Spinach Pasta with Roasted Broccoli & Bell Pepper
This healthy vegetarian spinach pasta features roasted vegetables tossed with light balsamic sauce! Recipe is easily vegan and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 12, 2024
Would you look at that? I made Christmas-colored pasta, completely on accident. I’m on a perpetual roasted broccoli and red bell pepper kick, you see, and got a hankering for some hearty pasta.
Here, freshly roasted broccoli and bell pepper collide with lots of delicious sautéed spinach, my favorite whole wheat linguine and some balsamic vinegar. Toss all that together with some magical reserved pasta water for a light, silky sauce, and we end up with high-contrast Christmas pasta. I love it.
This spinach pasta recipe is highly adaptable. Feel free to change up the roasted vegetables—just use whatever you have around, cut to similar sizes and roasted until tender. Or, skip the roasted vegetables for a very simple but very flavorful and hearty spinach pasta.
The recipe is easily made vegan and/or gluten free, and the leftovers are great, whether served chilled, at room temperature or warmed again.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments. I’m always so eager for your feedback, and hope you love my recipes!
Spinach Pasta with Roasted Broccoli & Bell Pepper
This healthy vegetarian pasta features loads of spinach and roasted vegetables tossed with light balsamic sauce! Feel free to change up the vegetables or skip them completely for a simple, hearty spinach pasta recipe. Recipe is easily vegan and gluten free (see notes). Serve with a green side salad for a complete meal. Recipe yields 4 large or 6 more modest portions.
Ingredients
Roasted vegetables
- 1 large bunch of broccoli (about 1 ½ pounds), florets removed and sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1-inch squares
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
Spinach pasta
- 8 ounces linguine or spaghetti (whole wheat if desired)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot bulb, sliced very thin (about ½ cup, sliced)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 12 ounces baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- Optional: 1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese* (about ¾ cup, grated), plus extra for garnishing
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To prepare the roasted vegetables (optional, skip for a more simple spinach pasta): Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Transfer the sliced broccoli florets and bell pepper to the prepared baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss until the vegetables are lightly coated in oil (add a little more olive oil if necessary). Sprinkle with salt, arrange the vegetables in an even layer and bake until the broccoli is tender and caramelized on the edges, tossing halfway, about 25 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are in the oven, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta just until al dente, according to package directions. Before draining, carefully reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
- To prepare the balsamic spinach, in a large Dutch oven (my 5.5-quart Le Creuset is perfect here) or large sauté pan over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil until shimmering. Add the sliced shallot, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shallot is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. While stirring constantly, add several big handfuls of spinach at a time until they have wilted, then repeat until all of the spinach is in the pot. Once the spinach has reduced a bit but is still bright green in parts (this happens quickly!), pour in the balsamic vinegar and remove the pot from heat.
- In your Dutch oven or in a large serving bowl, combine the roasted vegetables and cooked pasta with the spinach mixture. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil and optional Parmesan. Drizzle in about ⅓ cup reserved pasta cooking water and gently toss to coat. Season to taste with additional salt (mine needed about ½ teaspoon more) and freshly ground black pepper. Divide into bowls and serve immediately, with extra grated Parmesan on top for bonus presentation points.
Notes
Change it up: Skip the roasted veggies for a simple weeknight pasta that’s full of greens, or change up the vegetables used.
Make it vegan/dairy free: Use olive oil instead of butter and omit the Parmesan. This pasta is great without the Parmesan, but you could add a light sprinkle of nutritional yeast for some cheesy flavor, if you’d like. Another option for extra savory flavor would be to add about ⅓ cup freshly toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds.
*A note on Parmesan: I always get a few comments on recipes that include Parmesan (“It’s not vegetarian!”) but Whole Foods actually makes a great animal rennet-free Parmesan. There’s plenty of flavor in here without the Parmesan, if you’d rather leave it out.
Make it gluten free: Choose a good gluten-free pasta (DeLallo makes one!).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Love the idea of adding warm, toasty pine nuts and goat cheese instead of parm! Paired with a nice, fruity glass of pinot, of course :)
This looks delicious, Kate!
Wow this looks great. This I will make this tomorrow.
Can’t go wrong with sharp cheddar.
Looks delicious!
Love these vegetarian options! And though all of the the SaladSavers sound delicious, I’d love to try the Goat Cheese flavor!
Love the thought of adding toasty pine nuts and goat cheese in lieu of parm. Paired with a fruity glass of pinot, of course :)
Looking forward to trying this with vegan parm!
I’m going to try this and see how it holds up for leftovers. I think it would be yummy for lunches.
