Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta Bake

This creamy mushroom and spinach pasta bake came about because I’d bought rather a lot of mushrooms and spinach reduced and needed to actually use them rather than congratulate myself on getting a bargain and then discover them dying in the fridge three days later!

I fancied making something creamy with them, so I added plenty of garlic, pasta, Quark and cheese and turned them into this easy mushroom and spinach pasta bake. It worked really well and has become a lovely option when you fancy a vegetarian pasta dinner that still feels filling and comforting.

There’s plenty of garlic in this – five cloves – because I love garlic and mushrooms together. If five cloves sounds excessive to you then apparently we have very different relationships with garlic, but obviously you can adjust it to suit your own tastes.

Ingredients for mushroom and spinach pasta bake

For four portions you will need:

• 250g dry pasta shapes – tagliatelle works well
• 300g mushrooms, quartered
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
• 80g baby spinach
• 180g 50% less-fat Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 mushroom or vegetable stock pot
• 200ml boiling water
• 250g Quark
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• Low-calorie cooking spray

There aren’t many ingredients considering how creamy and cheesy the finished pasta is, and most of them are things you can easily pick up in an ordinary supermarket.

Shopping around to see which shops have offers on your usual products can make a big difference to your weekly shopping bill. Additionally don’t forget to check out the yellow sticker reductions and freeze what you can.

Frozen vegetables are nutritionally just as good as fresh usually so do keep an eye for those too to save money.

Do you have any particular frozen vegetables you love? Do share them with me it is always nice to hear people’s recommendations.

This recipe is easily made with frozen spinach if you prefer as it is often much cheaper. Frozen mushrooms are not as good as tend to be quite watery but if you drain off the water when cooked they would be just as good.

How to make mushroom and spinach pasta bake

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Cook the pasta in a large pan according to the packet instructions, then drain it. Don’t overcook it because it still has another 30 minutes in the oven afterwards. If pasta has a habit of turning to mush when you cook it, my how to cook pasta guide might help.

While the pasta is cooking, spray a frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and fry the garlic, onion and mushrooms until they’re tender but not too soft. They’ll continue cooking in the oven, so there’s no need to completely cook them to death in the frying pan first.

Make 200ml of stock using your mushroom or vegetable stock pot and the boiling water.

In a large ovenproof dish, mix together the cooked pasta, fried onion, garlic and mushrooms, Quark, baby spinach, stock and 120g of the grated cheese.

Sprinkle the remaining 60g cheese over the top, then bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and everything is hot throughout.

That’s it. No separate complicated sauce and no collection of pans that makes you wonder whether dinner was really worth destroying the kitchen for.

What is Quark and why use it in pasta bake?

Quark is a soft dairy product that I use quite a lot in creamy recipes. It doesn’t have a particularly strong flavour on its own, which is why it works nicely here with the garlic, mushrooms, cheese and stock.

You can usually find it with the chilled soft cheeses in larger supermarkets.

Quark can sometimes split when it’s exposed to too much heat, particularly if you try to heat it aggressively in a saucepan. In this recipe it’s mixed with the other ingredients before going into the oven, so you don’t need to stand over a pan trying to make a separate Quark sauce.

If you’ve bought a tub and now need ideas for the rest, I’ve got plenty more Quark recipes you can use it in.

What mushrooms are best for mushroom pasta bake?

Ordinary supermarket mushrooms are absolutely fine. You don’t need an expensive selection of fancy mushrooms unless you particularly want to use them.

I usually quarter them rather than chopping them really finely because I actually want to know there are mushrooms in my mushroom pasta bake!

The important bit is not overcooking them in the frying pan. They only need to become tender because they’ll carry on cooking once the pasta bake goes into the oven.

If you absolutely hate mushrooms, however, this probably isn’t the recipe where I’d suggest trying to disguise them. There are 300g in here. You’d be fighting a losing battle!

Can I use frozen spinach?

Yes. In fact, one reader has already made this with frozen spinach after her online shopping substituted it for fresh baby spinach, and she said the pasta was really tasty.

Frozen spinach can also be handy if you regularly buy a bag of fresh spinach with excellent intentions and then find half of it looking rather sorry for itself at the back of the fridge.

The important thing with frozen spinach is excess water. Defrost and drain it well if necessary rather than adding lots of extra liquid to the pasta bake, as that could make the finished sauce much thinner.

Can I use frozen mushrooms?

You can use frozen mushrooms, but they’re not my first choice for this recipe because they tend to release quite a lot of water.

If you do use them, cook them first and drain away the excess liquid before adding them to the pasta bake.

Fresh mushrooms are what I used for the recipe and they’re what I’d choose if possible.

Can I use a different pasta?

Yes. The recipe uses 250g dried pasta and tagliatelle works well, but you don’t have to use exactly the same shape.

Short pasta such as fusilli or penne would also make sense for a pasta bake and is sometimes easier to mix evenly through the mushrooms, spinach and creamy sauce.

I wouldn’t change the amount of dried pasta without also considering the amount of sauce, though. Doubling the pasta and hoping nobody notices isn’t likely to give you the same lovely creamy result!

