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Pasta Chicken

Linguine with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Published: Feb 16, 2019 | 90 Comments

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Linguine with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce takes just 30 minutes to make! This simple Italian pasta is a great choice for a weeknight dinner! Linguine is generously coated in a comforting creamy sauce made with garlic and Parmesan cheese.

linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce on a plate

This delicious linguine has been inspired by the sun-dried tomato pasta I made a while back.  This recipe features the best homemade pasta sauce you’ll ever try!  It’s full of flavor and color!  The creamy linguine Alfredo sauce is made with garlic, paprika, cream, and shredded Parmesan cheese.

This linguine recipe makes a great meatless dinner.  If you crave some protein, you can easily add grilled chicken or cooked shrimp to the dish.  Just like in this simple chicken pasta or this shrimp pasta.

linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce in a skillet

Linguine with creamy alfredo sauce

  • Creamy comfort food. In this recipe, linguine is smothered in a simple homemade alfredo sauce made with cream, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. The silky sauce coats the linguine to produce one of the most comforting and decadent pasta dishes you’ll ever try! Sun-dried tomatoes and spinach add so much flavor to the creamy deliciousness!
  • 30-minute recipe. This beautiful pasta dish takes only 30 minutes to make.
  • Only 9 ingredients. Simple recipes are the best! This recipe uses basic ingredients that you can easily buy in any grocery store.
  • Beautiful presentation. This easy pasta makes a beautiful and colorful presentation. Creamy alfredo sauce has a light pink color thanks to sun-dried tomatoes and paprika. Spinach also adds vibrancy to the linguine!

What is linguine?

  • Linguine is a long, thin, ribbon-style pasta of Italian origin.  It’s similar to fettuccine and spaghetti.  Linguine is like flattened spaghetti and not as wide as fettuccine.
  • Linguine originated in Genoa of Liguria region, Italy.
  • Linguine is usually served with seafood or with pesto sauce.  Other common dishes made with linguine include puttanesca sauce, linguine carbonara, and linguine with clams.
  • Linguine is made with durum wheat semolina.

Fun fact: Did you know that “linguine” in Italian means “little tongues”? “Linguina” means “little tongue” in Italian, and “linguine” is plural of “linguina”. The root of the word is “lingua” (Latin) which means tongue.

linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce on a plate

Substitutions

This pasta dish is very flexible, and you can use all kinds of different ingredients:

  • Don’t have linguine? Use spaghetti or fettuccine pasta.
  • What can you use to replace Parmesan? Use Mozzarella cheese, Pecorino Romano, or Asiago cheese.
  • Don’t have spinach? Use Swiss chard, arugula, or kale.

Linguine vs. fettuccine

  • Both linguine and fettuccine are ribbon style, long strand pasta.  Fettuccine is a flat thick pasta.  Fettuccine is noticeably wider than linguine.  Linguine is more like flattened spaghetti.
  • The most common dish made with fettuccine is fettuccine alfredo.  Linguine is usually served with seafood, pesto, carbonara sauce, or with clams.

Linguine vs. spaghetti

  • Both linguine and spaghetti are ribbon-style long-strand pasta.  They are very similar in shape.  Linguine is like a flatter version of spaghetti.
  • Spaghetti is usually served with tomato sauce or meat.  Linguine is traditionally served with seafood or pesto.

Sauces that go well with linguine

  • White cream pasta sauce.  Linguine tastes amazing when coated in the white cheese Italian pasta sauce.   Make simple white cream pasta sauce for linguine or any other pasta!
  • Sun-dried tomato cream sauce.   Sun-dried tomatoes and basil in a homemade creamy Mozzarella sauce will make a perfect sauce for linguine.  This sun-dried tomato pasta recipe shows you how to make it.
  • Alfredo sauce.  Make linguine alfredo by following this recipe for chicken broccoli alfredo.  You can even add chicken and broccoli, or keep them out of the recipe and just follow the steps for the alfredo sauce.

Gluten-free friendly recipe

  • You can easily make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free linguine.

What to serve with linguine

  • Bread.  Serve Baguette or Italian garlic bread.
  • Fresh salad.  Make this tomato cucumber avocado salad or tomato mozzarella salad.
  • Spinach salad.  Because this linguine has spinach, it would be a great combination to serve it with a basic spinach salad.  Just toss together some spinach leaves with shredded Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Or, if you want something more sophisticated, try this spinach salad with prosciutto and pears.  Or, make a spinach salad with beets.

linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce on a plate

How to cook linguine al dente

  • To cook pasta al dente, cook linguine in salted boiling water about 2 minutes less than indicated on the package instructions.   I cooked linguine for about 9 minutes in boiling water.

Cooking Tips

  • Reserve some pasta water.  Use it to thin out the cream sauce if it gets too thick.
  • Make sure to season the creamy linguine sauce with just the right amount of salt.   That means you might have to add more salt than indicated in the recipe.  Salt really helps to bring out all the flavors!

