Cajun Spiced Spinach Pasta

Pasta dishes are incredible - they are easy to prepare, can be adapted to a variety of flavors. This one is no different - it is easy, flavorful, and mostly uses ready-made ingredients. Cajun-spiced spinach pasta is incredibly easy to make. This will make dinner easy and is delicious that you'll be happy to have leftovers. If you like Cajun flavors, this Pasta will be ready in 20-25 minutes tops! To keep the dinner time stress-free, try this recipe made with store-bought ingredients, but with tons of flavor.

You will find instructions for making this in Instant Pot along with stove-top directions.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO MAKE cajun spiced spinach pasta

Full recipe + measurements + video can be found in the recipe card below.

• Penne pasta
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Onion
• Garlic
• Red chilli flakes (optional; skip for a milder taste)
• Cajun Seasoning
• Spinach
• Marinara Sauce or any other tomato base sauce
• Parsley (for added flavor; optional)
• Grated fresh parmesan

Pasta- I have used Penne Pasta here. You can use gluten-free pasta if you are following a gluten - free diet.

Olive Oil- Needless to say, using the best quality olive oil will give you the best results.

Onion & Garlic- For most of my Indian recipes, I use red onions. I like the yellow onions for my pasta recipes. If yellow onions are not easily available, you can use the red onions. I love the garlic flavor in the pasta recipes. Do not shy away from garlic in this recipe.

Red Chilli Flakes- This is an optional spice in this recipe. Add ONLY IF you like spicy food. Always adjust this spice to your taste.

Cajun Seasoning- Cajun seasoning is a special spice blend which has Paprika, garlic, onion powders etc. I have used store bought one to make life easier.

Spinach- It is very easy to include greens in your diet with this recipe. Though I have used fresh spinach, the recipe works with frozen spinach . No need to thaw the frozen spinach, use it directly.

Pasta Sauce- Sometimes life gets busy and we rely on store-bought sauces to make our work easier. Store-bought does not have to mean boring or same-old, same-old. The Cajun seasoning we use can be used to perk up any tomato-based sauce.

Cooking Penne Pasta in Instant Pot

Instant Pot has become the "In thing" these days - a kitchen appliance worth having in your kitchen. In fact I have a couple of them and use them almost on a daily basis.

Penne pasta can be easily cooked using an Instant Pot.

Add the pasta, salt, oil, and water. Set the Pressure Cook/Manual mode and time to cook for 5 minutes. Usually, the penne pasta I buy has a cooking time of 11 minutes on the stovetop. You can read more about how the time was set to 5 minutes in this article (opens in a new tab). Though the cooking time is about 5 minutes, it takes a little while for the Instant Pot to reach full pressure - on average about 10-11 minutes.

Once the Instant Pot beeps (after cooking for 5 minutes), do a manual pressure release. Be careful at this point, there might be heavy steam or foam build-up. You can start releasing slowly and then fully.

I like penne pasta that is cooked in the instant pot for five minutes. If you are looking for more al dente (with a little more bite to the pasta), cook only for 3 minutes and do a quick (manual) pressure release. Want a little more cooked pasta (with less bite)? Once the pasta is cooked for five minutes, wait for a couple of minutes before you do the pressure release.

Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain the pasta, and reserve some of that cooking liquid. We might need it later in the recipe.

What is the next step to make cajun spiced spinach pasta?

Once we drain the pasta, I recommend giving the inner pot, a quick rinse and dry. This will prevent any burning of the bits sticking to the bottom; also get rid of any liquid remains before we add the oil.

We can proceed with the next steps in the Instant pot in the sauté mode. We will sauté the spices and vegetables in olive oil, cook the pasta sauce and add the pasta. ta-da!

Stovetop instructions to make cajun spiced spinach pasta

In the recipe card, you will find the directions to make the Cajun-spiced penne pasta using an instant pot. Some of my readers do not own an instant pot. You can still make and enjoy this delicious pasta on the stovetop.

• Boil a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add salt and olive oil.
• Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Penne pasta usually takes about 10-11 minutes of cooking time.
• Drain the pasta and reserve the pasta water.
• Heat a skillet on medium heat on the stovetop.
• Add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Saute until the onion turn translucent.
• Add red chilli flakes and Cajun seasoning. Cook the spices for a minute or two.
• Add the spinach. Saute the spinach until it starts to wilt.
• Pour the tomato sauce and cook it for a couple of minutes.
• Add the drained pasta and mix to coat well. If the pasta looks dry, add the reserved pasta water.
• Serve hot.
• P.S: You do not have to wait for the pasta to finish cooking to start on the sauce. You can start working on the sauce halfway through pasta cooking time. Just mix and serve.

You will notice that the instructions/steps are almost the same for stovetop and Instant pot way of cooking.

Equipment required to prepare the Cajun Spice Spinach Pasta

Stove Top Method

• Large pot to boil pasta
• Large Skillet to continue the rest of the cooking process
• Chopping Board & Knife
• Colander/Strainer + Bowl to save the pasta water [Or you can scoop a cup of pasta water before draining it]
• Cooking Spoon/Spatula
• Grips if required to hold hot utensils.
• Measuring cups and spoons. If you have a weighing scale, you can use that.

Instant Pot Method

• Instant Pot [I wash and dry the Instant Pot after cooking the pasta before proceeding with the rest of the cooking steps]
• Chopping Board & Knife
• Colander/Strainer + Bowl to save the pasta water [Or you can scoop some of the remaining pasta water before draining it]
• Cooking Spoon/Spatula
• Grips if required to hold hot utensils.
• Measuring cups and spoons. If you have a weighing scale, you can use that.

