Photo of Penne with spinach and tomatoes by WW

Penne with spinach and tomatoes

8
Points®
Total Time
29 min
Prep
14 min
Cook
15 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
This pasta dish is so fresh and flavorful and is super-easy to make. It incorporates chicken broth, garlic, spinach, oregano, grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta cheese, creating a dinner that's not only delicious, it's also impressive-looking and colorful enough to serve at a dinner party for friends and family. Just keep in mind that it's important to reserve the starchy pasta cooking liquid to help emulsify and thicken the sauce while you're tossing it all together with the broth and tomato juices. Feel free to experiment with whatever vegetables and cheese you have on hand as well. For some variety, use thin broccoli spears or broccolini instead of spinach, and pecorino romano instead of the feta. You could also use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian.

Ingredients

Uncooked penne pasta

8 oz

Table salt

1 tsp, for cooking pasta

Chicken broth

¼ cup(s), (see note)

Garlic

2 clove(s), minced

Spinach

8 oz, washed, stemmed, coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)

Dried oregano

¼ tsp

Table salt

¼ tsp, or to taste

Black pepper

¼ tsp, freshly ground, or to taste

Grape tomatoes

1 cup(s), halved

Crumbled feta cheese

6 Tbsp

Instructions

  1. Cook penne in boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid before draining pasta.
  2. Meanwhile, heat broth in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add spinach, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Add cooked penne, reserved cooking liquid and tomatoes to skillet. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until tomatoes are slightly pulpy, stirring occasionally, about 2 to 3 minutes; add cheese and heat through. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.