Creamy Farfalle Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions. This simple meatless Italian dinner is pure comfort food! The bow-tie shaped pasta is perfectly matched with rich and buttery Parmesan sauce!
Farfalle - Bow Tie Pasta
- Farfalle pasta is meant to be used with creamy sauces, such as with chicken broccoli alfredo (with or without chicken) or with this creamy four-cheese pasta sauce. In fact, this farfalle recipe was inspired by another family favorite that features a rich creamy pasta sauce: spinach mushroom pasta.
- Farfalle works great both in meatless recipes and in dishes with meat. This particular recipe is meatless. However, you can easily add any kind of meat or seafood. Add easy seared chicken or grilled chicken to this creamy bow tie pasta. Who doesn't like creamy pasta, especially if you add some chicken to it? It's a perfect dish to make for a family weeknight dinner.
- If you enjoy seafood, add seared scallops with bacon or trout with garlic lemon butter sauce.
Farfalle: Italian Pasta
This Italian-inspired recipe features bow-tie shaped pasta smothered with easy cream sauce along with vegetables and mushrooms. You'll love this simple comfort food on a plate.
- Simple ingredients. This recipe requires basic ingredients that you can buy pretty much at any store: bow-tie pasta, spinach, mushrooms, onions, garlic, cream, and Parmesan cheese.
- Packed with veggies. This meatless farfalle recipe uses spinach and caramelized onions. It's a great and delicious way to incorporate more vegetables into your dinners.
- Caramelized onions add so much flavor and sophistication to this dish!
- Weeknight dinner recipe. This easy recipe is perfect for those busy weeknights when you don't have much time for cooking. It's also a great recipe to use any leftover chicken. Just throw in some leftover cooked chicken together with creamy farfalle pasta, and you have a perfect family dinner!
- Flexible recipe. What I love about this creamy bow-tie pasta is that you can serve it as is, without meat! Or, you can add protein, if you like. Serve farfalle with grilled steak, grilled chicken, or fish.
What is farfalle?
- Farfalle is a bow-tie shaped Italian pasta. Farfalle pasta can also be described as butterfly-shaped pasta. In fact, "farfalle" means "butterflies" in Italian.
- Farfalle dates back to the 16th century in Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna Regions in Northern Italy.
- Farfalle is often used with cream sauces and in tomato-based sauces. It's also popular in salads.
Substitutions
- What can you use instead of farfalle? You can substitute penne, rigatoni, fusilli, or orecchiette for farfalle without affecting the flavor.
- What can you substitute for spinach? You can use kale, Swiss chard, or arugula instead of spinach.
- What kind of mushrooms can you use? Use button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, portobello, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms.
- How to make this recipe gluten-free? Use gluten-free farfalle or other types of gluten-free pasta.
- What can you use instead of half-and-half? Use ½ cup of heavy cream + ½ cup of milk instead of 1 cup of half-and-half.
Cooking Tips
- Make-ahead tip. Make caramelized onions ahead of time, refrigerate them in an air-tight container, and use within the next 3 days. You can also freeze caramelized onions for up to 2 months and thaw them whenever you need them.
- If the creamy Parmesan sauce is too thick, slowly add a small amount of half-and-half to thin it out. Make sure the sauce continues to simmer and does not come to a standstill, while you add half-and-half to thin it out.
- If the creamy Parmesan sauce is too thin, add a small amount of shredded Parmesan cheese, and stir it in, while the sauce simmers.
How long do you cook farfalle?
- Usually, farfalle is cooked in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.
- To prepare farfalle al dente, cook farfalle for 8 minutes, or for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package instructions.
How to make farfalle pasta
- First, caramelize onions for 30 minutes to reach a nice deep brown color. (See: how to caramelize onions). This step can be made ahead. Make caramelized onions a day or two in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container.
- Next, cook the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Then, add spinach to cooked mushrooms and stir until spinach wilts.
- Next, make the creamy pasta sauce. Add half-and-half and shredded Parmesan cheese to the skillet with spinach and mushrooms. Stir, while the sauce simmers, until the cheese melts.
- Add caramelized onions to the skillet.
- Add cooked and drained farfalle pasta to the skillet with the pasta sauce and reheat on low heat for a couple of minutes.
