Fusilli with Ricotta and Spinach is light, fresh, creamy, and utterly irresistible.

Where has the time been going lately? We’ve lived in Austin over a year and a half now and it feels so like home but it also often feels like we’re just on a long extended vacation. We’ve fallen completely in love with this place and maybe it’s getting older, or maybe time is literally passing faster than it used to, but either way, I can’t believe we’re coming up on two years here!

When we moved here, we made a conscious decision to slow down, take a break from saying “yes” to things so much, and instead be really thoughtful as to where we chose to spend our time. It was an amazing season of rest, but we’re both better versions of ourselves when we’re surrounded by things and people that we love, so for the last 6-9 months, our lives have been steadily filling up and we’ve truly been making our home here.

One of the ways we like to create “home” for both ourselves as well as others is to host people for meals whenever possible! This weekend was 3 straight nights of it and it was a blast! I should have planned out the menu a little better because night one we had homemade pasta with bolognese, night two we had homemade pizza and leftover bolognese, night three we had one pot lasagna, and now we have a big pot of this super amazing fusilli with ricotta and spinach. We’re living on a pasta overload over here and not even caring.

If you’re participating in my 7 Day Pantry Reset Challenge, you’ll be happy to know that this recipe was birthed out of my need to clear out some of these ingredients that were hanging out in my fridge, freezer, and pantry. I didn’t have the ricotta on hand, but picked it up at the grocery store to complete this recipe! My all time favorite cookbook, The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen happened to be at the library again when I stopped by the other day, so of course I had to check it out because there are still so many recipes I’ve been dying to make. This was one of them that I bunny eared last time and never got around to trying.

The fusilli is a great choice for this pasta, because the cooked spinach gets all caught up in the curlies so that in every bite you’re getting a perfect combo of pasta, spinach, and cheese all rolled up into one. I chose to use frozen spinach because that’s what I had on hand and it was a breeze to just dump the whole bag in, not having to wash and chop it first.

I hope you love this recipe and report back as soon as you make it! K? K!

Fusilli with Ricotta and Spinach

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Author: Kitschen Cat
Total Time: 25 mins
Yield: 4-6 1x

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Description

Recipe slightly adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Scale

1 lb fusilli
1 lb frozen chopped spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil (affiliate)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
11 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/4–1/2 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

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Instructions

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, then add 1 tablespoon of salt and fusilli. Boil, stirring often, until just al dente.
Stir spinach into water and boil for 1 minute.
Drain pasta and spinach, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water to use later.
In same pot, with pasta and spinach set aside, sauté garlic and cayenne pepper in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Stir pasta and spinach back into pot and turn off heat.
Add ricotta, heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir until smooth and creamy.
If the pasta is still a little too thick, slowly add in reserved pasta water and stir until it reaches your desired consistency.
Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese, gently stir, and serve!

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins