Pasta with Creamy White Beans
Servings
6
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (plus more for the pasta)
-
1 pound short pasta, such as Gnocchetti Napoletani or Shells
-
1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 carrot (peeled and diced)
- 1 small red onion (diced)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- One 15-ounce can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces smoked provolone or smoked mozzarella (grated (about 2 cups))
- One 5-ounce container baby spinach (chopped)
Instructions
- This recipe originally appeared on Giada Entertains: Pasta Party.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season well with salt. Add the pasta and cook for 3 minutes less than indicated in the package directions, about 7 minutes. Drain well reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, carrot and onion to the skillet. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the pepper flakes and thyme and cook another minute. Stir in the drained beans and chicken broth. Reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use the back of a spoon to gently mash some of the beans. Set aside.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the pasta and toss to coat well. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and add the 1/2 cup pasta water as needed to maintain a creamy, broth-like sauce. Sprinkle in the spinach and cook until wilted.
Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 6
- per serving
- Calories
- 594
- Carbs
- 76 grams
- Protein
- 26 grams
- Fat
- 21 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 8 grams
- Cholestrol
- 26 milligrams
- Sodium
- 648 milligrams
- Fiber
- 7 grams
- Sugar
- 4 grams
2 comments
Really easy recipe, and my three children and husband loved it. This made a creamy sauce without it being heavy like a macaroni cheese. Yummy, you could also switch out the chicken stock for veg stock to make it vegan!
AMAZING! I just made this for lunch. As an American currently living in quarantined Italy (Umbria), I found Giada's current email offering of pantry recipes very useful. This pasta dish was SPECTACULAR. I had to make a few adjustments, as being in quarantine, I didn't have all the ingredients. For the smoked provolone, I substituted speck to get the earthy, smoked flavor burst. I also had to substitute frozen spinach and fusilli pasta. Regardless of the changes, the dish turned out delicious. It was picture perfect as well. The dish paired extremely well with a local Sangiovese wine. I cannot thank Giada enough for the recent recipe offerings. Grazie! Grazie mille! Un grande abbraccio!