Can you use frozen spinach in this recipe?

YES! I have tried this recipe with both frozen and fresh spinach and both work perfectly. Wash and finely chop the fresh spinach. I use about 80 grams of spinach in the recipes, which is approximately 2 cups of fresh spinach or 1 cup of frozen spinach. You do not have to thaw the frozen spinach, use directly from the package. This saves some additional prep time.

Meal prep, leftovers & more

I learned this recipe from my friend Sangeeta a few years back and have been making it ever since. It is a very forgiving recipe in the sense that the ingredients do not have to be precisely measured and you can eyeball the measurements to prepare the pasta. Don't you love dishes like that?

• If you like a spicy pasta dish, add more spices and seasonings. If you like it milder, reduce the quantity of the seasonings.

• Like more tomato-ey, sauce-y pasta? Add more of the sauce.

• Want to add more greens? Add more spinach. Play around with different greens of your choice - Kale, Mustard greens, chard - you can try these different options.

• Want to make it richer? Add some butter along with the olive oil for sautéing.

You get the idea! It is highly adaptable recipe. I like it not just because it is adaptable, I like it because, most of the ingredients are store bought and I can still make it healthy and flavorful.

Leftovers are amazing! :). Make a double batch and store in an airtight container. Reheat in microwave when ready to serve.

One meal prep idea is to prepare the sauce ahead of time and cook the pasta just when you are ready to serve. if you are making the sauce ahead of time, store it an airtight container in the refrigerator, heat it up on stovetop or microwave before adding the cooked pasta.

I have suggested a yield for about 3-4 people. Adjust the serving size to suit your individual dietary needs.

Cajun Spiced Spinach pasta is a vegan recipe which you can make gluten-free if you use your favorite gluten-free pasta. I serve this topped with some shredded Parmesan, but this is optional. You could also use your favorite vegan cheese if you like it that way.

Additonal Notes

• 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish)
• Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
• Serving size – 8 OZ pasta typically serves 3-4 people. But then there are times when my hungry teenager wants more :). Always adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs.
• This is a pretty forgiving recipe. You can adjust the spices and seasonings to taste.
• Skip the red chilli flakes and reduce the quantity of the Cajun Spice for a milder version.
• Any tomato-based (not cream-based) pasta will work in the recipe.
• You can try the recipe with Kale, Chard, or any other of your favorite greens instead of spinach.
• I do not add additional salt while preparing the sauce, since the storebought pasta sauce and the cajun seasoning has salt in them.
• Short forms used in the video ----> TBSP- tablespoon; TSP - teaspoon; GMS - grams; OZ- ounce; mts - minutes

more pasta recipes for ya!

• Have you tried pasta with Indian flavors? It is uh-ma-zing!!
• Want to make Alfredo sauce healthier? Try this one.
• Oh! We love this simple but flavorful one with asparagus!

Cajun Spiced Spinach Recipe

Cajun-spiced spinach pasta is incredibly easy to make. This will make dinner easy and is delicious that you'll be happy to have leftovers. If you like Cajun flavors, this Pasta will be ready in 20-25 minutes tops! To keep the dinner time stress-free, try this recipe made with store-bought ingredients, but with tons of flavor.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 3 -4

Ingredients

  

• 227 grams 8 oz | ~3 cups Penne pasta; gluten-free if required
• 3 tablespoon Olive Oil; divided
• 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
• 60-70 grams ½ cup Onion; finely chopped
• 2-3 large Garlic cloves; finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Red chilli flakes; adjust to taste skip for a milder version
• 1-2 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning; adjust to taste reduce the quantity for a milder version
• 80 grams 2 cups Fresh Spinach;
• 250 ml 1 cup tomato-based pasta sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes; optional
• Grated Parmesan for garnish; optional

Instructions

 

• Add pasta, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 2 cups of water to the Instant Pot. Cook on High Pressure (Manual Mode. Pressure Cook Mode) for 5 minutes (assuming the pasta cooks in 10-11 minutes on the stovetop). Quick pressure release. [Be careful here. There might be heavy foam build up]. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.
• Give a quick rinse to the steel pot and dry it.
• Turn the Instant Pot in Saute mode. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil followed by onion and garlic. Saute till onion turns translucent.
• Add red chilli flakes, if using, followed by Cajun spice. Saute for two minutes.
• Once the spices turn fragrant, add the finely chopped spinach and saute until it wilts about 2-3 minutes.
• Mix the pasta sauce and cook for a couple of minutes. Taste and add salt if required.
• Tip in the cooked and drained pasta and mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce.
• Add a little reserve pasta water if the pasta seems a little dry.
• Serve hot.

Video

Notes

• 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish)
• Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
• Serving size – 8 OZ pasta typically serves 3-4 people. But then there are times when my hungry teenager wants more :). Always adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs.
• This is a pretty forgiving recipe. You can adjust the spices and seasonings to taste.
• Skip the red chilli flakes and reduce the quantity of the Cajun Spice for a milder version.
• Any tomato-based (not cream-based) pasta will work in the recipe.
• You can try the recipe with Kale, Chard, or any other of your favorite greens instead of spinach.
• I do not add additional salt while preparing the sauce, since the storebought pasta sauce and the cajun seasoning has salt in them.
• Short forms used in the video ----> TBSP- tablespoon; TSP - teaspoon; GMS - grams; OZ- ounce; mts - minutes