Side dishes
- Bread. Serve garlic bread or baguette with creamy farfalle pasta.
- Green Salad. Make a basic green salad, such as spinach or arugula salad. Use a simple dressing made with olive oil, coarsely ground black pepper, and shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Fresh salad. Make this tomato cucumber avocado salad or tomato mozzarella salad.
Other pasta recipes
- Linguine with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
- Fusilli Pasta with Spinach, Artichokes, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
- Mushroom Ravioli with Spinach
Farfalle Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions
Creamy Farfalle with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions. The bow-tie pasta is perfectly matched with rich and buttery Parmesan sauce! Serve this easy meatless Italian meal as-is, or with grilled chicken! Satisfying and comforting dinner that a whole family will love!
Ingredients
Caramelized onions
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 yellow onions , large, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Creamy pasta sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 oz mushrooms , sliced (I used button mushrooms)
- 6 oz spinach
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Pasta
- 8 oz farfalle pasta
Instructions
How to caramelize onions:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add sliced onions and cook on high heat for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring with the spatula.
- The onions should start to brown, but without burning.
- Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking onions for 10 more minutes, continuing to stir, as onions brown even more without burning. At this point add a pinch of salt over onions.
- Continue cooking for 10 more minutes on medium or low heat, stirring occasionally to make sure onions don’t stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.
- In total, you should have cooked onions for 30 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and sprinkle the onions with a small amount of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.
- Using a spatula, stir the onions, scraping the bottom of the pan and coating onions with a pinch of balsamic vinegar you just added. Remove caramelized onions to a plate.
How to cook mushrooms and spinach:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet on medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring, until mushrooms are soft.
- Add fresh spinach to the skillet and stir on low heat just until spinach starts to wilt.
How to make creamy pasta sauce:
- Add half-and-half to the mushroom and spinach mixture and bring to a quick boil. Immediately reduce to simmer.
- Add ⅔ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon salt. Keep stirring while the sauce simmers until the cheese melts.
- Add caramelized onions back to the skillet with the pasta sauce.
Cook pasta:
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
- Add cooked and drained farfalle pasta to the creamy sauce. Stir on low heat for a couple of minutes to reheat.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half-and-half to thin it out. If it is too thin, add a small amount of shredded Parmesan cheese, and stir it in, while the sauce simmers.
- Serve with more shredded parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Notes
Substitute for half-and-half: Use ½ cup of heavy cream + ½ cup of milk instead of 1 cup of half-and-half.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information
Farfalle Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions
Amount per Serving
Calories
511
% Daily Value*
Fat
22
g
34
%
Saturated Fat
10
g
63
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
2
g
Monounsaturated Fat
9
g
Cholesterol
39
mg
13
%
Sodium
761
mg
33
%
Potassium
816
mg
23
%
Carbohydrates
58
g
19
%
Fiber
5
g
21
%
Sugar
7
g
8
%
Protein
22
g
44
%
Vitamin A
4399
IU
88
%
Vitamin C
20
mg
24
%
Calcium
436
mg
44
%
Iron
3
mg
17
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
I make a lot of Julia’s recipes. This is on of the best, however it takes more time that some of her others.
So glad you enjoy my recipes, Sandy!!
Is there a video of the recipe: Farfalle pasta with spit, mushrooms and caramelized onions ?
I don't have a video for this, unfortunately.
I made this recipe. I added andouille sausage and red pepper flakes. Also I used 1/2 half and half and 1/2 pasta water.
It was yummy!
I love the addition of sausage, Paula! Thanks for the review! 🙂
Not bad, just a bit bland
One way to add more flavor is to dissolve a chicken bouillon cube in the sauce - I think that flavor will go well in this recipe.
Is there a way to make this vegan? Like, a substitute for the half and half?
Prudence, you can use unsweetened full-fat coconut milk or cashew cream instead of half-and-half.
Delicious! I did a little tweaking to make it the main course. I added garlic and red pepper flakes to the mushrooms. I also added a half of a rotisserie chicken. I also used pasta water to thin it.
All in all my husband loved it!
Paula, I love that you added protein to this and turned it into a complete meal! 🙂
This was delicious. A few others described it being bland, which I had read before so to enhance this I used red onions instead of yellow/sweets and added garlic and lemon zest. The zest was a perfect addition of brightness to the rich caramelized onion.
