
adding this to the weekend dinner menu – thanks!
yum!! I can’t wait to try this this weekend!!
You have some of the best pasta recipes I’ve come across in a long time. Can’t wait to try this penne recipe and the soba noodles. I’m loving your blog!
just made this tonight for my meat-loving husband and my two picky girls. we ALL loved it!!! i don’t eat dairy, so i pulled out my portion before throwing on the parmesan and it was STILL delicious! THANK YOU for dinner tonight!
anything you’d recommend as a replacement for sun-dried tomatoes? i’m not in love with them. what about regular tomatoes? weird?
We made this for dinner last night, and to be honest, but it was only so-so. The lemon was overpowering and ‘something’ was missing. I did love the flavor of the sundried tomatoes though! If I make this again and tweak it, I’ll definitely add twice the spinach. It’s amazing how quickly spinach cooks down!
We finally made this- and it was so friggin’ good! Definitely recommend!
So I have made this a million times and always used cannellini beans as specified. But for some reason, I simply could NOT find any in the store yesterday and I am making this for a dinner party tonight! Do you think great northern beans would work as a substitute? Are they not as creamy?
Thank you!
Just saw your dish on Swanky Dietitian-looks delicious! I’be been eating a lot of greens with pasta lately, and a nice dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes is always good
. Can’t wait to try this out!
I made this for my husband and 11 year old daughter tonight, despitie the fact that she thinks she hates spinach. Mean mom! But they both enjoyed it. She loved how lemony it was. It will see our table again. And I agree: it could easily enjoy other veggies, such as broccoli. I’ve made a similar dish with pine nuts as well. Thanks.
We made this for dinner tonight and is was absolutely delicious! Loved the mix of flavors from the lemon, cayenne, and beans. We also added some turkey sausage for some extra protein which worked great in the dish! Thank you for this simple, incredibly yummy recipe!
Yum, Yum! This is quick, easy and delish. Everything I have made from Eat, Live, Run comes out perfect and delicious. I’m working down the recipe list…all winners. Thank you.
No offense but this was gross. It had a very bitter taste to it, though all ingredients were fresh. Irritating because I use organic ingredients so I wasted a TON of money by having to throw out the entire dish. Sounded great – Tasted awful!
Made this for dinner tonight. SO DELICIOUS!
This recipe sounded like something that I would really love. I mean– pasta can’t really go wrong, can it? Well, I think it did. I followed the recipe to the ‘t’ with exceptions of substituting w/ whole-wheat pasta and used adult spinach and I just didn’t like it. It was too lemony. I feel like it needed something to richen it up a little– maybe some cream or a simple beurre manie? Otherwise, it was healthy and fresh.
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