Creamy Four-Cheese Pasta with Spinach

By sandy_h

From Cooking Light December 2018

Ingredients

• 8 oz uncooked quinoa or chickpea pasta (such as rigatoni, penne, farfalle, or rotini)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 oz fontina cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 oz 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare pasta in a large stockpot according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta and reserved cooking liquid to stockpot.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add spinach and garlic; cook, stirring often, until spinach wilts and garlic is slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add fontina, ricotta, and cream cheese; cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt and mixture is creamy, about 30 seconds. Immediately remove from heat; add to pasta in stockpot. Add salt and cayenne. Stir gently to coat pasta with sauce.