Yum! Yum! Yum! This recipe looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it! I love the idea of salad mix ins! Genius!
This recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try it.
Looking forward to trying this and maybe adding a little chili infused olive oil to the recipe.
I would like to try the Champagne Vinaigrette!
This recipe looks delicious! Will definitely be trying it out at home.
This recipe looks amazing! I love your suggestions on how to make the recipe vegan. I’d love to win the contest but all of the Salad Savors all have cheese in them, whomp whomp.
This is exactly the kind of meal I love for a week night, so thanks for sharing!
Your poochie looks like he’d like a bite. Good idea.
I love christmas coloured food for the holidays!!!!!
Adding this to my growing list of favorite C&K salads! Thank you for the constant inspiration, it always comes at just the right moment! I would love to try the cheddar, almond and apple chips Salad Savors, but my mom is going to love the Feta, olive, red peppers option.
I would never think to put broccoli in pasta, but it sure does look good! I might have to step outside the box and try it! The white cheddar, toasted almonds, and apple chips SaladSavors combination sounds really yummy! I didn’t know DeLallo had these!
This looks delicious! I want to try the tangy goat cheese!
The pasta looks delicious and I love the idea of Salad Savors! Especially seasonal ones like the White Cheddar/Almond/Apple. Makes packing lunch that much easier :)
Thanks for the yummy recipe and the chance for this great giveaway! I’d love to try the Zesty Salad Savor. :)
I am so excited to cook this this holiday! I have been on the hunt for some delicious, hearty, and colorful weeknight dinners to break up the monotony of my go-tos, and I am so happy my Italian genes will be getting a chance to play!
Can’t wait to try and discover those salads!
These look delicious! I would love to try the Gorgonzola, pear, and pecan salad savor. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Yummm!
I would love to try the tangy beet flavor. I am not sure I like beets but I would give it a try.
I’m a vegan so can’t do the salad mixes, but would love the pasta for dinner! I definitely do this kind of dish as a comforting weeknight dinner.
I love this simple dish, and make a very similar version almost weekly! Thanks for sharing, and I’ll be sure to try it with your balsamic addition next time.
Cheers,
Julia
Sounds so good! I’m with you on the roasted broccoli obsession.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I think I will make it tonight for dinner. I’m always looking for new ways to jazz up my pasta.
The Sharp would be my choice. I love that combination of flavors. Your recipe today looks wonderful, as usual. Can’t wait to try it out. You have the most consistently delicious recipes of any blog on the internet!
Thank you, Danica! :)
Thanks for the great giveaway! I think the Vibrant Blue and Bold Gorgonzola look delicious, but I could see myself trying all of them!
Probably the one you described…sounds good :)
Gluten-free dairy-free vegetarian meals are a lifesaver in my family – we each have a different dietary need. This looks like something we should try while we are all together for the holidays!
Looks delish. Thanks
Wow–those Salad Savors look like great products! I like that they are not included with the greens, like some other brands have done, and I also like their unique combinations. Thanks for the info and link. I downloaded a coupon for $1 off from their website, and am going to try the ‘Vibrant’ first. It has blue cheese, cherries, and pecans…yum! ‘Zesty’, ‘Tangy’, and ‘Bold’ all sound really good to me as well. : ) Thanks for the contest, Kate, and Happy Holidays!
Thank you, Ana! Enjoy! :)
This pasta looks amazing…I can’t wait to try it out for the holidays! The colors make it perfect. The SaladFlavors are such a great invention!! I personally would love to try a combination of the Zesty Feta and Tangy Beets – reminds me of a nice Greek pasta salad. YUM. Thanks for sharing. Your posts are always delicious.
All the flavors I love!
I can’t wait to try the recipe and the salad savors. Both look delicious.
This looks DELICIOUS and healthy and like something my toddler would for sure eat! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, looks amazing! I love balsamic broccoli and you can’t go wrong with veggie pasta ;)
This all looks super yum. The crips SaladSavor looks great. I love greek salads but hate olives (weird, I know), so maybe a combo with feta, chickpeas, and pepperoncini!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
LOVE CookieandKate and this recipe is now on this weekend’s ‘TO MAKE’ list!
Hooray! Hope you love this one, Marisa!
I’d like to try cheddar, since I’m sick of feta!
This recipe looks amazing!! I’ll definitely be making this for dinner tonight. The Salad Savor with apples and cheddar will pair perfectly with my favorite salad greens and this pasta dish!!
Looks delicious!
Another great pasta recipe to add to my “To Make List”! Thank you!
Perfect after all the indulgent holiday eating is over!
This looks like the perfect wintry pasta! And I can’t wait to get my first le creuset :-)