Name: Sun-dried tomato pasta with spinach
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients: 1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped; 2 tbsp butter; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 8 oz dry fettuccine; 1/2 tsp dried basil; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 2 cups vegetable broth; 2 oz cream cheese, cubed; 1 cup whole milk; 1/4 cup grated vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese; 3 cups baby spinach; 1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed; Additional water only if needed, added in the increments specified in the method

Sun-dried tomato pasta with spinach

Spinach and white beans finish the creamy sun-dried tomato pasta.

Published October 2, 2026 · Updated October 16, 2026

4 portions · Estimated 40 minutes

Ingredients & method

Before you start: Prepare: 15 minutes · Cook pasta and finish: 25 minutes

Equipment: Deep skillet with lid

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Method

Chop the dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, mince the garlic and cut the cream cheese into small cubes. Drain and rinse the white beans, and have the milk, vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese and spinach ready before starting the pasta.
Melt the butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute, just until fragrant, keeping it moving so it does not brown.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, dry fettuccine, dried basil, black pepper and vegetable broth. Break the fettuccine in half if necessary to let it lie flat in the skillet, and move the strands around so as much pasta as possible contacts the broth.
Bring to a boil, stir to loosen the strands, then cover and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 7–10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes and separating any strands that cling together, until the pasta is almost tender.
Watch the bottom of the skillet as you stir. If the pasta starts sticking before it softens, add water only 2 tbsp at a time; keep the cooking liquid in the skillet because it forms the sauce, rather than draining the pasta.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cubed cream cheese until it melts into the cooking liquid. Stir in the whole milk, followed by the grated vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, and keep stirring gently until the sauce is smooth.
Fold in the spinach and drained white beans. Heat for 3–5 minutes, stirring gently, until the spinach has wilted, the beans are hot and the fettuccine is tender.
If the sauce is still loose, take the skillet off the heat and let it stand for 2 minutes to thicken. Toss the pasta once more to distribute the beans and sauce, then divide into 4 portions.

Treat the pasta liquid as part of the sauce

Use the specified dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes and have the cubed cream cheese ready before heating the skillet. The dry fettuccine cooks in the measured vegetable broth, so it needs contact with the liquid. Break it in half if needed to fit, following the method, and separate clinging strands at each stir.

Keep the liquid in the skillet rather than draining the pasta. If sticking begins before the strands soften, use the stated two-tablespoon water additions and reassess after stirring. Adding a large unmeasured pour would change the sauce the recipe is building around the pasta.

Finish the dairy sauce on low heat

Let the cream cheese melt into the cooking liquid before adding the milk and grated cheese. Low heat and gentle stirring let you see whether the sauce is smooth before the spinach and white beans enter. Fold those in broadly so the beans keep their shape.

Check that the fettuccine is tender as well as checking the hot beans and wilted spinach. Use the method's brief off-heat stand if the sauce remains loose, then toss once more before dividing into four portions. This distributes the sauce and beans through the servings instead of leaving them beneath the pasta.