How to prepare the sauce for linguine – step-by-step

1) Cook chopped sun-dried tomatoes and minced garlic with olive oil on medium heat, for about 30 seconds.

cooking garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil in a skillet

2) Add 1 cup of half-and-half, paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

adding half-and-half to sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and olive oil in a skillet

3) Add shredded Parmesan cheese.  Stir for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.

adding shredded Parmesan cheese to the sun-dried tomato sauce in a skillet

4) Add spinach.

adding spinach to the sun-dried tomato sauce in the skillet

5) Keep stirring on medium heat until the spinach wilts, about 1 minute.

wilted spinach in sun-dried tomato sauce in a skillet

6) Add cooked and drained linguine to the sauce.   Stir well. Taste the linguine, and season with more salt, if needed.

adding linguine to the skillet with sun-dried tomato sauce and spinach

Other pasta recipes

Below are other meatless pasta sauce recipes that will go great with linguine.  What’s beautiful about these recipes is that you can easily add protein.  Add grilled chicken, pan-seared scallops or seared shrimp.

  • Creamy Spinach Mushroom Pasta with Caramelized Onions
  • Sun-Dried Tomato Mushroom Pasta
  • Four Cheese Garlic White Cream Pasta Sauce
4.9 from 49 votes
linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce
Print
Linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce takes only 30 minutes to make! This simple Italian pasta requires only ingredients!  This creamy linguine is a perfect weeknight dinner!  Serve it as-is or with grilled chicken or seafood.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 424 kcal
Author: Julia
Ingredients
  • 8 oz linguine
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes , chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 oz spinach
  • 5 basil leaves fresh, finely chopped
Instructions
  1. Cook linguine according to package instructions.  Drain.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
  3. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and minced garlic.  Cook on medium heat for about 30 seconds, constantly stirring.
  4. Add 1 cup of half-and-half, paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

  5. Add 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (half of what the recipe calls for).  Stir for about 30 seconds or longer until the cheese melts.  If the sauce is too thin, gradually add more cheese.  Keep stirring around all of the skillet for a couple of minutes.
  6. Note: if the sauce gets too thick, add more half-and-half.
  7. Add spinach.  Keep stirring on medium heat until the spinach wilts, about 1 minute.
  8. Add cooked and drained linguine to the sauce.   Stir well.
  9. Taste the linguine and add more salt, if needed.  Top with finely chopped fresh basil leaves.
Recipe Notes

What is half-and-half? To substitute for 1 cup of half-and-half, do this: combine 1/2 cup of whole milk with 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

Nutrition Facts
Linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 424 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 39mg13%
Sodium 630mg27%
Potassium 788mg23%
Carbohydrates 53g18%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 20g40%
Vitamin A 4565IU91%
Vitamin C 16.8mg20%
Calcium 428mg43%
Iron 2.9mg16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Filed Under: Cheese, Dinner, Linguine, Parmesan, Pasta, Recipe, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Vegetables Published: Feb 16, 2019 90 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Zoe

    Feb 13, 2021 at 6:48 am

    Delicious! This is a hearty, comforting, and very tasty vegetarian dish — so glad I doubled the recipe because we are looking forward to the leftovers today! I made mine with kale and went heavy handed with the garlic and paprika. The flavors are bursting in every bite. Thank you for this recipe!

    Reply
  2. The Gourmet Country Girl

    Feb 11, 2021 at 10:14 am

    This is one of the of the best pasta recipes I’ve made! It is so easy to bring together, yet the flavors are deep, complex and harmonious. This is truly a gourmet treat that can be made at home in a jiffy.

    Reply
  3. Adam

    Feb 09, 2021 at 12:54 am

    It was delicious! I added prawns to it to make it a little meatier.

    Reply
  4. Sadia

    Jan 13, 2021 at 4:04 pm

    I just finished making this and am in the middle of eating it but had to appreciate you for sharing this recipe! It is delicious! Thank you so much!

    Reply
  5. Amanda

    Jan 08, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    If I added chicken to this what would be the best seasoning for it? Looks delicious! Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Gigi

    Jan 06, 2021 at 3:59 pm

    Looks amazing, just wanted to clarify; is the 8oz of pasta correct? For 4 people, it doesn’t seem like it would be enough, and packs of linguine come in 16oz, but I want to make sure so I don’t mess it up. thanks v much!

    Reply
    • Shari

      Feb 24, 2021 at 8:30 pm

      We had this tonight. There was enough for 3, but I’d double the recipe for more hearty eaters. It is a terrific recipe and folks want to eat a lot!

      Reply
  7. Carol

    Jan 06, 2021 at 1:26 am

    So easy and flavorful. Loved this recipe! Keeper for sure

    Reply
  8. Sherry

    Dec 29, 2020 at 12:16 pm

    Excellent !! Just yummy, will be making again very soon.

    Reply
    • Julia

      Dec 30, 2020 at 7:01 pm

      Sherry, I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for your comment! 🙂

      Reply
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