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.
Looks delicious! And I love that your dog is included in the post. :)
Whoever came up with the tangy beets, pecans and goat cheese blend is a genius!
I love roasted veggies, but I’ve never tried it with broccoli. I have a bunch in my fridge too. I’ll have to try this. It looks yummy.
That looks so yummy! And healthy! I just bought some Parmesan from Whole Foods, then this recipe appears. It’s a sign. ;)
Random: Linguine is my favorite pasta noodle. So bonus!
It was meant to be! Hope you love this one, Kathryn.
We love simple flavors, just balsamic vinegar and good olive oil
I’m always looking for good, versatile veggie recipes! This one is great!
This sounds great! I would love to try the best and pecan salad savor!!!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious. I cannot wait to attempt it this weekend for dinner or lunch one day! :)
P.S. I’m gonna have to go find some SaladSavors. Specifically, the Zesty. Kalamata olives are soooo good. And Feta. YUMMY!
The ‘zesty’ saladsavors sounds amazing!
i’m so obsessed with greek salad, so any greek salad options would be truly spectacular!
I’m a sucker for almonds, so the SaladSavor with cheddar would be my choice. Lovely recipe, but it’s a shame that it requires an oven as we only have hobs at uni! Thanks for the giveaway!
Tangy for sure! My girls and I love goat cheese and beets, and the crispy glazed pecans would be delicious too! Thank you and Merry Christmas!
I love all of your recipes! This is by far my favorite food blog now… great food & great photos. I make a very similar pasta dish, but top it with goat cheese instead of parmesan (I love goat cheese with balsamic vinegar). I hadn’t heard of the salad savors, but will definitely be looking for them!
Thank you, Kelsey! Happy to hear it! I love goat cheese, too. Bet it would be awesome here.
I would try the “tangy beets” dressing… Yummmmm! Thank you for your recipes :) I have really been enjoying the banana oat pancakes. My toddler loves them too… He had 8 the other morning (big breakfast to start the day :) ). Hope you and Cookie have a happy holidays!
Hungry boy! I love that. Thank you, Anne!
Roasting any veggie and mixing it into pasta makes the whole dish taste so much better. Great recipe! thank you!
What are your thoughts on skipping the salt when you cook pasta? My husband has high blood pressure and wants to cut ALL the salt, I hate non salted pasta, any suggestions?
Hi Roberta, that’s a good question. I agree, pasta has a lot more inherent flavor when you cook it in salted water. I think cooking pasta like this one without salted water might work well, since it contains balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, which add a ton of flavor on their own. Herbs might help make up for it, too. I hope that helps!
Thank you, this way he will be happy I am will enjoy the pasta too! ;)
Looks delish!! I’d love to try the vibrant, tangy or bold!
Looks delicious!
Looks delicious!
I’d love to try the Sharp flavor. Sounds great!
This recipe looks yummy! Love this blog. Always look forward to my email when a new post is up!
Gorgonzola and dried pear!
The crisp Salad Savors sound great!
Yum! I love pasta with balsamic, and this looks easy and delicious! I would love to try the Gorgonzola, pear, and almond salad saver, what a great idea.
A le creuset product would be a dream come true. I could see this recipe working well with a cashew cream.
This recipe cam at the perfect time! Looks amazing.
I would like to try Tangy – love my beets! I tried Delallo pasta after reading on your blog and my family has no idea it’s healthy. We are particularly addicted to the delallo gnocchi. Thx for giveaway.
It is easy to use and adds wonderful flavor to a salad.
Looks tasty! Really enjoying your blog.
this recipe sounds delish!!! Making it tonight :)
I would love one that includes goat cheese yum!!
Quick, easy, and healthy! Sounds like a great dinner!
I’m really loving gorgonzola right now, so the Bold Gorgonzola SaladSavor sounds right up my alley. But honestly, they all sound pretty good :)
This is beautiful AND tastes amazing. I recently found Cookie and Kate and every recipe I have tried has been wonderful! Kate, I’m so thankful you have shared your gift with all of us!
Thank you, Brittany!!!
This recipe is right up my alley. Can’t wait to try it!
Love your recipes
Thank you, Sabrina!
I’m a sucker for good cheese so for sure the Asiago.
Zesty Feta although they are all good.
Looks fantastic and I am going to give that crisp salad savor a try.
I just discovered roasted broccoli and my kids prefer it that way. This looks like a good combination and a good break from heavy, holiday food!
Roasted broccoli is my favorite, too! Thanks, Sylvia!
Oooh, I would love to try the Sharp Asiago!!
The marinated beets/goat cheese/pecan flavor sounds awesome!!!
This recipe looks delicious!
I am on a mushroom kick (as well as spinach) so this will work very well, looks amazing and fairly simple, just my style! Thanks
I’ve never heard of Salad Savors. I’ll have to look for them.
The CRISP salad savors sounds amazing! I love dried apple!
I used to not understand why someone would want premade mix ins like this, then I had a baby. lol. I hope my grocery store carries the Bold, gorgonzola, dried pear, and toasted almonds one. mmmm. I might stash a bunch of these at my desk and be able to have lunch on call!
Definitely the Zesty—I’m a feta fiend!
Pasta looks delicious and I’m eager to try some salad savers. I’m all for anything that makes veggies easier to prepare.