Jenny, I love the addition of lemon zest - so refreshing! 🙂
Excellent recipe! I added 2 cloves of garlic to the recipe. I will definitely be making these again.
Moe, I am so glad you loved it! Garlic makes everything better, in my book!
Delicious but a little bland. Added garlic, pepper and sundried tomatoes. Maybe some Italian seasoning or crushed red pepper will kick it up a notch.
Great feedback, Ash! I like your ideas for adding more flavor to this recipe!
Delicious combination of flavors. The caramelized onions + balsamic vinegar with the Parmesan cheese is perfect. Serves 4-6 people easily. Just two of us so we’ll be looking forward to leftovers.
Phil, so glad you enjoyed the flavors in this pasta. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughtful review. ❤️
Tastes delicious and I have made this multiple times but it takes WAY longer than 30 mins cook time… just cooking the onions is 30 mins itself and that’s just the first step. I think an hour is more realistic. Worth it!!
Lauren, I am so glad this recipe is a favorite! ❤️ Thank you for your review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
Very good for my meatless Monday dinner. This time I used Penne pasta and still a great, quick weekday meal.
Hi julia i just had to say i cooked
yor farfale pasta dish i must say its fantastic cant stop eating it!! All yor dishes look so lovely ime going to hav a stab at some moreand love the way you put things down easy to follow. Keep up the good work. Quality!!
I just made this tonight for my bf. He loved it and so did I. I added an extra cup of spinach since it wilts down to nothing and I love spinach so much. The onions came out great. I followed the directions to a T! They were so sweet and delicious when they were done caramelizing. I will definitely be making this again.
Melanie, thank you for your detailed review - I am so glad both you and your boyfriend loved this dish! ❤️ I love spinach too - the more, the better! 🙂
This dish was fantastic! Easy and delicious....I love how your recipes are versatile and can be either with or without meat. Awesome!
Emily, I am so happy you tried this dish and loved it! ❤️❤️ Thank you for taking the time to share your review!
So looking forward to preparing this pasta dish. All my favorite ingredients.
Nancy, I hope you love this dish as much as I do! 🙂
Big hit at my dinner party last night. I did add sun dried tomatoes for added color and flavor as well as toasted pine nuts for flavor and texture. Served with a side of steamed broccoli. YUM!
Susan, I love your version of this, with added sun-dried tomatoes + pine nuts! ❤️
I just made this tonight. WE LOVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS! But HONESTLY…. It was kinda BLAND (going by the recipe) so I seasoned it up! THANKS for a GREAT dinner idea!
We've made this many times and it is always delicious! One of our go-to meals for sure.
Hi there. I just came across this and I would LOVE it, however my teens DO NOT like mushrooms. Do you have a suggestion to replace them? Or more spinach and throw in any other vegetable?
Maybe add some zucchini, squash , eggplant, tofu , sun dried tomatoes, or olives. Plus the extra spinach. I use 2 cups of spinach.
Melanie, I love your suggestions for mushroom substitutions. Other great mushroom substitute would be roasted bell peppers.
I've made this twice and received raves both times. Would it work to complete it and then warm it up just before serving?
Zelda, I am so glad you've made it twice already and loved it! ❤️ Even though the cheese-based creamy sauces generally don't reheat well, you can still do it. Just make sure that you reheat this dish very slowly, on low heat, on the stove-top, constantly stirring in a high-sided skillet or sauce-pan and do not overheat this. Just reheat until it's comfortably warm, not scorching hot. 🙂 Enjoy and wishing you a very Happy New Year! ❤️
What is your definition of a large onion? Three large onions sliced won't even fit into a large skillet.
Aaron, if they don't fit, cook them in batches. The sliced onions don't have to be in a skillet in a single layer. I used a large, high-sided skillet to hold the onions together. 3 medium sized onions would work great, too!
Uhh, how large can an onion even get? I had a harder time fitting the mushrooms in the pan than the onions. And onions cook down a LOT when they're caramelized. Anyway this recipe was amazing. Thank you!
Great point, Michelle! The onions cook down so much. There is no such thing as too much onion, lol.