Can I add chicken or bacon?

You could adapt the flavours to include meat if you wanted to, but this recipe was created and tested as a vegetarian mushroom and spinach pasta bake.

If you add chicken or bacon, you’ll need to make sure it’s cooked appropriately rather than assuming the existing recipe timings will automatically cook whatever meat you’ve added.

Personally, I’d keep this one vegetarian. There are plenty of other pasta recipes on JAJ when you fancy chicken or bacon, including my chicken pasta recipes and chicken and bacon carbonara.

Is mushroom and spinach pasta bake healthy?

It contains mushrooms, spinach, onion and garlic alongside pasta, Quark and cheese, so you get a mixture of ingredients in one meal.

I don’t think it’s particularly useful to decide that one dinner is automatically “healthy” or “unhealthy”, though. I’ve spent enough years around diets to know how easy it is to start putting food into good and bad boxes, and I don’t find that especially helpful anymore.

If you’re trying to lose weight, you can still eat pasta. I lost 10 stone while eating plenty of it, and I’d much rather look at what I’m eating overall than worry that having cheese on my pasta has somehow ruined everything.

If pasta is one of those foods you’ve wondered about, I’ve written more about whether pasta is healthy and how it can fit into a balanced diet.

Is this suitable for Slimming World?

If you’re following Slimming World, I’d check the current app for the ingredients and products you’re using rather than relying on an old Syn value online.

This recipe uses 50% less-fat Cheddar, Quark and low-calorie cooking spray because those are the ingredients I made it with, rather than because I’m trying to turn every ingredient into the lowest-calorie version possible.

Plans and products change, so checking your own ingredients will always be more useful than me giving you a figure that may become outdated.

For more ideas, have a look through my Slimming World pasta recipes.

What can I serve with mushroom and spinach pasta bake?

It’s a filling pasta dish in its own right, so you don’t necessarily need anything elaborate alongside it.

You could serve it with salad, broccoli, green beans or whatever vegetables you’ve got that need using.

Garlic bread would obviously work very nicely too, although with five cloves of garlic already in the pasta you may want to consider whether you’re planning on speaking closely to anyone afterwards!

Can I make mushroom and spinach pasta bake ahead?

You can prepare parts of it ahead, but I’d be careful about leaving cooked pasta sitting in lots of sauce for too long because it will continue absorbing liquid.

If you’re preparing ingredients in advance, make sure they’re cooled and refrigerated appropriately until you’re ready to cook.

I also wouldn’t deliberately overcook the pasta because you’re planning to reheat it later. Start with properly cooked pasta and you’ll have a much better chance of avoiding a very soft pasta bake.

Can I reheat mushroom and spinach pasta bake?

If you have leftovers, cool them and refrigerate them promptly, then reheat them thoroughly when you’re ready to eat.

The sauce may be slightly different after refrigeration because pasta continues absorbing moisture, so don’t expect leftovers to be completely identical to a portion straight from the oven.

Dividing leftovers into individual portions also means you can reheat just what you need rather than repeatedly reheating the entire dish.

Can you freeze mushroom and spinach pasta bake?

You can freeze many pasta bakes, but creamy sauces containing Quark can sometimes change texture after freezing and defrosting.

For that reason, I’d try freezing one leftover portion before making an enormous batch specifically for the freezer. If you’re happy with the texture once it’s reheated, you’ll know it’s worthwhile doing again.

I hate recommending batch cooking something for the freezer only for you to discover you’ve now got six portions of something you don’t particularly like reheated!

Mushroom and spinach pasta bake FAQs

Can I make this without Quark?

I haven’t tested this exact recipe without Quark, so I wouldn’t simply remove it because it forms an important part of the creamy sauce.

If you want a pasta recipe without Quark, I’d choose one designed around a different sauce rather than trying to make this one work without one of its main ingredients.

Can I use vegetable stock instead of mushroom stock?

Yes. The tested recipe allows either a mushroom or vegetable stock pot, so use whichever you prefer or already have.

Do I need to cook the spinach first?

No. The baby spinach is mixed into the pasta bake with the other ingredients before it goes into the oven.

Why is my mushroom pasta bake watery?

Mushrooms and spinach can both release water, particularly if you’re using frozen versions. Make sure frozen spinach is well drained and remove excess liquid from frozen mushrooms before adding them.

Can I add more cheese?

You can, but the recipe has been tested with 180g, with 120g mixed through the pasta and the remaining 60g scattered over the top.

Adding more will obviously change the finished recipe and nutritional information, and personally I think there’s already plenty to give you that lovely cheesy top.

More vegetarian pasta recipes

If you enjoyed this, have a look at my healthy pasta bake recipes for more easy ideas.

You can also browse my vegetarian and vegan recipes if you’re trying to eat more meat-free meals, or head to my main pasta recipes page for everything from pasta salads to tomato sauces and creamy pasta dishes.

This is still one of my favourite examples of why I check the reduced section when I’m shopping. Sometimes you come home with far too many mushrooms and a ridiculous quantity of spinach, but at least occasionally it results in a new dinner rather than a fridge full of good intentions!

Print

If you found this helpful please share!