WW SmartPoints Recipe: Skinny Artichoke Spinach Baked Pasta
What do you get when you combine the typical healthy spinach and artichoke dip ingredients with pasta? A creamy and delicious artichoke spinach baked pasta dish, of course.
Skinny Artichoke & Spinach Baked Pasta
Recipe Notes
Chunks of artichokes and bits of spinach tossed with pasta, nonfat Greek yogurt, low-fat cream cheese, grated Parmesan, shredded low-fat mozzarella, topped with a little more cheese and baked until golden.
This skinny artichoke baked pasta truly is creamy comfort in a dish. Perfect for Meatless Monday, I think this artichoke spinach baked pasta would also be great with a little cooked chicken stirred in.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Pasta?
According to my calculations each serving has 284 calories and:
9 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
7 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Following Weight Watchers Freestyle, this is now *8 WW Freestyle SmartPoints. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations:
No Penne or Rotini
Use whatever short cut of pasta you prefer. Shells, macaroni, ziti. This would also be good with gnocchi or filled pasta like tortellini or ravioli.
No Greek Yogurt
Substitute with more reduced fat cream cheese or reduced fat sour cream.
No Spinach
Chopped cooked broccoli or frozen defrosted chopped broccoli would be nice.
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Skinny Artichoke Spinach Baked Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces short pasta, such as penne or rotini
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons non-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 ounces low-fat cream cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 5 ounces (half of 10-ounce package) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess moisture
- 1 can (13.5 ounces) artichoke hearts, rinsed, squeezed of excess moisture and roughly chopped
- 2 ounces low-fat mozzarella, shredded (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 more minute.
- Heat the broiler. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, cream cheese, Parmesan, and lemon juice until well blended. Add the onion mixture and stir until combined.
- Add the pasta to the bowl and toss to coat. Stir in the spinach, artichokes and ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid. (Add more liquid if the pasta seems dry.) Gently stir in ¼ cup of the mozzarella.
- Transfer the pasta mixture to a broiler-proof 9-inch square casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup mozzarella.
- Broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- No Penne or Rotini: Use whatever short cut of pasta you prefer. Shells, macaroni, ziti. This would also be good with gnocchi or filled pasta like tortellini or ravioli.
- No Greek Yogurt: Substitute with more reduced fat cream cheese or reduced fat sour cream.
- No Spinach: Chopped cooked broccoli or frozen defrosted chopped broccoli would be nice.
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If You Like Spinach Artichoke Baked Pasta You Might Also Like
- Mediterranean Chicken & Pasta Recipe - quick & easy & impressive enough for company with *5 WW Freestyle SmartPoints
- Artichoke, Spinach & Feta Stuffed Shells - looks and sounds amazing with *10 WW PointsPlus Value per serving from Cooking Light found at MyRecipes. (Can't wait to try this one.)
- One Pot Creamy Pasta Recipe - easy, creamy, and delicious with *9 WW Freestyle SmartPoints
- Lowfat Baked Ziti & Spinach - another delicious dinner dish with 8 WW Freestyle SmartPoints from Gina at SkinnyTaste
- Easy Skinny Baked Ziti - pasta stirred together with spaghetti sauce, ground turkey, cottage cheese, and Parmesan and baked till bubbly with *9 WW SmartPoints
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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claudine hellmuth
this recipe is so good! just a quick question...how much lemon juice should i be using? in the 3rd paragraph you mention adding lemon juice, but how much isn't listed in the ingredients. i guessed the first time i made it and put in a tablespoon. still came out fabulous!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Claudine,
You guessed right! I've updated the ingredients list to show 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Thanks for letting me know that it was missing.
claudine hellmuth
thanks martha! we love this recipe so much, I'm making it again tonight!
rokey
Can u make this with fresh artichokes? Any ideas on how to incorporate them?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Rokey,
You could use fresh artichoke hearts, but of course it's a lot more work. You would steam the artichokes, remove the leaves and then chop the artichoke hearts and proceed with the recipe as written. Hope this helps.
emily
Just made this and loved it!!! I used whole grain farro and made vegan parm to sub for all the cheese! thanks so much 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Hi Emily,
Thanks for taking the time to comment and sharing your changes with us. Love the way you subbed vegan parm for the cheese to make this vegan friendly 🙂
Colleen
This was wonderful and it was a hit with the guys in my house. Easy to prepare and it had nice flavors. Will make this again!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Colleen, so glad to hear that you and your guys liked it!
Jana Delgado
Could you chop up a few baby Bella mushrooms for another flavor layer?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Jana, I haven't tried it but think it would be fine.
Katie
The BEST! I have almost zero cooking experience and was able to prepare this dish. If I can make this recipe, so can you! I used fat free cream cheese, fat free mozzarella, etc. It was AWESOME! Thank you for sharing this!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Katie, Glad you liked it 🙂
Chris
This recipe was fantastic! I got so many compliments on it, and my son ate at least three bowls! I’m glad i doubled the recipe!
Felicia
Do you think I could use fresh spinach instead of frozen??
Martha McKinnon
Hi Felicia, Sure you could use fresh instead of frozen spinach. I'd just give it quick saute and then drain. Hope this helps. ~Martha