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YOU GUYS, lemony spinach and artichoke brie penne pasta today, I am so excited.
Watch the How To Video Here:
I am aware this pasta is kind of an indulgent Wednesday recipe, but it is SO worth it! And very spring inspired, thanks to all that spinach and lemon and those delicious artichokes. Oh my gosh, it’s just so good, talking about it, and staring at these photos, is making me think I need to recreate this recipe (for the fourth time in a matter of weeks) for dinner tonight. This really is just THAT good.
But then, what on Earth could not be loved here? Pasta? Lemon? Spinach? Artichokes? BRIE?! All good on their own, but combine everything together in a pasta dish?
Perfection.
Do you guys remember on Monday how I mentioned I has having some hard days the other week? Well, this pasta is the result of those hard days. Like most people, I totally crave comfort food when I stress. My comfort foods are kind of odd in that a lot of them are super healthy. I’m talking roasted veggies, fresh fruit, and tons of avocado. <–the foods I live off of most weekdays when recipe testing is not happening.
Along with those super healthy things though, I also love pasta and cheese. I mean, DUH…it’s pasta and cheese. Yes, please! Plus, I was raised by a mom who could live solely off of pasta. My mom loves pasta more than anyone I know, and could eat it simply with butter and salt every day for the rest of her life (while you might have to add some bread in there too). It’s her favorite.
Anyway, I decided I would combine all MY favorites and make one cheesy, buttery, and veggie filled pasta. Again, I know it maybe sounds indulgent, but hey, there is spinach and artichokes in here…so it’s totally healthy. Right? right!
The secret to this pasta, I mean aside from the brie (oh the brie!), is the olive oil/garlic/artichoke situation. Instead of just tossing everything together, first cook the garlic and artichokes separately in olive oil. Slow cooking the garlic in olive oil, along with the pine nuts, crushed red pepper flakes, and artichokes, allows the garlic to caramelize and infuse the olive oil with serious, but subtle garlic flavors. And while the garlic slowly caramelizes, the artichokes are frying in the olive oil, getting just slightly crisp on the edges. Yep, it’s the KEY to this recipe.
I’ve found with a lot of artichoke recipes that the artichokes just kind of fall to the wayside and are more on the bland side. But cooking them in olive oil and getting them a little crisp makes all the difference. Honestly, if you guys have never tried cooking the artichokes in oil first, you have to do it now. It is a game changer.
The rest of the recipe goes as follows: boil the pasta, toss it with the brie to melt, then add the artichokes and lots of fresh lemon, and DONE. Dinner in thirty minutes and it’s probably one of the best you’ll make all week. <– for real.
Oh, and if you guys didn’t already realize this, I clearly love the combo of spinach, artichokes and brie. Example one, two, three, and four. Can you blame me though?
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Wednesday night, cheesy pasta. YES!
That sauce looks like silk! The weather here is starting to warm up and this is exactly what I’m craving. Something between lighter spring food and comfort pasta! Gorgeous!
I wish is was looking like that here! Just got tons of snow ): Anyway I hope you love it Debs!
How about silver beet instead of spinach?
Sure!! That sounds great!
This looks so amazing and light for a pasta dish! Absolutely going to make this!
Yay, hope you love it Kate!
Well I’m definitely sold on this already! One of my favorite types of pasta sauce and the fact that brie is joining this party, well heck YES!
The brie got me most excited too (: Thanks Tori!
Oh my gosh!!! All of my favorite flavors in pasta form!! Awesome idea girl 🙂
Hahah yes!! So happy your liking it Lindsay (:
Another winner, Tieghan!! Can’t wait to try! I also will serve with some simple grilled chicken.
Thanks Leah! The chicken should go perfect with this (:
Pasta is my go to comfort food too when I am stressed! Add spinach and artichoke to the mix… Yes please! Thanks for sharing!
Ah yes! So perfect!! Thank you Leanna!
This sounds super decadent and cheesey, but the spinach and bring artichoke hearts and lemon and basil sound like they’d lighten things up a bit! Will have to save this one for a rough day (:
I think they do! Hope you love it when you try it Heather!
There is nothing better and more comforting than a good plate od pasta! That’s why I keep it for special occasions only and this one looks absolutely perfect, yum!
So agree! Hopefully you love this one (:
This sounds amazing!! What size jar of artichokes did you use? Thanks!
YUM….perhaps some grilled (blackened) chicken for a little extra protein.
Sounds delicious to me!
Your mother and I are cut from the same cloth. I love pasta of all shapes with a little Earth Balance butter and a little seasoning or, or, or . . . . Like you, I love spinach, veggies, or, or, or . . . . I have a collection of pieces of paper, index cards,, etc. I promised myself that I would stop filling any and every shelf here with hard and soft cover cookbooks, but I must get one more, your new cookbook. Sincerely, another foodie who, unfortunately, does not always have enough time to fuss.
Sounds like it! sounds a lot like my shelves! So funny. Hope you love the book and it doesn’t crowd to much! Thanks Judes!
This pasta has all the ingredients for a super delicious cheesy dish!
yes! Thanks Carlos hope you enjoy!
I’m not a fan of artichoke, but I guess I could easily leave it out of the recipe, couldn’t I? The rest sounds so yummy and delicious!
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt
Yes! You can leave them out completely or add another veggie like asparagus in their place. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this!
what size of jar did you use for the marinated artichoke hearts?
The ingredients list has links to products. It was a 14 oz can.
Thanks for the response, Mary, but the link provided is to a can of plain artichoke hearts whereas Tieghan mentioned that she used a jar of marinated artichoke hearts…Tieghan, can you clarify?
Thanks 🙂
So… I guess so answer or clarity about the artichokes? Marinated artichokes and a can of plain can artichokes are very different. The recipes reads marinated, but links to plain canned. Which did you use?
SO sorry for the confusion. I use marinated artichokes. Let me know if you have questions.
So sorry for all the confusion everyone! It is 1 (8 ounce) jar of marinated artichokes. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you!
Thanks Mary!
SO sorry for the trouble. I use 1 (8 ounce) jar of marinated artichokes. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you!