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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.
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 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.
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.
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.
2) Add 1 cup of half-and-half, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.
3) Add shredded Parmesan cheese. Stir for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.
4) Add spinach.
5) Keep stirring on medium heat until the spinach wilts, about 1 minute.
6) Add cooked and drained linguine to the sauce. Stir well. Taste the linguine, and season with more salt, if needed.
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
Linguine with spinach and sun-dried tomato cream sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz linguine
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz spinach
- 5 basil leaves fresh, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook linguine according to package instructions. Drain.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
- Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and minced garlic. Cook on medium heat for about 30 seconds, constantly stirring.
- Add 1 cup of half-and-half, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.
- Add ½ 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.
- Note: if the sauce gets too thick, add more half-and-half.
- Add spinach. Keep stirring on medium heat until the spinach wilts, about 1 minute.
- Add cooked and drained linguine to the sauce. Stir well.
- Taste the linguine and add more salt, if needed. Top with finely chopped fresh basil leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Delish!! Added some chicken seasoned with herbs de Provence. And saved some pasta water to make a saucier sauce! Will make again!!
Outstanding recipe! Had everything on hand with the exception of the basil. We didn’t miss it but will definitely add it next time as my garden continues to grow. It was simple with restaurant quality taste.
Mari, thank you for this wonderful feedback - I really appreciate it! ❤️
Tasted good but my cheese congealed on pasta and veggies.
Made this tonight. Wow! So delicious. And unbelievably easy! This will be going in my regular rotation. I think it’s even nice enough to serve to company!
Jen, thank you for your rave review! 🙂
I added some cubed chicken breast and a can of mushrooms . Delicious!!
Love your additions, Rene! ❤️
I want to try this recipe! Can emmanthal cheese be used instead of parmesan?
Yes, you can if you like the flavor!
Sounds really delicious. Will definitely try it. Thanks
You won't regret it! 🙂
Whst a wonderful dish, restaurant worthy, I used a combination of spinach and arugula, the arugula gave it a nice peppery taste
I love using arugula in pasta dishes! Great idea!
This was a huge hit with my wife and three kids! I would double the quantity to make it a bit more saucy...Merci beaucoup!
Pierre, you are so welcome! So glad this recipe turned out great! ❤️
i cooked this one just and it turns amazing, i put 1 green spicy pepper and viola! amazing .. i will cook it again for my friends
Anne, I am so glad you loved it! Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
I just made this. The only change I made was to add some crushed red pepper. It was amazing. It came together quickly and was absolutely delicious. Next time I will add some shrimp! I can also see this being amazing with some asparagus! I highly recommend this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. I agree - this would be delish with asparagus and/or shrimp!
I cooked this exactly as the recipe stated. It turned out great and the linguine was delicious.
Sherell, thank you for trying the recipe and taking the time to share such a positive comment! 🙂
I must have done something wrong. The spinach formed these dense clumps that were very unappetizing. I ended up having to fish them out of the pan and throw them away. The remaining pasta and sauce were ok.
LM, did spinach form clump together with cheese?
Here are some troubleshooting tips:
1) Next time, try using heavy cream instead of half-and-half. Sometimes, the sauce will not turn creamy when there is not enough fat in the sauce.
2) Make sure the cheese is at room temperature. Before you start making the recipe, take the amount you need out of the fridge, shred it, and set it out on the counter to warm up. Just bring the cheese to room temperature before adding it to the sauce.
3) Bring the sauce to a stable simmer (but not boiling violently) for about 3 minutes before adding cheese to warm everything up. Then, scatter shredded cheese evenly all over the sauce across the whole cooking pan surface (don't just dump the cheese in one spot). Then, stir it in on a low simmer, slowly, and patiently until it melts. Do not let the sauce violently boil - just gentle boil (simmer).
Great recipe! I made this tonight and it was delicious and easy. This will be my go to pasta dish.
Constance, I am really happy this recipe was a success! 🙂 Thank you for the feedback and 5-star review! 🙂
Hi, Looks very good 🙂
What is Half and half ?
Tomer
Half-and-half is simply a blend of equal parts milk and cream.
Tomer, half-and-half is half milk, half heavy cream. So, for example, 1 cup of half-and-half = 1/2 cup of milk + 1/2 cup of heavy cream (about 36% fat content)
One of our favorite recipes! We add shrimp or chicken. Delicious!
Kristen, glad you're enjoying this recipe! Adding some protein to pasta is always a good idea!
I don’t usually comment on recipes I’ve tried but I made this tonight for dinner and it was fabulous and very easy to make. Definitely a new favorite! ♥️
So happy to hear that - your comment made my day! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to comment and for the 5-star review!
Ok was searching tonight for an easy recipe with pasta. I had many ingredients. Wanted something easy and delish. This was sooooooooo it. We had scallops with it. Will make it again and again. The flavor was amazing. I made it with capellos gluten free pasta made with almond flour. We we’re so overjoyed with this. A lil lemon squeeze and better than restaurant food. Thanks so much.
Mary, your wonderful comment really made my day! 🙂 This is so delicious with scallops and a squeeze of lemon juice - love it! 🙂